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Wellington Independent, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3901, 4 September 1873, Page 2

The votes and interest of the ratepayers of Lambton Ward were never such an object of solicitude as they will be this week. Between the exertions of the friends of Mr Buckley and those of Mr Dransfield the Beach ia in an effervescent state, and no doubt the soda aiui acid of conflicting opinions will keep the ferment alive till the day of the election. It is to be hoped, however, that nothing calculated to create ill-feeling, either between tho candidates or between the ratepayers, will proceed from either side. It is much to be regretted that the two candidates should have gone into antagonism. Without making invidious comparisons, it" may be safely

said that neither could very well t be spared. Both are eminently useful according to their respective idiosyncracies —the one ia forcible and suggestive, the other vigilant and combative. Were the other component parts of the Council as well balanced, the ratepayers might rejoice ' in- having struck the happy medium in their representatives. Any exuberance on the .one side would be corrected by the jealous caution of the other. The nature of the qualifications of the respective candidates is differently estimated by different people, and thoir opinion is often influenced by*circumstances for which no individual member may be responsible. As far as the affairs of Lambton Ward stand, the ratepayers have little to complain of. They have no cause for complaint with their late representative ; and if he has not associated his name with any remarkably beneficial work for the Ward, he has not neglected anything he owed to the Ward as a representative, while he has at the same time fulfilled his duties to the city to the satisfaction of the ratepayers generally. On this account Mr Buckley's friends ara a little sore that their candidate should be opposed, especially by one who has re- [ presented another Ward for eight years ; but it must be recollected that Mr Dransfield only came forward at the last moment, and at the extreme solicitation of a powerful section of the ratepayers of the Ward. Most 1 people, no doubt, will regret the neceasity of such a contest. It is nevertheless a perfectly fair one. Both candidates have alienated friends, and have sins to answer for; and whichever way the election goes, it will have the effect of teaching a useful lesson to each, which we hope will not be thrown away upon them. It is supposed by the friends of Mi* Dransfield —and they are very sanguine—that the plurality of votes possessed by the large property holders of the Ward will be exercised in his favor, and that that, combined with the inevitable influence of property, will be sufficient to secure the return of their candidate. The friends of the other, on the contrary, are confident that the numerical strength of the small property holders will return Mr Buckley. The interest felt in this election has led to some sharp tactics. That section of the community with which Mr Dransfield haß become unpopular put forward two candidates, ostensibly to contest Thorhdon Ward with Mr Borlase, but really with no intention of opposing the " old man." The object was solely to prevent his Worship from finding a haven of refuge there ; and as Mr Borlase's health, we are sorry to say, ia not very good at present, he will probably be asked to resign in favor of Mr Buckley, if elected, which he is certain to be. As the election stands it makes a very pretty problem. Here is a rising and popular young man pitted against an old and faithful servant who has identified his name with many valuable measures, -who Has given time and trouble for years past in the interests of the ratepayers, and who has gained an invaluable experience that can only be acquired by years of study. The one" has gained his spurs, while the other ia scarcely dubbed. Mr Murray introduced what he called a Disqualification Bill last night. We can't profess to have studied it,—but we understood from his remarks on it that it was intended to add a variety of conditions to those already existing, which, persons seeking election to the House of Representatives, must fulfil; as also to render members ineligible for appointments in the Civil Service for a certain period after resignation. In short, its object was to reduce the average intellectual calibre of the House to something nearer his own level than they atand at present. " Among the blind the oneeyed are kings ;" and it is, perhaps, possible, though certainly not easy to imagine, that there might be a House so emasculated by means of disabilities that even such a mental vision as the hon member possesses might entitle him at least to an aristocratic position in it. This, however desirable for himself, is not an end which, in the interests of the country we should wish to see attained. We were glad to observe that the discussion elicited from the Prime Minister!an expression of his opinion that the operation even of the present Disqualification Act was more mischievous than useful. The Government might well take into consideration, during the recess, the desirableness of repealing it. Experience has shown that the offices which public opinion will permit to be held in conjunction with seats in Parliament are those, and those only, which involve no relinquishment of the holders' independence. The utility of Disqualificatian Acts is almost universally given up by the recognised leader of opinion on such subjects now-a-days. Mr Murray announced his intention of calling for a division with the view of enabling the independent and incorruptible members of the House to record their votes along with him. When the time came, however, it was found that there was but one independent and incorruptible member, And that -was the hon member himself. "Faithful alone, among the faithless found," when the question was put, one raven-like croak alone announced that the abdiel of New Zealand legislators was still to the fore. We have had a curious illustration during the week of the idea that is entertained of a joke in the Legislative Council. A bill called the Ruapuke Island Annexation Bill, the object of which was, presumably, to annex the Ruapuke Island, was passed through the House and sent up to the Council. It came down again with amendments, and thereupon ! Ministers asked for its discharge from the Order Paper. Members asked why ? Mr Yogel explained that the fact was that the Upper House, at the suggestion of some funny member, had passed the bill, inserting a provision exempting the Ruapuke Island from its operation !