DESPAIR AND A SUMMERSAULT

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11729, 2 December 1905, Page 5

DESPAIR AND A SUMMERSAULT

No doubt many of our readers have watched the desperate 'struggles of a fly, stuck in a pot of treacle, to extricate ite-'lf from its • unpleasant pradicumeut. ■ The present desperate wrigglings of the Chronicle remind us very much of the •efforts of the blue-bott I.*1 .* to escape from its treacly slough. Our contemporary, overflowing as it is with the milk of human, kindness, has frequently been graciously pleased to express its commiseration for the "Herald," and its sorrow at seeing so eminently respectable a journal as oursejves holding such dcplorabe opinions ac we do, and this notwithstanding the fact that, by some strange perversity of unkind .fate/ the men who do us the honour of. holding the same opinions as ourselves 1 have so often been returned to Parliament in,, preference, to those candidates who have voiced the. gospel of the Chronicle. Common, gratitude demands that we should now extend our sincere sympathy 'to ou: contemporary, and express our regrets at Seeing it in such an exceedingly unpleasant position as it now finds itself in. .For — let it be whispered— the Chronicle now findr itself confronted with a split in its owr ■ camp, and the united Opposition which it 1 waila for in yesterday's issue appears to 'be a gradually diminishing quantity. We heartily sympathise with the Chronicle ir» • the annoyance it feels' at- seeing the daily gathering strength of Mr Haselden, whe 'really should be seriously warned of the consequences of putting up such a strenuous fight against the Opposition journal's henchman, Mr Bassett. So great is the • Chronicle' 3 fear that the latter, whom it has been smilingly holding in view as a ' moral certainty for the seat, will lose the contest, that it is becoming positively ' frantic in its efforts to assure the electors that that gentleman is the most able man ■ in the five, and- like the bhxe-bottlo. in the treacle, its position daily becomes more 'hopeless. ' We repeat, we are nnfeignedly

sorry for th« Chronicle. It says, with a brave attempt at bluff, "Mr Bassett will win the seat. Of that we feel assured." And immediately after it puts in a pathetic plea for a, "solid and undivided vote" for its own candidate, who it assures us is approved by Mr Massey. In connection with which, we are indeed glad to see that our contemporary, even in the bitterness of its woe, has retained enough of its one-time- well known sprightliness and agility to execxtte a somersault that would do credit to one of, say, Fitzgerald Bros.' acrobatic artists. For our griefstricken contemporary, which only a few days ago roundly denounced the action of the Premier in "pinning the ribbon" on hi 3 own well-tried supporter, Mr Willis, is 'now found distractedly clamouring for support to be extended to a gentleman whom tli-e Z-eader of tli-e Opposition lias ticketed. By v*iiat process of reasoning it should discover such profound iniquity in the former ccso, while holding the latter up to the applause of the multitude we cannot imagine. Not so long ago it was holding Mr J. T. Hogan up to admiration as an able and fearless young man for having the pluck to speak his mind to the Premier, and to resist the latter's attempt at what the Chronicle was pleased to term dictation. But we wonder what the Chronicle would say if the strenuously fighting Mr Haselden were to have the audacity to stand up and lesont a command to the Conservative- electors from the Leader of the Opposition to cast their votes for Mr Bassett. Would it wish that touching fidelity which the members of the Opposition always display towards Mr Massey's leadership, commend the Leader of the Opposition for hi 3 attempt to bring his party to heel ; or would it jeer at him in the same unmeasured terms as it derided Mr Seddon's attempt to consolidate his own ranks? Or can it be that the Chronicle is out in its litlb calculation, and that its despairing wish is but the father of its modest little thought? What would it say if it discovered that, after all, Mr Massey found he could not do what the Chronicle says ho will do? What interesting •complications would arise! But why indulge further in speculation? As we have eaid, we feel really sorry for our contemporary, though our regret is tinged with not a littlo pleasure at finding that it still retains sufficient vitality to turn such a neatly executed flip in the air.