TROUBLES BEGET TROUBLES.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 464, 7 June 1890, Page 2

TROUBLES BEGET TROUBLES.

A nice mess promises to be the outcome of Mr Arthur’s election to the House of Representatives. There was never a time when it was more necessary for the district’s representative to be in Wellington in good time for the session. The position of the district in regard to harbor matters requires to be treated in no light fashion by the member representing the district. He ought to be in Wellington even before the preliminaries begin, and make it his special business to try and have a personal interview with every member of the House, fully explaining the whole position of affairs, so that there cannot possibly be any misapprehenension, which undoubtedly still exists to a great extent. When a member hears the subject just casually mentioned in the House the probabilities are that he will rise and, in his ignorance, treat the subject as though it were to be classed with the Taranaki affair. By a frank personal explanation beforehand we feel sure that every member who is at all inclined to listen to reason would give every assistance to the East Coast representative if the Government withdraw from their semi-pledge, which they now seem inclined to do if there is any chance of incurring hostility by it. But it seems that the past history of the district is going to repeat itself, in a form quite as bad as hitherto if slightly differing from it. Mr Arthur has his own private affairs to attend to, and he has now no choice but to go through with what he has begun. Mr Justice Edwards has informed Mr Arthur that his attendance will be necessary during the hearing of the Tokorflaru case, and even were he willing to sacrifice private interests, he can hardly act discourteously to the Commission, for the latter would very soon find means to remedy that state of things. Nor can we, in this instance, blame Mr Arthur himself. He could hardly be expected to foresee the delay that has arisen, and any blame there may be is no more than we charged Mr Arthur with when he was before the electors as a candidate—that being so mixed up in native land matters he should not have offered himself for election. But a small majority of the electors decided otherwise, and now seemingly the penalty, whatever it is, must again be borne. It is too late to do anything in the matter beyond trusting to chance. The district has already been shamefully snubbed by the Government, and careless writers have tended to convey a wrong impression through indulging in comments befor acquainting themselves with the facts, and now we find that our member cannot possibly be in Wellington in time to try and remove the wrong impression created. Such are the misfortunes of the East Coast, and we can do no more in the matter than hope that all will come out right. Perhaps a public meeting of the harbor ratepayers might be called and a private citizen be deputed to go down to Wellington, but even yet many ratepayers seem not to have been aroused to the seriousness of the position, and the old policy of “ drift on ” will probably still be adhered to.