The Opposition Prospects

Year
1890
Month
1
Day
11
Article Title
The Opposition Prospects
Author
-----
Page Number
2
Article Type
Language
Article Contents
THE OPPOSITION PROSPECTS. The Times says, “it is simply untrue,” as stated in these columns yesterday, that the two opposition candidates had been besieging people to run as colleagues and that they decided days ago that under the circumstances it would be best that they should run without further additions to the ticket. But this is manifestly untrue, because our contemporary day after day not only in its sensational headings but in its election news, has been proclaiming that a full opposition ticket would be presented in the county of Westmorland. It is a notorious fact that Mr. H. A. Powell telegraphed to Mr. Chelsey Tait, of Shediac, and offered to run if he would; that nominating committee, after Stevens and Powell had both been nominated and accepted, telephoned to a prominent supporter of the Blair government Moncton and asked him to run. But, what a campaign the Stevens – Powell junto are conducting! Not a public meeting, no declaration of principles, no reasons given for assailing the administration, and one of the candidates had not even had the courage to publish his card in the journal, which is supporting him. By the time the nucleus of the ticket and the accretion to it have made up their minds to go around the county, the election will be over and they will be snowed under to the extent of somewhere about a thousand majority. [illegible] this that is assiduously reported by friends of both candidates that they have decided not to face the music, but will back down before polling day and save their deposits. If they do not back down the cost of the election in Westmorland county would not be very heavy upon the people, because Messrs. Powell and Stevens [illegible] ear it out of their deposits which are [illegible] unless they each poll one half of the vote of the lowest successful candidate. The wicked supporters of the coalition were actually raising all manner of canvasses against the Stevens-Powell combination. It has actually been circulated around that years ago Mr. Stevens directed bitter attacks against the Acadians and that he [illegible] meted to them the same scurrilous A [illegible] which he has meted out to everybody politically opposed to him in the county; or whoever within the ranks of his own party has dared to act independently for himself, as Mr. Hanington is doing to-day. But, it is a matter of history of recoded facts, it is a matter not within the domain of doubt that Mr. Stevens, now seeking the suffrages of the electors of the country, scurrilously and shamelessly abused the Acadian people. Surely it was possible to honestly uphold the principles of free schools and to honestly dissent from the views of the Acadian people without subjecting them to abuse. The man who would do that, as he certainly did, has no reason to expect any sympathy or support from the hands of a people who are naturally, as a minority, very sensitive as to their rights, and race, religious and national traditions. Mr. Steven’s chickens are coming home to Roost and he will have ample opportunity after the 20th to reflect upon the mistakes in his past treatment of political opponents. It is now tried to make Mr. Melanson believe by our contemporary that the English speaking members of the ticket would not stand by his candidature. Mr. Melanson will not and does not believe anything of the kind. There is a determination on the part of the English speaking people of this country to prevent, if possible, the unfortunate mistake of last election, when the Acadian representative was left out. The supporters of the Blair administration are especially desirous that the Acadian people should have a representative in the local legislature who will present to the government matters pertaining to the welfare of the Acadian people.