THE HEATHCOTE ELECTION.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume I, Issue 52, 25 April 1874, Page 6

THE HEATHCOTE ELECTION.

The electors of this suburb of Christclmreh have recently earned for themselves a disgraceful notoriety. The majority uf this redoubtable constituency have rejected a candidate, for a seat in the Provincial Council of Canterbury, who 'is a statesman, a scholar, a gentleman, and an able and eloquent speaker ; and elected, instead, nobodies. Under the heading — nobodies — it is not our intention to include the gentleman who stood at the head of the poll, Mr Montgomery. With one reservation, he is everything we could desire. But what "we mean is, that this constituency of Heathcote has selected as its representatives in the — well, vestry of the Province men whose celebrity has not travelled beyond the confines of Heathcote, in preference to a statesman who wns, fur nearly a decade of years, Premier of the Colony, and who possesses talents that would secure him a prominent position in any .egislature. But observe the reason of this preference. The Hon. Mi Stafford, of whom we are speaking, had the manliness, the justice, and the misfortune to declare himself in favor of fairplay and religious liberty as regards Catholics. This upright declaration of an honest man rendeied this old public servant odious in the eyes of the Heathcote constituency. His advocacy of justice to his Catholic fellow colonists, caused hi? talents to be ignored, and all his previous services to be

forgqUtpp.; ,I<n tfye bittjErries9 ,|Of its opposition .to schools, the ' Lytteltdn *Tiiiies ' condescended 1 t^'UTrwdrth^ surinisjea apd-groui)ille,s§ .^harg-es against Mr Stafford in ofd^r toiVifuceJjhe.HeaWwter^tors tb'^Bage^u^^i^gßStM; Catholic ffeH'Vw dolbnists, and return jn^n..pjedgeg; tq p^pe^-; at 6 'tfye 'pluT)de]f of ft ()feople f \vhose only crknefiis — that -they: ace deWriiiin^cl. to 'rear" 'Mir" cMliren in thVGh'fistiaii and. I ,Ga'thb^ lie religion', and t.tp^o, their oest to ' ma : kß', thfen^ loyal'^nd peaceable suhjects, and good members oisociety. " To 1 what lengihs wilJ; hotll»li«d prejudice! Arid ftiseiisate: Jfate; Jeadimjea-J; In writing thus, W-tfeatf that we aflre not r ipromoting the political interest of Mr Stafford. To be thought to be even favorable tojustice to Catholics is the worst possible Tetfim* mendation to. almost any New Zealan^' cohst^til'e^cy^ 0 ''fhfe NOrEoiperjrcny.is as potent in this wlppy -^rtica{a,r[y t lm ! \%e sott^ljetnr provinces— asit ever was in the. old country ,^eve;i, in'tbe worst days. It was' for this reason that we did- nc/t. «Uire t» ,i)&y oue word in reference to the recent 1 Dtiirtedin 1 ejection. -We feared lest pur opposition to Mr BartoW Mfght have ; enabled that gentleman to appeal to Prqtes't^iit '•' p^e.-. judic^B, and secure his election beyond the possibility, of*, a doubt. We did not oppose him,H>herefoie, le%t > 'we- r utight thereby incur tliej responsibility of beihg insttum<entlil in returning (him, • •We are tmc quite sure, ther<-fore, that in sayipg even a few- truthful words hs to Mr Stafford, we are not-rather disobliging him than otherwise. But he is a public' man, and consequently public property. The liberty, therefore. which .we take is our right. It is our business to speak the truth, 'Mid when education is concerned, to speak the tru_th at allhazirds. Seeing, therefore, that Mr Stafford is ; one~ the foretnpst one- of"' 'our public men who has had the courage and the honesty to declare himself on the side of truth and justice in the Education controversy, it would be both ungrateful and unjust on our part to neglect to make public recognition of his services. What we have written may prove an obstacle to Mr ;>tafford'S election elsewhere and on a future occision ; lut as evil is not to be done that good may flow from it, so justice is not to be denied, because adcldentally an injustice may follow. Right reason teaches tbAt honor is to be given where honor ia due ; and the Catholics of New Zealand have not so many friends" that they can afford to ignore suc'i a friend as Me Stafford, at c considerable expense to himself, has proved himself to be.