The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning. Saturday, November 29, 1890. IS IT A HOAX?

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume IV, Issue 538, 29 November 1890, Page 2

The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning.

Saturday, November 29, 1890. IS IT A HOAX?

Be just and fear not; Let all the ends thou aim’st at ba thy country’s, Thy God’s, and truth's.

People were wondering what IXIr Gannon was up in Gisborne for a few days ago, but the following in the Napier News probably explains: — F. Cassia, Esq., Secretary Liberal Association, Napier. Sir, —We notice with great pleasure that Mr Gannon is a candidate in the Liberal interest for the representation of the Napier electorate in Parliament, and on behalf of the Liberal party in this district we earnestly hope that in the! interest of the masses you will be successful in securing his return. Mr Gannon has been a consistent supporter of the cause of Liberalism for years, and we feel assured that should jthe party succeed in effecting his return to the House they will find him an able and energetic representative, If we can be of any assistance our services are gladly placed at your disposal. In the meantime, with most cordial wishes for success in the^oause, —We are, Eir,| yours faithfully, L. J. Droitaoy.

Chairman Liberal Ccmmiitee, Gisborns. Possibly the above may be a hoax, seeing that the wrong initials are given to Mr Dickson. At any rate, if it be genuine, it is news to us, although we have time after time applied for information as to what was being done by the Committee,, and were under the impression that we had been kept fully posted up. Now that we have this information from Napier—assuming it to be correct —it will not be less displeasing, and we venture to say that it will not be well received by those whom the Committee represent. To say that Mr Gannon . has consistently represented the Liberal Party sounds strangely when contrasted with the political history of Poverty Bay for the past few years. The consistent “ Liberalism ” of Mr Gannon has been to split the votes and get the Conservative candidate elected. He was successful, by splitting the votes, in nearly letting Mr Locke beat Mr McDonald ; subsequently he split the votes against Mr Rees, and let Mr Locke get in, and later on he split Mr McDonald's votes and let Mr Andrew Graham in. So that, although on one occasion he retired and went off to the Bay of Islands, there also to be defeated, he can take all the “ credit ” for having on nearly every occasion helped the other side to keep a Liberal candidate out of the House. In local matters he has a record about which more may be thought than said. He was the original mover in the agitation to make the Waiapu a separate County. That County’s rate list now contains 21 names, inchiding Whitmore, Arthur, Ormond, Henderson, Somerville, "White, Brown, and T. N. Williams. On the Harbor Board he worked hand and glove with a staunch Conservative, Mr Chambers, and was never tired of abusing those who protested against the way in which the money was being spent. If his bankruptcy has “ whitewashed ” him in a political as well as in a commercial sense, then politics must have come to a low ebb in Gisborne. We can quite understand a man going bankrupt through some misfortune, and still retaining the confidence of his fellow-men by his efforts to make good the loss of his creditors ; but there are bankruptcies which may mean “ whitewash,” but certainly do not mean “ purification,” If the testimonial quoted is not a hoax, then we strongly protest against it. Unless a disclaimer is made there will be such a split in the party here as will greatly prejudice the chances of Mr Kelly, and there is no doubt that gentleman’s opponents will try and make use of it against Mr Rees and other candidates. If Mr Gannon were again nominated for the East Coast hundreds would rather not vote at all than vote for him, and it would be ridiculous to recommend to the Napier people, On behalf of the libera! Party, one whose candidature would be laughed at in our own district, Until there is proof of the genuineness of the testimonial, we prefer to believe that there must be some mistake, because the Committee would not take upon itself thtr responsibility of such a recommendation without calling a private or public meeting of the adherents of the party, especially as there is such a strong feeling in the matter. There would, indeed, be no need for privacy of any kind, for if there was unanimity in supporting Mr Gannon, the more widely that was known, the better it would be for the candidate’s chances.