JAUNTS AND JOTTINGS. 145 



fore, it is mentioned how much money he has 

 caused the Government to waste on the place. The 

 more money he has squeezed out of the Treasury 

 the better his chance of success. The country, as a 

 whole, can go to Jericho, the town is the principal 

 thing. When the local Protectionists at Bathurst 

 established a newspaper they roasted a bullock 

 whole in the market-place and tapped barrels of 

 beer. This was their way of showing appreciation 

 of literature. The populace devoured the beef then ; 

 the butcher wraps the beef in the newly-established 

 paper now. 



On one occasion I went with a Minister of the 

 Crown to his district in the Hume, near Albury. 

 We went to Corowa, and he delivered a glowing 

 speech. We feasted and made merry. But we had 

 to drive in a buggy from Corowa to the Springs 

 to catch the train, and it was a dark night. There 

 was a fair road part of the way through Ruther- 

 glen, but we had several narrow shaves of being 

 capsized over tree stumps and other minor hind- 

 rances to our progress. I have heard scores, nay, 

 hundreds of election speeches in the Colonies, and 

 every politician had a different reason for emptjin^ 

 the Treasury on behalf of the constituency whosa 

 favour he was wooing. Such an important question 

 as the replacing of the town-hall clock would, he 

 assured them, have his special attention if he got 



10 



