The Evening Herald. THURSDAY, DEC. 16, 1875.

Wanganui Herald, Volume VIII, Issue 2656, 16 December 1875, Page 2

The Evening Herald. THURSDAY, DEC. 16, 1875.

We weio not surprised to hear that Mr McGuire had withdrawn from the contest for the Egmont seatjii'or by the annbuncement that Mr Ivess lid"d:, at once .determined to come forward* We'arc/pleased to find that the. former gentleman has seen that circumstances are not in his favor,.and that he could do no good hy contesting' the seat, whatever the result ofthe election might have been. lii years to come Mr McGuiro: will find ample reason for feeling: satisfied with ' the course he has taken.. So fay.'.-from the withdrawal being .calculated to injure him io the estimation of his felbw electors he will find that it will raise him, for he will be credited with discretion and discernment, which do not appear to form a prominent part in the character of the man who so readily picked up -what the other had abandoned as hopeless. Of course, Mr Ivess has as much right to stand as any other elector ; but if the result of his headlong action covers him with ridicule, he will have to admit that lie. has only himself to blame for allowing his vanity to lead him into a field for which, as the sequel will prove, a very large majority of the electors1 deem him -.entirely imfit. Shortsightedness on the- part of some ofthe small party of which Mr Ivess would like to establish himself the leader, is 'undoubted!/■" the, only cause why opposition .is offered, to Major Atkinson. We are gravely told that the present representative : has never done anything for his district, merely because he lias.not got up and spoken for this, that and the other. . It is entirely forgotten"-that asa ; member ! of the Ministry he'lias; opportunities' of attending to theavants of his constituents without, going before the House. Tilt- most absurd arg-umeht used against him- is* .that :he. is 'a Minister. We 'have been accustomed to look upoa this as the best; possible. proof of abilit} r in a (representative. Besides, were the inabilityof a Minister to work for his district admitted, and established as an indisputable fact, the consequences would be-; disastroiisi. Ministers would be regularly turn eel out of their seats in the House,at/each; general election. Able members would refuse to occupy seats"on the.Govern ment benches, on account"': of the inevitable consequences^ and we .would thus have themoderate lights adminisT tering the affairs of!the colony in place of the ablest statesmen. ■ - '• ■ ■■■ : '"■ The position taken up' by Mr .Ivess is not an enviable one. .. Firidiri"1 no one willing to incur certain 'defeat, he is prepared to run a muck without a single glance as to the probable.iconsequences. However, . we: confidently await the i-esult, and shall be surprised indeed if even a single 'polling- place does not return a majority for Major Atkinson. . . » ' -.\. To say that niost extensive preparations are being made for the Volunteer ; Sports on Boxing Day would give but a poor idea of the work that has been gone through since the subject was first started, or what is still before the Committee^ A large Committee of about thirty members has been formed, and this has been divided into nine sub-Committees, which will manage the work between them. ■ The Ist Committee is to have the management of Croquet, Archery, Cricket, Football, Quoits, etc. It consists of Major Noake, Dr Earle, Lieutenant: Watt, and SnbLieu tenant Ward. Arrangements ha ye been made for carrying on archery and croquet in a separate paddock, where the

players will not be interfered with in any ..way. .There will be an important Quoit tournament, as already there are about thirty-two players. Committee No. 2 has charge of jumping, hurdle racing, etc. No. 3, consisting of Captaiu Higgle, Sergt.-Major Carley. and Sergt. Cummins will look after tilting. No. 4 will make the arrangements for the Band, dancing, ; etc. It is controlled by Sergeant-Major •Bezar. - No.- 5 looks after the balance of sports, footraces, etc. It will also issue tickets for all entries and receive the fees. It consists of Mr J. E,. Sommerville, MiLeonard .Jones (Treasurer), Sergeant Anderson, and Mr George .Flyger. No. 6 has charge of decorations. It consists of Messrs Calders, .Chavanucs, Anderson, Flyger, Mills and Dixon. These gentlemen have some work before them. The first part will be to stretch a string of flags from the Post Office to the Rutland Hotel, while the whole side of the Town Belt will be decorated. Already there are some sixty flags on hand, while Messrs Anderson and Bain are in possession of a choice lot which are not likely to be surpassed. Committee No. 7 has charge, of advertising, correct cards, sale of booths, Aunt Sally, shooting gallery, etc. No. 8, consisting of Capt. Parkes, Capt. Neill, Snb.-Lient Ward, and Mr A. C. McDonald has charge of the gate;'The evening -will be . under the management of-the 9th- Committee,- which con-: sists of Mr li. Jones/(Treasurer), Bd^mn.: Gordon. Bdniaster King, and Mr J. Pawson, as Manager of the Dramatic Company. ' ■ The ' ground has been carefully arranged." The; flat races Avill come off in the first paddock, ; while other "enclosures are1 set? apart for various events. The ' Volunteers will fair in at the Rutland Hotel corner 9 a.m.,and will from there march to the ground, which, we may say, is. only about a mile from the.bridge. We, may anticipate the most successful day's sport ;we have, yet seen- in /Wangarmi. ;;; \

We were not far but in our calculations regarding the Wellington Mayoral Election, and give Hutchison and the party that, supported him due credit for their spirited action. Mr Gisborne had been ticketed on to a party which was certain, to be defeated, and as he did not take the trouble to deny that he got elected to the Education Board, of the Province on a different understanding than he now wished the public to believe, the latter has shown its opinion of him by defeating him on the first opportunity. But far greater significance than this attaches to the result. The unfavorable conclusion of the contest has convinced Mr Gisborne that his chances for the General Assembly in Wellington are small, and he has therefore signified his intention of withdrawing from the contest. We may fairly take this as an indication of the chances which another Wellington candi- ( date, Mr Travers, stands of being returned. Although it was rumoured a short time ago that this gentleman and Mr Gisborne had parted company, we are inclined to look upon it as either a mistake or a ruse. Mr Travera holds principles which are essentially the same as Mr Gisborne's/ and we"shall be'surprised if the Wellington public'is not of our opinion.

A neat capture was .made by Constable Spry yesterday (Wednesday). It appears that Mr Earle, one of the lessees of the wharves,, finding the weather on Tuesday . too hot to work with all his clothes,on,divested himself of his coat and waistcoat, ami, trusting to the proverbial honesty of the colonial, left them where they were when he went to his dinner. Buj; he had been watched by a yoath named Hodreu, who, when Mr Earle was gone, thought the clothes were,worth examining. In doing this HxKtren came across the. watch,', which, quickly found its; way, to his own pocket. The youth then departed, well satisfied with the result of his search. When Mr Earle missed the watch lie gave its number and; description to. the police. Constable Spry had noticed the youth hanging about in the neighbourhood on the clay the theft was committed, and cast about him to find his whereabouts.' He was not long before he found him lounging about as lie had seen him before, and as he did not seem shy, made up to him and asked him if ho could telllimi the time of day. The unsuspicious youth pulled but a watch and held it so that the face was turned away from the inquirer. But the lid reflected a small compass let into the-face, and the sight of it led to further inquiries. ilodren stated that he had found the watch near the Foundry, and did not know who it belonged to. In his possession were several/carpenter's rules, -which.this industrious youth had recently bought in order to do some amateur carpentering. The facts were sufficient to warrant inquiry, and Constable Spry put the young man'tinder lock and key. This (Thursday) morning he was sentenced to four months' imprisonment. ' ' ; Constable Hargood arrived from Marton per Rangitikei coach to-day (Thursday), bringing with him as prisoner a woman named Margaret King, who has been committed for trial on a charge of having uttered various valueless cheques. . \ A telegram has been received from Valparaiso announcing that a terrible fire has taken place at Iquique, Peru. Three-quar-ters of the town is said to have been destroyed,