HEAVY POLL EXPECTED

LYTTELTON CONTEST

CANDIDATES' CHANCES

(Special to the "Evening Post.") CHRISTCHUECH, This Day. The by-election campaign for the Lyttelton seat is now in full swing, and already several factors have emerged which, may have an important bearing ou the result. At this stage of the campaign it would appear that Mrs. B. B. McCombs, the official Labour candidate,, and widow of the late member, has the best prospects of success, but a lot may happen before the numbers go up after the poll. It is quite clear, however, that Mr. F. W. Freeman, the Coalition candidate, has a hard task ahead of him in trying to convince a majority of the electors' of Lyttelton that the policy carried out by the Government since the General Election has been in their interests. The Government, of course, has had to do many things which are not popular with the people, and there seems to be a swing away from the Coalition. Mr. Freeman has put forward a good case on behalf of ■ the Government, but it cannot be said that it has aroused enthusiasm.

A factor that will assist the chances of Mrs. McCombs is a strong feeling of sympathy -with her on the part of electors who have not previously voted Labour, coupled with evidences of support for her candidature from many women who feel that it would be an honour to their sex to bo represented in Parliament by the first woman member. Unquestionably the Labour Leader (Mr. H. E. Holland) and Mrs. McCombs have received flattering receptions at the meetings they have addressed, but it should always be remembered that fewer than half the electors are reached by means of meetings. The unknown factor in the contest is the amount of .support that Mr. E, L. Hills, the Independent Labour candidate, is likely to Teceive. Mr. Hills resigned from the Woolston branch, of the Labour Party the night before the death of Mr. James McCombs, follow ing on the failure of the branch _to support bis nomination for a selection ballot for the Labour candidate at the next General Election.

Mr. Hills is a young man of considerable vitality and is the most able speaker of the three candidates, and if he succeeds in polling a thousand votes the result should be a win for Mr. Freeman. Mr. Hills believes that he will save his deposit, but the probability is that as polling day approaches the fight will be concentrated on the two main candidates. He is a dogged fighter, however, and may do better than most people think. The Lyttelton electorate has been so evenly balanced in its political opinions that the by-election affords an excellent test of present-day thought. The electorate includes strong Labour districts in Lyttelon, Woolston, Heathcote, and Opawa, and equally emphatic "Tory" voting centres in Cashmere, Sumner, Akaroa, and the bays aroundBanks Peninsula, while there are some places which are about fifty-fifty in their political preferences. It promises to be a particularly interesting contest, and a heavy poll can be expected.