Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1896. A FORECAST.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 5499, 1 December 1896, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1896. A FORECAST.

" Never prophesy unless you know," is excellent advice, and we should be very sorry to speak with undue certainty of tho result of the election on Friday next. Yet it is impossible for us not to form an opinion on the issue, and as fav as it goes it is our duty to our readers to express it, It is not a glowing estimate formed in a moment' of enthusiasm; on the contrary, it is a sober, cold-blooded calculation, In Pahiatua, wo rather expect to see Mr Manisty beat the Government oandidate, Mr O'Meara. Many are of the opinion that Mr McCardle may, come to the front, but on the whole we feel disposed to place the Opposition candidate, whom we have named, at the top of the poll. In Mastorton for some time past it has boon evident that tho contest is a close one. At first it was said that Mr Cameron would be a good second, then he would be level with his opponent, aud now it is declared that he will beat him. The evidence of trustworthy experts in both the town and country sections of the electorate tends to show that Mr Cameron will beat his opponent by a substantial majority. i

In the Wairarapa a smart young Seddonian lias kicked up a good deal of dust, but when the dust settles down we expect to see Mr Buchanan again the representative of the constituency. The appointment of Mr Adam, Armstrong as Returning Officer has been a fatal blunder, which practically kills the Premier's ohance of defeating his political opponent, The Wairarapa, hitherto—and by the Wairarapa we now mean the great districtspreading from Featherston to Pahiatua—hns not of late had two members in the House pulling together. There is a glorious chance now of putting in threo to work harmoniously in the best interests of the Colony and of settlers generally, We liopo no effort will bo spared to convert this glorious chance into a glorious certainty, There will doubtless be surprises in the General Election and our forecast is a surprise for the Seddon party. We believe that the tide has turned against it, hns gathered impetus and is now about to wash away the most corrupt administrations that has ever ruled New Zealand, This is our forecast and we give it to our readers for what it may be worth. Once or twice we have been wrong in our estimates of l election results, bat as a rule we faavQ got bcou wido of tho mark,