The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday Morning
Saturday, November 16, 1889. WANTED—A MAN.
Be just and tear not; Let all the ends thou aim’st at be thy country’s, Thy God’s, and truth’s.
The East Coast Electoral District is sadly in need of a competent man to represent it in Parliament. There are now two candidates in the field, to both of which there are strong objections. Mr .Arthur, who was the first to announce his candidature, himself acknowledges that he has not all the qualifications necessary in a Parliamentary representative, and the other candidate—although we may be sure he would never acknowledge it—is not the kind of person that would do any great honor to the district. We are therefore in the awkward position that unless some more suitable candidate comes forward, the district will perhaps not be as well represented as it has been in the past, a representation which a number of the electors consider not sufficiently worthy of such an electoral district. There must surely be many persons who could ably represent the district if they would consent to come forward. Mr C. A. DeLautour, as a correspondent suggests, if he could only have been prevailed upon to re-enter the political arena, would at least have had a fairly successful career as a Par. liamentary representative to recommend him. But the selection of a representative need not be restricted to former members of Parliament. It would of course be useless to mention the names of any not likely to come forward, besides which the weaknesses of the present candidates in comparison with others must be apparent to the electors generally. If, however, the best men are content to put up with the evil of being governed by their inferiors it explains why the New Zealand Parliament has fallen into such ill repute during late years. There are at present no great policy measures agitating the minds of the people, anti it therefore becomes absolutely necessary that the personalty of the Parliament should be the best that the country can furnish, lest inferior men, political quacks, and faddists with axes of their own to grind, should, for want of something better to do, degrade Parliament into a channel for furthering their own private and selfish schemes or interests. For instance, if Mr Rees were returned,—a highly improbable event, however—we might very well assume, upon his own statement that he has not yet abandoned his ide# of disposing of the estate of the Zealand Native Land Settlement Company, that he would use his position In Parliament to overcome Sir Harry Atkinson’s aversion to treat his (Mr Rees’) great scheme or mission as a State affair. We do not express any opinion as to whether Mr Rees should have _ been backed by the Government, but simply, use the instance as an illustration of the disadvantages of electing one who might be supposed to have an axe to grind. There is time even yet for a good man to come forward, and we console ourselves with the fact that if no other candidate appears, much harm cannot be done in one short session, and when the general election comes round, opprtunity will be given of having the district wel| represented. With only Messrs Arthu r and Rees to choose from, we have littl e doubt as to which the electors will selecj
It would be premature for us to institute a comparison between the two men, until it is certain they will be the only candidates. When the proper time comes the electors will find us supporting the candidate who is likely to most 'worthily represent the district, whether he be a sheepfarmer, a lawyer, or anything else, and whether his home be in the district or out of it.
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Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 378, 16 November 1889, Page 2
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635The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday Morning Saturday, November 16, 1889. WANTED—A MAN. Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 378, 16 November 1889, Page 2
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