THE The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI- WEEKLY. FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 1881.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, Issue II, 17 June 1881, Page 2

THE The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI- WEEKLY. FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 1881.

The following leader was published by as yesterday :—• The electors of the Inangaliua will be called upon to-day to return a [candidate fo represent them in the House of Assembly, for this, the'^last 'session of the present Parliament. The fact that'there is but one session to serve, and pro bably a short one, would be thought tc i. make the present contest, of little moment 0 to this districted this would no doubt be the case, but for one thing, and oce - thing only — the question of railway]communication. So far as we are able to see. outside of this one subject, there is posi* . tively nothing in the election to excite } tlie interest of the inhabitants. As to all j that has been said upon the question ol q /Education, we cannot in conscience -•ree""?ard if^Ss otlterwiseTthnn the fiieresi n froth. But the question has been drawn info the struggle for purposes which can i;e well understood, and it will be for the electors themselves to say what real - bearing it has in their opinion upon the platform of the respective candidates. There is, as we take it, but one is*ue to goto the electors today, and itis'unque* , tionably that of the East and West Coast Railway, and in this regard we ask the electors to seriously consider ooe fact. Mr Weston, it is admitted on all t sides, occupies the position of the very head and *froyt of the railway agitation. * As Chairman of the Promoters Corarait« ' miltee in Christchurch, be has worked as 3 only a man could work whose heart and 1 soul was in the movement. He has twice I interviewed the Premier on the subject, c and on all sides has come to be regarded ) as the one recognised exponent and adk vocate of the scheme. Well, what must be the conclusion to the Ministry should he be rejected by the electors tosday — simply it will be regarded as a convincing proof that the inhabitants on this side of the Range do not endorse his exertions in the past, and do not attach that value to the undertaking which he and his fellow workers in Canterbury have all along so strenuously claimed for it. There is no possible'escape from this position, and it is for this reason that we ask the eleo r torg to regard the present hour as the real turning point in*the destiny of the West Coast. But the evil of Mr Weston's defeat would not end where we have already pointed ou^, for iv the event of the vote of the constituency going against him, be would at once wash bis hands of the railway movement, and in the face of such a significant expression of public . opinion onfthe West Coast, his example would be followed by Mr Wickes and the othprs there whose efforts, together s with the important Christcburch influ* ence already enlisted on behalf .of the undertaking, would be for ever sacri« ficed. This is the light in wbicb'we, in all seriousness, put the issue to the electors, and we ask them to weigh the situa» tion well, and; not allow themselves to be " blinded by any false reasoning. Already * an attempt has been made to throw dust in the eyes of the electors by concealing the real i«sue to be tried to-day behind a clond of absurd generalities, which have as much real beating upon the present contest as they have upon the recent eclipse of the moon. But this flounder- - ing about in search of a peg upon which to hang an argument in favor of Mr FitzGerald's candidature, is after all the surest test of the weakness of bis cause. Not one word can be said in favor of his cause other than that be bis so much Ministerial deadweight sent down , here for election in order to enable the I Government to more effectually resist . the claims of the Goldfields. But the electors have to bear in mind that the ' basis of the new representation system will be fixed at the present session, and as Mr'FilzGerald hails from a" purely I agricultural district, where the interest of the long-suffering sheep«owneris paramount, it can te quite understood what amount o f consideration this coDslitu* ' ency is likely to receive through his intercession. But as it is impossible for his supporters to advance one single argument why the elpctoi-a should selnct/ Mr FilzG-eraicl in , preference fo Mr Weston, it'Ja hardly necessary for"ns to point out ai; greater length why they should not.. Tlie one reason alone the railwny — furnishes an all-snffioient argument against Mr Fitzgerald, and to compare the merits of tba two candidates in regard to this one question is io insmlfc i:be intelligence of the community. Euf. it will have been observed that no attempt has yet been n,ade to draw any such comparison. Instead of this we are trpated to a r/iosf-. tearful Recount of fhe evils of the 3a(e Govmiroenf, the picture drawn being hardly less harrowing in its details than the description of the wreck of the Tcrarua. Eufc it will be seen that i]\\* is merely drawing a herring fteros? the scent, but the oloHors will not be deceived by rnch unmiHjated buldmlaab. The candidates have both ber-n before the plpclor.i; and tho choice is not l:avrl (o mate, Mr Weston poseosßP? evpyy quanii/icotjon that, tho constituency could desire, -whilo in the caoo ofliis opponent the vott revise is flic case. For yenr.-i people hc-vc Imvo brim lirinq in tlie hope of on? clfiy * < b-.r fl v!.ihv:iy v;iv . rice! th''Oi!:-:li from Chri -fcluuvh ; ii in ad* mitf-'-d on all sidsn fh: : f ihn pmspccla ..f-wi-. n. wjrJc nevrrjonkerl go iv7i:'-.i?!M'.' ;^ :];<•-,■ .-h } ;>!■ present ♦uric, ft'i ! 'Ow ;■!■>.- 1 : ■'■ !•,.;■; :•>■•-.( oi :i. '••»■•: H v, >:■';(■, vi'Miin iirusp, it vr. 'sM ' ■ v^wm hh>[.

nesa to Mast every hope of its accomplishment by rejecting (he candidature of the only man who has'evcr yet given substantial proof of his desire to help it on. The fate of the railway is therefore in the hand? of the electors (o-day. The ques!ion!will be'settled yea 1 or nay in the present Parliament, and we therefore call upon every elector in the com- • munity to approach the polling»booth today with a true sense of the importance of the occasion, and to discharge his duty to himself and the public at large by casting his , vote for the tried and true friend of the con- [ stituency— Thomas ShailerjWeston.