NELSON AND MOTUEKA

TWO CANDIDATES IN EACH

(Soecial to the "Evening Post.")

NELSON, October 19. Following recent visits to Nelson and Motueka by the Hon. Sir Alfred Ransom, Minister of Lands, and Mr. M. J. Savage, Leader of the Opposition, and the announcement of two candidates in each of the electorates. Nelson and Motueka, interest in the General Election has quickened.

In the Motueka electorate the' Labour candidate, Mr. R. J. York, has been active for some weeks, and has fired the first shots of his campaign in the southern end of the electorate. Mr. K. J. Holyoake, the sitting member, has^ also opened his campaign with fulldress meetings in the Golden Bay district. The scattered nature of the Motueka area makes it the most difficult in the Dominion to work, and therefore it is necessary for candidates to get busy early in order to give complete coverage of the electorate. With the withdrawal of the Democrat candidate, Mr. D. H. McGhie, who has preferred to stand for a North Island seat, it is probable that the Motueka contest will be confined to Mr. Holyoake (National Government) and Mr. York (Labour).

At the last General Election the late Mr. G. C. Black, as an Independent, secured a majority of 517 votes over Mr. Holyoake. (Coalition), the voting being 4180 to 3663. A year later at the by-election^ which created Domin-ion-wide interest, there were three candidates—Mr. Holyoake (Coalition), the Hon. R.. McKenzie (Independent-Lib-eral-Labour),..and Mr. P. C. Webb (Labour). Mr. Holyoake won the seat with 3887 votes, a majority, of 677 over Mr. Webb's 3210. The late Mr. McKenzie had 829 votes recorded for him.

In the Nelson electorate the two candidates who contested the last election—Mr. H. Atrricre (Independent) and Mr. Herbert Everett (National Government)—are again in the field There has been no mention of a possible Democrat candidate since the withdrawal of Mr. W. B. North, and as the Leader of the Labour Party has announced that his party would not contest, the seat, it is now likely to be n straight-out contest between the . two already announced ••■'

At the last election, the sitting member retained his seat by 100 votes, the final figures being:—Mr. Atmore (In-dependent-Liberal) 4749, -.Mr. Everett (Coalition) 4649.

In both electorates there appears every prospect of closely-fought elections. ...-..-• ' • .-';-: