The following is an excerpt from an 24 September 1883 newspaper article, digitised by the State Library of Queensland.
The Premier at Stanthorpe
The Hon the Premier accompanied by Mr B D Morehead, member for the Balonne, proceeded by special train to Stanthorpe on Saturday, in order to be present at a meeting to beheld that evening by Mr P O Sullivan, one of the candidates for the representation of the Carnarvon electorate.
The train left Brisbane at 8 a.m., and reached Stanthorpe shortly before 6 o’clock in the evening.
About thirty people were assembled at the station and on the train drawing up to the platform three cheers were given for the Premier Sir Thomas and Mr Morehead after a short drive round the town, put up at Talley’s hotel.
The meeting was held in the Good Templar s’ Hall.
The building, capable of holding about 200 people, was filled to overflowing.
The Premier, Mr Morehead, and Mr O Sullivan were greeted with applause, intermixed with main relations of dissent from one or two of those present.
This latter gave umbrage to three or four persons sitting in the front row, who got up and going to the part whence the sounds of dissent had come, gave free expressions to their opinion in a rather demonstrative way.
This little disturbance, however, soon subsided.
In a few opening remarks, the candidates were briefly introduced.
Mr O Sullivan who was received with applause, spoke for about an hour on the hiding political questions now before the country.
He contrasted the position of the colony when the Government took office with its present prosperous state, and referred to the mail service as having been a great factor.
He had been put in at the head of the poll with Mr. Kellett as his colleague, for the Stanley electorate.
Since then, Mr Kellett, having had a quarrel with some of the present Government, had turned round but he (Mr O’Sullivan) had stuck to his country and the result was that he had been defeated.
However, although he had lost his seat, he dwelt at some length on the advantages of the land grant system as a means of maintaining the progress of the colony, and of settling the people on the lands.
He said he had always supported the constitution and had advocated that 1 issued a line as a link in a railway that would give it a far more direct unit than the present from Brisbane to Warwick and the southern border.
There was not a single branch line in the colony but had been established by the present Government.
