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OPINIONS ON THE LATE ELECTION.

(To tfie Editor of tlie Westport Times.) Sib, —The result of the polling on Monday last will excite regret in the minds of some on the Coast, it will afford a melancholy pleasure to others, and it will duck in shame the rosy partizans who sought, in the face of significant intelligeuce and sound reasoning, to carry with them, to ignominy the whole of the electors on this side of the Province. This humiliating defeat has placed the captains of Akersten's host and the host itself in a position that requires them to give hostages that they will never again fight so enthusiastically with their own shadows and be beaten, while there are real battles to be fought, and that with some show of right. I hear the stalwart supporters of Mr Akersten are now beginning to ask themselves the reason why they kicked up such a dust on account of this eminent man, and it is puzzling not a few of them to lay their hand on anything they can call, in moments of quiet retirement, a principle. Rumor is rife on the terraces, and one of the good things in circulation is that the thanks of Mr Curtis have been wired to an Akersten centre for valuable services rendered. If this is the case, it would seem that Mr Curtis (who, by the by, is looked upon after all as a desirable man) can enjoy a joke even amid bustle and excitement. On hearing this, 1 could not but unbend, and, then and there, I kicked up my political heels. I took good care that the revelations made at the meeting in the Masonic Hall, on Saturday night, should have due effect, and I registered for Gribbs, and the state of the poll at the Caledonian goes to show that Charleston deputations and Charleston newspapers must be consistent and candid if they are to have any influence with men of honesty, intelligence, and independence, and that bluster and bounce, whatever influence they may have in Westport, will not have the sway in this corner of the vineyard.— I remain, &c, P.T. Caledonian Terrace. [lt is not now the time to encourage correspondence on the subject of the election, but we make an exception in the case of a correspondent residing on the Terraces, as it is seldom opinion there assumes the form of print. Of course our correspondent is by this time aware that the supporters of Mr Gribbs, among whom he was, have also to a considerable extent been disappointed as to the strength of his

support ou the Nelson side. They have, however, the satisfaction of knowing that they were not misled—that they were not improperly directed—and that, had the contest been a close one, he was really the man to back. As it is, they have no better claim to wisdom of action than the friends of Mr Akersten—except this, that they did not " kick up a dust," as our correspondent calls it, but quietly voted, relying upon the information that, as between Mr Gibbs and Mr Akersten, and in point of numbers, Mr Gibbs was entitled to the preference, however small or even contemptible it might be. Amidst their disappointment, both parties have this source of mutual satisfaction they asserted the principle of opposition to Mr Curtis, however they voted ; and it is the existence of this principle which, no doubt, accounts for the unanimity of the electors of Charleston and Brighton.]

(To the Editor of the Westport Times.) Sir, —Permit me to draw your attention to the unjust tone and tinge of your paper of yesterday's issue. In your leading article you put to the pillory both poor Akersten and his supporters. Tou treat us as unworthy and misguiding. Upon what grounds ? Because the result of the poll has baffled all estimate and conjecture. It would not have been reasonable to condemn you, sir, for relying upon your " oracle." No doubt he was a tried and trustworthy correspondent. Mr Luckie should not be deemed unworthy because, buoyed up by hope, he overrated the chances of his man. I believe even Mr Curtis will be surprised by the result. Why, then, attribute crime where only miscalculation exists ? Eely upon it, sir, Mr Akersten feels disappointed enough. Tou need not charge him with foreseeing it. But as to the West Coast electors, we are defeated, feut without disgrace. We have shown that we act together. The votes accorded either to Gibbs or Akersten must be recorded as an earnest protest against the principles and adverse government of Curtis. The time will yet come when those votes will operate advantageously for us. It is known that the great bulk of our population are virtually disfranchised. It ia also plain that the non-producing and idle town of Nelson has had the power of overruling our whole district. How could we expect the result to be .otherwise under the circumstances ? i

Now, as to the terms which you have been pleased to use towards what you call a triumvirate, I daresay, if you reconsider them, you may agree with me that they are rather strong and sweeping. Not only are you unjust in your leader, but also in your report. Take, for instance, the last committee meeting; you make it appear that the decision come to by Charleston and Brighton was not obtained until after that meeting, while really the point at issue there was whether or not Westport should be pitted against Charleston and Brighton. On the sole additional evidence of Mr Lightband's telegram, the majority of the committee declared for the affirmative, but two of that majority ignored our functions from the first, and refused to be bound by our decision. The remainder agreed to be bound by the majority After the receipt of the replies from Barnicoat, Lightband, and Tasker, by what right did the majority ask me to be bound, when they rejected the terms of our compact ? In my opinion they were bound either to wait the reinaisamg answers, or renounce the right to rule. There are other points to which I would like to refer, but I fear to prolong this to an unpalatable length. I finish in good fellowship and fun, by protesting that nothing was advanced by the Akersten

committee which was not strictly " true and devoid of clap-trap." I hope the li 89 " of Gibbs's committee's names being published will free us from th.it allegation.—l am, sir, yours &c, E. J. O'Conor. Nov. 2, 1869. [Mr O'Conor is at liberty to hold his own opinion of the article in our last issue,, and to express it, as he very soberly does—in print. We daresay Mr O'Conor would, as a rule, very soon find fault with articles in the Westpokt Times if they had not a tone. Ft ir the tinge we are, of course, responsible. We are more concerned as to the accuracy of our reports, and, with regard to the correction Mr O'Conor makes, have to say that we were not aware that the result of the Charleston, meeting was known until after the meeting of the Committee. There might be other misstatements in a narrative based on mere outside observation.]

(To the Editor- of the Westport Times.) Sir, —I was much astonished on reading in your- issue of this morning that a private letter, written by Mr Elliot of Nelson to myself, was read and commented upon by Mr O'Conor at the public meeting held on Saturday evening last. As J have b( >en charged by some of the electors of Westport with a breach of faith, I shall feel obliged by your allowing me to state in your paper the manner in which the letter in question was taken from me by some of the supporters of Mr Akersten. I will premise that I am an invalid, hardly able to totter on my legs, and quite incapable of physical exertion, a fact, no doubt, calculated upon by these gentlemen. About eleven o'clock one night last week Mr Jarvis, my next neighbor, called upon mo representing himself and Mr Ealla to" be supporters of Mr Curtis. At his request I showed him a let ter that I had received from Mr Elliot, which he read and put into his pocket, at the same time opening the door to go. I begged him not to take away my letter, but he replied " Oh, it will be all right enough," and closed the door. At this time I was unable to rise from my bed. Next morning I wrote him a note demanding my letter, and received a verbal message to the effect that he would attend to it. On Saturday he called upon me again, and I expressed my indignation at his -conduct. He said he was sorry he coudd not let me have it, but Mr Falla had showed it to Mr O'Conor, who took it away him On Monday I saw Mr O 'Conor standing with others of Mr Alcersten's supporters near the Post Office Hotel, and I requested him to return me my letter. He said * What letter ? How do you know I have got your letter ?" I replied that Jarvis had told me that he had taken it from Mr Ealla. He then admitted it, but laughed at me and said he would return it when the election was over, after he had made use of it. I told him that people took advantage of my infirunity or they would not dare to treat me in so scandalous a manner. And to this time the letter has not "been returned. Such is the history of the letter, which, I think, calls for- no comment beyond that it is a fair sample of the mean manner in which several of Mr Akersten's supporters endeavored to secure his return.—l am, &c, John Ellis. Nov. 2.

[We must do Mr O'Conor the justice of stating that we hear he did not intend mentioning the name of the receiver of the letteir, although he read the letter itself. He did so, however, and our reporter took a note of the name as he would do of any other incident in Mr O'Conor's speech. It was also his impression—as it would he the impression of everyone present —that the letter had come hefore the meeting by Mr Ellis's own act, and that, if that were the case, he deserved to he exposed, on whatever side of politics he might be. The word Charleston was inserted because our reporter knew there was a Mr Ellis there, while he was ignorant or forgetful that there was a gentleman of that name in "Westport.]

Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WEST18691104.2.7

Bibliographic details

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 576, 4 November 1869, Page 2

Word Count
1,787

OPINIONS ON THE LATE ELECTION. Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 576, 4 November 1869, Page 2

OPINIONS ON THE LATE ELECTION. Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 576, 4 November 1869, Page 2

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