GREY VALLEY JOTTINGS.

Inangahua Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1264, 27 April 1883, Page 2

GREY VALLEY JOTTINGS.

■• '- « At last tho Valley has been favoured with a visit from Mr Shaw and his political goslings. A f ter perusing his Reefton speech, and likewise listening to his political exposition, it is not a difficult matter for an elector to discover what kind of a political stew Mr Shaw is attempting to feed the electors with, and make thorn believe that it is a good, wholesome dish. The dish might tempt politi cal goslings to paddle in, but it will take something better to satisfy old political ganders. Mr Shaw's speech can be safely compared to poor house soup— a gallon could be boiled down to a pint— and then it would neither have sufficient strength or flavor in it to make it palatable. There can be no doubt in the mind of any intelligent elector what little game Mr Shaw aims at. In the first place, he is the pet of the present Government, who are adverse to gold fields interests on the whole. They certainly give now and then a little bit of a sweetner to the gold-fields, to | keep them sweet for an occasion like tho present, when they wish to secure a seat for a friend. The Government, to allow their, friend an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, kept back the writ for several weeks, to enable him to win his cases in court, and his case in the electoral arena. Strange to say the measures that he does at all dabble iv are Government measures, brought into the House by members of the Government. \\ hat makes the Government so anxious to return Mr Shaw for the Inangahua scat is simply, they require his vote to

keep them in power next session. Although Mr Shaw rails against measures, and the way goldfields arc treated in general, still he is pledged to give his support to the Government that is directly responsible for the evils that he is trying to make capital out of. Mr Shaw's statement that a sum of money voted for works on the goldfields was unexpended merely for the want of asking for is pure bunkum, as it i-, well-known, that in spite of the solicitations of both the member for the district, and the County Councils, the Government that Mr Shaw is pledged to support, refused to expend the money on works that are urgently required. Mr Shaw's remarks on the unexpended money on goldfields, looks like a snigger at Mr Weston, it will take better logic than Mr Shaw can put forth to affect the views of Mr Weston's friends in the Inangahua electorate. On railway communication, Mr Shaw blows the Government trumpet splendidly. He makes no mention of the big swindle that the Government are trying to work, all to the benefit of the East Coast, and of course leave Keefton out in the cold Mr Shaw ignores Canterbury in his discourse on railways, and that is to be expected, as his views are so thoroughly Wellingtonian, that nothing good can come out of Canterbury. Now .1 ask any-Reof ton elector,- —hither Wellington or Canterbury benefits Reefton most 1 Railway communication with Canterbury would provide Reefton with I cheap food supplies. Canterbury and. i Otago have supplied a large amount of hard cash that has made Reefton, and kept it afloat. Now, what benefit does Reefton get from Wellington. In the first place, Wellington takes away a large amount of revenue and returns very little back again, whenever there is an opportunity like the present, Wellington sends a political "Carpet Bagger" with his bag well stuffed with promises, simply to gull the electors. Mr Shaw's experience as Warden on the Coast, gained him the reputation of being a smart man — the country is full of smart men. It is politicians that are wanted and it is plain from Mr Shaw's address that he is not one. Mr Shaw in his address goes in for abolishing the gold duty, and the Government to find a substitute for it. I will inform electors what the Government, that Mr Shaw is in favor of did in that matter. Mr Rolleston, the Minister of Mines refused to take charge of the Gold Duty Abolition Bill, and in a speech in Hansard now before me he opposed abolishing the gold duty and all the Ministry opposed the Bill. It however passed the Lower House, but by the influence of the Government it was thrown out in the Upper House. Can Mr Shaw I have the assurance to think that he will convert the Government to his ideas ? He has announced in answer to a question that he believes in them, as they are the best Government for the country. Servants never can convert their masters and it is plain to be steu that Mr Shaw is a very obedient servant to the present Government. Mr Shaw's answer to a question put to him regarding his views on the Education Act are worth putting in a frame. He says that he has two opinions about that subject, one a private one, and the other a public one. Such an admission from a y candidate to men possessing common intelligence eclipses anything that has come under my notice. I wish electors to consider what Mr Shaw would do if he was returned to Parliament ? would he act on his private opinion or on the public one, perhaps he would act between the two, and everyone is aware of the fate of any one who attempts to sit between two stools. To find out the value of a candidate for Parliamentary honoijs who has two opinions on measures important to the electors is .a very simple matter. Take a piece of chalk and write the two figures to denote 10, carefully observe the figures for a second, then obliterate the figure 1 which will leave 0, then you have the correct value. I am Ac, A Voice from the Grey Valley. April 21st. [ P.S. — I have to announce that the Grey Valley is again favoured with a visit by a mounted official of the Shaw Scrip Company whose previous trip to the district is now a matter of history. He looks well, evidently the company has reinstated him again, his mission is to convert the heathern and if so he is in the wrong part of the country to meet with much success. Who pays the piper is the rub. A well known Reefton worthy strted the other day that the pipers paid for their own music. Electors do you believe it ? There is a good deal of quacking going on among the goslings, a sure sign of premature incubation. From the appearance of things in general, one would be inclined to believe Mr Shaw's unexpended goldfields vote has found its way to the Coast at last, but not to build bridges nor yet to make roads with, bnt - (To be continued in my next.)