UNDER THE MICROSCOPE.

Manawatu Times, Volume V, Issue 178, 7 December 1881, Page 2

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE.

BY "MAGGUFFIN." * — ; j& cixela" amang ye takia' notes,. 1 Jin' faifcli he'll preub 'em.

Popular favcr is a fickle thing; and public opinion — particularly m political matters — a kind of a thermometer,, easily effected by passing events,, and capable of blowing hot and cold m almost the same breath. I need not go-so^far as the days of the Great Cardinal;, or even refer to the Great Pro-consnlbyway of illustration. I will come much nearer our own day from the one, and descend the ladder of eminence from the other, ana take a much mo^e humble subject for my example — the lowest candidate for the J Wellington Mayoral Chair. But two short yea- 8 1 - ago* and' he would be a bold man indeed, who woulU " dar sneeze at the People's William." Larry Bourk-e, the anointed of Kilmore* when* surrounded by his three thousand and; three shillelaghs, never represented tbe vox popttli as did Sweet William-, tbe woiking manVebampiom It was ther* rank treason* to> even hint that Hutchinson was merely human : his glamored^ aoV mirers had placed him on a- pedestal? far above his fellows, and his tenure- of the Chief Magistracy might have led him without egotism to apostrophise his brother magnates m other cities, whose municipal careers bad's only to be ephe-meral^,in-the language of the poet— Mfen may corns, and men may go. But I go on for erer. The seme is changed. The Chronicle is-deul; and Jock, the hero of a hundred fights, deposed. The thunderbolts forged by bis' band; which stirred the masse* to action,. soil demolished bis opponents, are now bat matters of history, and bereft of iris sturdy henchman and worthy lieutenant, Sweet William is the "People's Willian*.". no longer. But if tbe unfortunate liutchinson has received his congPy. the greatest cut is m- the way m which it has been- given, and .the maa for whom h%> ha* been- thrust aside. George Fisher* f: a name synonymous with, bounce and bathos, froth and fume, bile and Billingsgate.. A man whose nomi nation orginated m a joke, and whose candidature- w«s considered a huge farce,. has been* borne to land on the waves- of popular favor y while the quondam idol of the people sank struggling m ?be breakers The lesion is a suggestive one, teaching that popular favor is as changeable as the weather, and those who>seek>it must be prepared to play at see-saw-*— to-day they enjoy a seat on the elevated end of tbe plank; to-morrow their opponent at the other end smiles sardonically as their beam bumps upon mother earth with a crash. The People's Willianvlies prostrate trader the wheels of the municipal coach, .whileFisher, the despised 7- Fisher the- reviled-; Fisher, against whom each man's hand was supposed to-be raised, and* against whom no tongue ever ceased! to- rail, has plucked tbe reins of: the civic coach from, all comers, and hencefoitb it will"., be tooled along under his official' guidance.. There i«» nothing so succeeds like success, and ,tfie r eare many to be found who* but. ■ ef?bt days ago ridiculed the preteritions of *■ that fellow Fisher," now bow before the new light,, and shout, "the King is i dead ; long live the King,"—" Hutcfiin- 1 son is played" out ; Fisher is the mati for Mnyor.*** But such is life, dear^boys. : One man's meat ift. atrother- man's fnr^nn. and vf'ae versa? Popular favor' which has proved go disastrous to the municipal cawr of Wellington's Mayor, has turned a full battery of affections upon the hon. Walter Johnston, and the Postmaster-General should m future adopt as bis motto, " Resurgam." Oh his last electioneering tour he encountered' nothing hnt long faces, sullen looks, severe cate f h ising and censorious remarks ; but m bis case, also, the scene »£. changed', although the present is a very pleasing contrast to tbe last. Tn ,1878 r he had the unusual privilege of witnessing bis own funeral m this very town, a mourning cortege arrayed m all the funeral trappings on the way to bury all that rem lined of tin political' career ;and now, Hke tbe phoenix he has risen from his ashes with a firmer bold upon the constituency tban-ever. This tirae;tbere h.«ve a'so been processions, but they have h?en ofa very different character from those bitberlo witnessed. The drum is no longer /nn fftl-d and" the clashcof'tKe cyrannls h«s a joyous ring about it. Last time Mr. Johns! on certainly scored a victory, but the contest waaakeenone, and the win mo t ciose. He won the battle, but the result brought the reverse of pleasure to the people of Upper Manawatu, and the cfinsen representative was allowed to take his departure without a single word of congratulation. This time he is serenaded at his hotel, escorted to the station by &■ torchlight procession, wlule the martial strains of " See tbe Conquering Hero comes." float upon the evening breezes, and he is treated to three cheers aa^the train moves off. To those who have read of the fate of " The People's William," I will say — " Look on that picture ; and ; on this."* TKe members are up, and there is weepin gr. and wailinw, and gnashing of teeth ra the new Borough. The jibes anid jeers hurled at Mr Macarlhur, hate, like curses and chickens, gone back to roost ; and the Higgins crowd and its imported organ are covered with shame. v Egged" on by bis unscrupulous tutor, Mr Higgins has found a "marea nest," but it is not exactly the one m which he fondly hoped to nestle ; while not even the impudence of the J. ofR. can> muster up a squeak from the imported' organ-. How now, Sir Oracle ? We have had your jibes and jeers ; what about your joy anil jubilation ? Is that the only end which the paper with the enormout circulation and powerful influence can effect— ruin and ridiorule upoa the «ttfor. lunate irha it

fcimple enough tor receive tfce Agis of its : protection. Higgins, beware, if you ever wish to preside at the Council table, sever your partnershi p, and rttn upon j youf merits as an honest, zssn. Beraeraberthat blackening an adversary will not necessarily make you the brighter ; aui if you herd with scabby sheep if you do not become yourself infected^ you will still not be allowed to mix with those which are known to be clean. Yon have made a false .step > •retrace it, and keep aloof from the upas tree under whose branches you have taken shelter, and whose poisonous breath has been so .far so disastrous to you. As for the 1 Oracle himself. It is well that he was the common decency to hang nis head and be dumb and silent as the grave over the late elections.. I notice that he has published his Confessions- like another St. Augustine^, the phb> of which is that hith^.to he Bas been a terrible I , but he intends- turning' ■over a new leaf m the future. For the 'safte of the weak, defenceless, and unprotected, I am-Sflad to hear it; but lam ,very much afi\_M that his late upset has much to do with his conversion, and.it isacaseof When fcii c devil was sick, ; The devil a saint; would ba ' T - ■ When fhe ' devil got well, \ Tie, devil a saiat wasJub , My word, won't Chantry each it}, snd quite right too- To think of him writing about the' Postmaster-General as- Mr, Jolmson— Juhnsou without the T. Why. its v. pardonable, and should be punished with a loss of at least six month's Government advertising.. All I wonder at, is that the sacrilegious scribe did not refer to our Walter as "a party by the name of Johnson." And this- from-" the Government organ too, which is sap* .posed to. know not only, the name/s, but also the godfathers and 1 gossips of alt the Ministerial olive branches. It is a .sign of the Times' when .the representative journal of New Zealand displays such craw ignorance. Chantry, if you .donot wfsb>to* lose the Government pajUfooage, you- will have m future to . mind not only your P.s an 3 Qjs but your T.s also. Verbum set*.. I am afraid your old friend the J. of R. has beeu at it again, and that the scizzors has been called upon to duty for the pen. In his issued of Monday there appeared- an- article upon the de th of Mr. Richard* Wakelin. the late proprietor of the. Wairarapa Standard", which reads like sabook, and were it not for the cloing.sentence, I should say wasall thaHt. purported to be— a memoriam notice of a veteran journalists The sentence alluded. t9 ii-as follows :— Naw Zealand 'generally, *nd Wiirarapfclin particular, owes the journalist now bstibkd spou his JtBDUOus LABOss, * larger debb of gratitude than is generally conceded, and larger thaa ? it can ewrr now repay. ■ I may state that Mr. Wakelin a few; weeks ago disposed of his paper, and retired .m to private, life and the above appears to me to have been written, by some journalist m m the Wairarapa^ with reference thereto, and cribbed by your honorable contemporary to pad out ton Original article. If the sentence be his own, and the decease of the gentleman is so flippantly alluded to as having retired from.hfcarduous labors, I then the inane attempt at wit was |a execrable taste, but m. perfect keeping withthe character of the writer. I do hot think, however, that the paragraph: waV .ever penned "on the Square," and I am led to that conclusion., bj the. closing ' lines £— '• '/• ./ , .: ■' V "w*id«u»p*'OWe« tfes Jduroatuitr . ....... . . . . ■• . » larger debt thin it cur «Tar repay. . 1,.. . : . •. r Seeing that the article opens with the announcement that Mr. Wakelin had passed to his eternal rest, it is hard to think the first and last, sentences were -■ penned by the same baud.' I have always looked upon Dr. Buller as the beau ideal of what a professional politician should be — possessing, cheek illimitable; a suavity that nothing could ruffle; a sense of honor not too keen p a due appreciation of meum and a corresponding disregard of luum;. all gathered together and «tuffed into a hide tough as that of a- hippopotamus. Bat that high opinion has been rudely shaken by the perusal of an epistle bearing the signature of the learned ornithologist which appeared a few days aga.in your Fdxton contemporary: The worthy Doctor had furwarcted a document for publication, to T pap>^ p^whicUj Mr. Rn«el^i one- of I the rival caudidates, iaediter $i and" as usual the ntntelligent compositor made, a sad hash of his manuscript. With his native shrewdness the Doctor thought he saw the political capital which could be made out of the blunder, and well knowing that his opponent was no more answerable for the errors- than, himself,, he. forwarded, alaosfdr pubticatioa-, an i&d%nant protest* against the manner m which _ .he had Seen treated, by beiug— as he insinuated—held up to ridicule through the nratilation of bis letter. The dodge, however, was not deepenough, and was easify seen through by 'friends and foes; and now the professional politician has .'the dissatisfaction of knowing that he has resorted to a very unprofessional only to be laughed at for his ' pain*. . r ■ .'': :■ ' '.'•.'. .. •".