Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established Quarter of a Century.] FRIDAY, JANUARY 5, 1900. THE OTAKI ELECTION.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 6434, 5 January 1900, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established Quarter of a Century.] FRIDAY, JANUARY 5, 1900. THE OTAKI ELECTION.

"Take off your shirt, I like to do these things thoroughly," said n knight of tlio road once upon it time, to a traveller—after be bad stripped him of bis coat, waistcoat iitnl trousers. Willi similar thoroughness the Premier has waylaid the Opposition party. Lust month ho stripped it. of its outer garments at the general election, and now in the Otaki nfterpiiiCG ho is (loiiiiiiiding its shirt. His colleague, the Minister of hands, complained that the Government were now too strong', and that il. would do well to bund over half a dozen of its members to the Opposition; but Mr Setldon will nor. give the Opposition a chance to secure even the Otaki seal, mid went up to Pithautaiiui on Wednesday last to barrack for his own parly. Perhaps the interference of the Premier in the Otaki election is due to his frequently expressed antipathj to lawyers, for is not Mr Morison, the Opposition candidate, n member of the legal profession ? Old residents will remember Mr Morison, when ho, us nyouth, si tidied in Mr A. U. IJuiiny's olliee in Church-street, and will recall bow be worked himself up its it speaker by a diligent attendance-at ihe Haslet'lon Debating Society of that day, A youth who is prominent in a debating society is not infrequently hoard of in after life as a moinbcr of Parliament or even as it cabinet minister. However Mr Setldon will not. let Mr Morison inlo the House if be can help it and in his Puhnulnnni speech gavo n sound reason why his own candidate, .Mr Field, should be returned. During the past three years be said £lo,ooo of government money had boon spent in opening up the district; a very inconsiderable sum fOl any progressive electorate in our opinion, lint of course the moral he wished to convey was that if the people of tlio olecluTiilo wanted another thirteen thousand pounds spent during the next three years they must vote his ticket. Electors seem to bo bought fairly cheaply now-a-days and the share of Otaki in the public expenditure during three years ought to be twice thirteen thousand pounds. It has evidently a choice between half a loaf and no broad from the Premier and may prefer the half-loaf. We do not know whothor the Premier is the prince of humbugs or thu king of jokers, During his two hours address at Palmutanui be is reported to have stated that a weekafter the general election wool went up threepence per lb, intimating that this obvious evidence of prosperity was due to himself. The remark was received with mingled laughter and applause, probably the Premier expected tho latter rather than the former, if Mr Seddon is responsible for the recent increase of value in this staple, be is also responsible for the miserable price at which it Ims been sold for the past year or two. Tho Premier and the Hon. James Carroll are now engaged in touring the Otaki electorate, and making speeches in the various centres of population. They ought to succeed in stripping the Opposition of its shirt, but Mr Morison will make a good light, and we trust that he will win. He is not perhaps getting fair play against the heavy Government odds which are being brought ai'ainst him. No doubt the Qtakt olectors would rotqi'tl him, if they were freo to choose their own member, but this is the last priviluge that the Government will permit them to exercise. It matters little to the Opposition party it' it should lose the Otaki goat. The little power

iI possesses is scarcely wuith kooping, and it. would bo almost boiler for its members to disbiiiid and under dill'urent conditions. Thorn is not much general iuloresl expressed UK 111 the result of lliu Oliiki ulout.ion.