THE LAST OF A RICH FARCE.

Wellington Independent, Volume XIX, Issue 2177, 9 March 1865, Page 3

THE LAST OF A RICH FARCE.

of PUBLIC MEETING OF MR MASTER ah SUPPORTERS. at Tre last act of what would have been a ri< farce but for the earnestness of some of tl , actors, was played out on Tuesday night, i >t BarT y' 3 M^et Hall. At eight o'clock, tht A being the appointed hour, a number of th supporters of Mr Joseph Masters met, pur " suant to adjournment, for the purpose of ea jj plaining certain proceedings that had bee: taken to secure the election of that gentle ' man aa Superintendent. Many present ha< come from mere motives of curiosity, or, per s hap 9 ,thiivkiug that the village Hampden fron c the Wairarapa would be on the platform B while the more youthful portion of the au. dience seemed determined, whether he ap > 1 5 eared or not, to have a " jolly lark." After t - tew minutes of expectation, enlivened by [ stamping and cat-calls, Mr Richard Barry > P^P? 3611 that Mr J * H. Marriott should take the chair, and the motion having been duly - seconded and carried, that gentleman accor- -) dmgly ascended the platform and seated him--3 v much di S nit7 in tlle P° st of honor. 4 Mr Barry at this juncture disappeared for a \ moment, but soon returned with a letter in » his hand, which he presented to the Chair- • man, and requested him to read it to the . meeting. The Chairman said it was not necessary he should trouble them with many introductory ! remarks. They all knew that a requisition had been addressed to Mr Joseph Masters by certain gentlemen, asking him to become a candidate for the Superintendency. Much misconception existed on the matter, and forward at the last meeting, nor ind T eed c Svul he present at this, and the gentlemen who had! been most active in adopting the preliminary measures to render his candidature a success, were now naturally anxious to explain their conduct and justify themselves before the public. For his own part he was not acquainted with the whole circumstances, but a letter had been put into his hands by Mr Barry, addressed more than a fortnight ago by Mr Masters to that gentleman, which he would now read to the meeting. The letter waa as follows :— Masterton, Wairarapa, Feb. 18, 18G5. Dear Barry, — I think the time haa arrived to make a stir. We need not fear Mr Borlase ; he will not give up a £1000 a year private practice and a chance of being Provincial Solicitor another £600 per annum for £800 a year. Wakelin, finding Hickson has no chance, has got Dr Welsh and Bunny to stir them up at Greytown, but most of those who held up their hands at Greytown would vote for mo. I authorise you to get my name put down as a subscriber to the Evening Post, and go to 50s the half of, the £5, I told you I would pay for advertisements ; advertise immediately, but do it economically. It will be a fine opportunity for the advancement of the new paper, if they will advocate the rights of the working class. Advertise a meeting of the friends o' Mr Masters for Thursday, and adjourn from week to week. We shall soon see the result. Con Croft and Patton have my instructions, tbey know what to do. My Committee, pro. tern., are — Mr Croft, Chairman, Mr Patton, Secretary ; Messrs Barry, Billman, J. Smith, G, Houghton, Mason, Howell, Manaill, Farmer, and any others you choose to add. I see a short article copied from the Nelson paper in the Advertiser, stating all the Nelson people want is an " honest man ;" if the Wellington people will say the sa me I think I have a chance. I shall not mind another £5 if we see we have any chance. Your's truly, Joseph Masters. P.S. — Go to the editor of the Evening Post yourself, tell him to send the papers to me by post for tho present. Read the enclosed letter to the editor ofthe Evening Post and ask them to print it ; if it requires altering or correction, ask them to do it. J.M. The reading of this extraordinary document was received with shouts, yells, and roars of laughter, which for a few moments prevented the Chairman receiving a hearing. When partial calm had been restored, the Chairman said he trusted no one would doubt the authenticity of the letter, or of the signature attached to it. He knew that the letter was genuine. Mr Richard Barry had been wrongly accused as being the author of a hoax. Nothing could be more unjust. Mr Masters had sent certain instructions, which Mr Barry and others had acted upon, and in short, there had been no hoax at all. The Chairman then resumed his seat amidst a perfect babel of sounds. Mr Richard Barry on rising, said there were some people present who didn't know " Dick Barry," or they would not treat it as a joke. It was no laughing matter, but a very serious affair. People had talked of Mr Masters candidature as a hoax, and said he (the Speaker) was having a lark, but those assertions were untrue. They had heard the letter read, in which Mr Masters asked his aid to get him made Superintendent, and he had frankly given that aid, as he would to any other honest trustworthy man. He liked to see the right man in the right place, and he would vote for nobody as Superintendent whom he did not think fit for the office. (Loud cheers, and cries for Con. Croft.) Mr Con Croft suddenly started up in thebody ofthe hall' andpro tested his entire innocence of ever having, either in thought, word, or deed, hoaxed , anybody in general, or Mr Masters in particular. He was then universally called to the platform, on mounting which, he said that he had acted bona fide under the instructions of Mr Joseph Masters. That gentleman had volunteered to contest the Superintendency, had instructed himself and others to take certain steps, had nominated a Committee to secure his return — (laughter) — of which he (Mr Croft) had been appointed Chairman. (Great laughter.) There was nothing to laugh at in all this. Mr George Billman was present and knew the truth of what he asserted. Mr Billman had written to the papers denying that he had any connection with the affair, but such a statement was altogether untrue. (The speaker used a much stronger and moro epigrammatic expression than this in contradicting Mr B.) He considered that the letter received from Mr Masters completely warranted all the steps which had been taken. (Cheers.) But what had been tho after con- ■ duct of Mr Masters ? Why, after writing this letter, underrating Mr Borlase, and proposing to stand himself, he went forthwith and wrote another letter to Mr Borlase, 1 saying that he would not oppose that gentlo--1 man, denying that ho had authorised the • proceedings in Wellington, and generally r throwing discredit on his warmest and most '> earnest supporters. He could not explain • such conduct, all he knew was that he had ■ acted sincerely in the affair, and that both • he and his colleagues would have scorned to j" get up an agitation, the object of which was I to split votes aud detach support from Mr Borlase.

I The Chairman here asked Mr Barry if h I had recoived the sum of £5 for eloctioneerin S. j expenses, mentioned in Mr Masters letter P j Mr Barry replied that he had not receivei •,1, 1 a single sixpence, but he, himself, would pa; Iwhat expenses had been incurred for adver tising, bills, and other things. He said this knowing that Mr Masters was too honest i man not to reimburse him. Nobody else appearing inclined to addresi tho meeting, some impatience was manifested land loud cries were raised that some gentle ■*" man should favor the company with a song, n The suggestion was not, however, adopted. ,- and the Chairman closed the proceedings by j remarking that the curtain had now fallen on * a farce in which human folly had been dis. * played to an extent seldom witnessed even on the stage. Luckily the burlesque was now I oyer, and the hero of it had retired from " view. The meeting then, after indulging in " I several rounds of shouting, yelling, and r cheering, dispersed to the bar to liquor. $ We have reported this meeting pretty fully r and accurately, because absurd though the whole affair may appear, it shows what strange . freaks ignorance and self-conceit combined , will induce a man to commit. Mr Joseph , Masters is a quiet industrious settler much liked by liis neighbors, and occupying a respectable position as a farmer in the Wairarapa. In that sphere he ia useful, but out of it perfectly ridiculous. Uneducated, bigoted, and without the slightest capacity to understand the simplest principles of political science, this man has actually had the impudence to think he can fill an oflice held for twelve years by Dr Featherston. Mischievous people have encouraged the preposterous idea, and as a result this unfortunate individual was induced to come before the electors and be made their laughing-stock EveMd WJ&. Theatre .some months ago. have been penetrated tfyMsM-***? 8 time, but jackasses, whether human or _W; ' have thick skins, so in this case we find Masters, after a brief interval, braying again as loudly as ever in the ear of his friend Mr Barry. After this last display we think the Wairarapa candidate may be allowed to frolic unheeded in his own pastures. Our opinion of his qualifications has been confirmed by recent events ; on one point only has it somewhat altered. We used to think Mr Masters stupid, but thoroughly honest. In fact a bluff profession of being " an honest man," such as he made in his letter, was his only recommendation. But we are scarcely so sure about this now. A man who could write that famous letter to Dick Barry, then turn round, jockey his friends, and pledge himself to support Mr Borlase, can scarcely hope to merit such a title.