CIVIC ELECTIONS

DR. THACKER MAYOR WINS BY TWO HUNDRED VOTES Municipal elections were held yesterday in Christehurcli and its suburbs. Although the weather was fine, and there was a triangular contest for the city mayoralty, the polling was not heavy. In Christchurch itself there was a close contest for the mayoralty, Dr H. T. J. Thacker, M.P., defeating Mr J. J. Dougall by only 201 votes, with Mr J. McCombs, M.P., a bad third. In the boroughs adjoining or near Christchurch there were only two mayoral elections—in Woolston (won by Mr C. Hill) and in Kaiapoi (where Mr J. H. Blackwell was re-elected). The mayors returned for the other boroughs were unopposed. Polls were also taken for the election of certain members of the Lyttelton Harbour Board and, in the city, of the North Canterbury Hospital and Charitable Aid Board. CHRISTCHURCH'S NEW CORPORATION. Mayor Dr H. T. J. Thacker, M.P. COUNCILLORS. C. P. Agar H. Hunter „ £. H. Andrews J. 0. Jameson H. T. Armstrong E. E. Langley *J> W. Beanland *A. McKellar *F. Bnrgoyne *W. Nicholls *J. A. Plesher *E. Peek C. S. Harper *D. G. Sullivan *H. F. Herbert *A. Williams *Re-elected. SUBURBAN BOROUGH MAYORALTIES. Mayor of Riccarton |A. D. Ford Mayor of Woolston .. .. .. C. Hill / Mayor of Spreydon .. .. .. fA. Manhire Mayor of Sumner |Hon. J. Barr Mayor of Lyttelton fW. T. Lester Mayor of New Brighton ~ .. fF. Kibblewhite Mayor of Kaiapoi .. .. .. J. H. Blackwell Mayor of Rangiora .. .. .. |C. I. Jennings i Unopposed. -

DR THACKER'S VICTORY.

St. Andrew's Schoolroom 78 28 74 Caledonian Hall .. .. 220 39 151 St. Michael's Schoolroom 231 CO 176 Oddfellows’ Hall .... 14 15 55 St. John’s Schoolroom 148 39 117 Hibernian Hall ..... 70 33 242 Fitzgerald Avenue ..22 18 23 Canterbury Row. Club . 61 10 43 •Stanmore Road .. .. 107 57 123 Montreal Street North 84 17 86 Lin wood Ward— Woodham Road .... 35 17 33 Linwood School .... 26 23 57 Baptist Schoolroom .. 91 65 17! Oddfellows’ Hall .. .. 122 53 96 Linwood Library .. .. 285 118 312 Salvation Army Bar. .. 68 79 1 64 Pumping station .... 29 34 87 Ijyden Street .. .. 109 CO 165 Charles Street .... 41 36 120 St. Albans Ward— Clissold Street .. .. 163 15 62 Methodist Schoolroom 539 CS 207 limes Road 112 12 51 Cranford Street 78 61 163 St. Albans Library .. 70 43 102 (ITare Road 93 17 75 Caledonian Road .. .. 228 62 194 Methodist Schoolroom 154 54 143 Warrington Street .. 106 35 135 Hills Hoad 57 27 S*6 North Richmond .... 38 32 36 Rarbadocs Street .. ~ 106 41 ISO Sydenham Ward— Dickens Street .... 69 42 65 Sclwyn Street .. .. 118 117 165 Battersea Street .. .. 81 115 155 Sydenham K.C. Rooms 165 149 311 Sydenham Library .. 133 110 219 Colombo Street .. .. 132 91 163 St. Martins Road .... 26 19 29 Waltham Hall .... 70 66 162 Waltham Road .. ~ 58 73 173 Falsgrave Street .... 38 27 116 Opawa / 65 9 20 Totals 5747 2306 5948 THE NEW MAYOR. - DR THACKER’S CAREER. The new Mayor of Christchurch, Dr H. T. J. Thacker, M.P., is a son of the late Mr J. E. Thacker, one of the early settlers of Canterbury, who founded the Highlands estate, Okain’s Bay, in 1855. Dr Thacker was born at Okain’s Bay in 1870. He was educated there and at the Christchurch , Boys’ High School, whence he passed on to Canterbury College. He graduated Bachelor of

VOTING FIGURES ANALYSED. .

The contest between Dr H. T. J. Thacker, M.P., Mr J. J. Dougall, and Mr James McCombs, M.P., for the mayoralty of Greater Christchurch naturally aroused the greatest interest at the elections. A feature of the campaign had Jjeen the apparent inability of citizens to "pick the winner," it being generally held that there was a real chance of any one of the three candidates being elected, with the odds not in favour of any one of them. It was generally anticipated, too, that the poll was" going to be a heavy one, but in the issue this anticipation proved to be incorrect, 14,001 votes being polled for the candidates out of 25,609 voters whose names appeared on the roll. There were therefore 11,608 electors who failed to record their votes yesterday. The number of votes polled yesterday was 3567 less than the number recorded in 1017, when 17,568 voters went to the poll. At the 1915 election the number of votes recorded in the mavoral contest was 12,172, in 191* it .was 10,980, and in 1913 it was 15,461. The most striking feature of yesterday's poll was the poor showing made by the official Labour candidate, Mr James McCombs, M.P., who polled only 2306 votes, compared with 5385 recorded in his favour in 1917. Even the fact that Mr McCombs was very late in entering the campaign, and did but little work preceding the election, does not by any means explain the completeness of his defeat. What is clear is the fact that large numbers of yoters in all the wards who supported the Labour candidates for the City Council did not vote for Mr McCombs. The aggregate of the votes cast for the most successful Labour candidates in the four wards was 6050, and 3744 of these voted against Mr McCombs. Taking the Labour candidates lowest on the list in the four wards, their aggregate was 4297. Of a surety this would be the "solid" Labour vote, yet Mr McCombs's figures fall short of this total by 1991. There can be no gainsaying the fact, therefore, that on the lowest possible estimate 2000 Labour voters diverted their votes from the official Labour candidate for the mayoralty. Turning to Mr Dougall, the Citizens' Association's nominee for the mayoralty, it is seen that he, too, did not receive the unanimous support of Citizens' Association voters, as measured by the number of votes cast for the most successful of the association's candidates for the City Council. In the Central Ward, for instance, Mr W. Nicholls, the most successful candidate, polled 2499 votes, while Mr Dougall's total in the Central Ward was only 2144, a minority of 355. In the St. Albans Ward, again, Mr J. W. Beanland, a Citizens' Association candidate, polled 2350, while Mr Dougall polled only 1836. The total aggregate vote polled by the four highest Citizens' Association candidates in the four wards was 6814, as against Mr Dougall's total of 5747. Mr Dougall indeed polled only a little better than the aggregate of the lowest Citizens' Association candidate in each ward, the number being 5551. The evidence is, therefore, that Dr Thacker obtained his majority from defaulters among the Citizens' Association and Labour voters. The final results were:— H. T. J. Thacker (Port Christchurch League) .. .. 5948 J. J. Dougall (Citizens' Association) .. 5747 J. McCombs (Labour) 2306 The ward voting was:—. Ward, Dougall. McCombs. Timelier. Central .. .. 2114 535 1781 Liuwood ..'.-. 80fi 485 12(15 St. Albans .. 18:10 408 1384 Sydenham .. SOl 818 1578 . The votes recorded in the various booths were:— a I Si Buotli. So l * 3 U S •■•• Q JJ L, Central WardProvincial Council -.-. GOG 51 2811 Art Gallery .. .. .. lfil 40 88 ! Madras Street .... 53 19 89 Foresters' Hall -., ..190 103 233

DR H. T. J. THACKER, M.P., Eletted Mayor of Chrislchnrch. Arts there, ami then-went to the | medical school at the University of' Edinburgh. At Edinburgh he gradu- ! afed Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Surgery, in 1890. Going; to Dublin to further his studies in surgery, he became a fellow of the! Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland. : Returning to Christchurch, in 1898,; Dr Thacker established a very sue-; cessful practice. He became purlieu- 1 larly well-known as a surgeon. Later, he turned his attention to local politics. He was chairman of the Okain’s Bay Road Board' for a time. Subsequently he was elected to the Christchurch City Council, at the head of the poll for the Central Ward. He was chairman of the City Council’s Electricity Committee from 1908 to 1910. In 1911 he stood for the mayoralty, but failed to displace the late Mr T. E. Taylor. He contested the position again in 1913, but Mr H. Holland, who had been elected Mayor in 1912, retained the

seat by polling an absolute majority over his two, opponents, Dr Thacker and Mr T. J. Mcßride. Dr Tbacker was elected a member of the Lytlelton Harbour Board in 1909, and be still holds that seat. In 1914 be was elected, and remains, member of Parliament for Christchurch East The new Mayor has always taken a keen interest in sports, particularly in Rugby football, in which-be has represented Canterbury (in 1889 and 1891) and the University of ' Edinburgh. Of late years he has - been enthusiastic for the Northern Union code. He is president of the Canterbury Rugby League. He has also been well known outside of New Zealand, as well as in it, for nil interest in sculling, particularly as backer of R. Arnst, the former world's sculling champion. THE COUNCIL SEATS. ONE GALNEDBY LABOUR. In the two wards in which the larger numbers of votes were cast the Citizens' Association's candidates swept the board, winning the six seals for the Central Ward and the three for the St Albans Ward. In the other two wards, however, Labour polled strongly, winning six Q of the seven seats. Lmwood returned three Labour candidates, and three of Sydenham's four representatives are also Labour men, the other being an Independent. Labour gained one seat on She council,, bringing it back to the position it occupied in 1915-17. It has lost, from its representation on the council, Mr E. J. Howard (who was defeated in Uie Central Ward) and Mrs A. Wells, but it returned three "new" men, Messrs H. Hunter (who has had previous experience on the council), H. T. Armstrong and b~ E. Langley. Of the council which has just gone out of office, Messrs W. Nicholls, A. McKellar, J. A Flesher, J. W. Bean- «£» 4- Wi,, ianis, F. Burgoyne, H. F. Herbert, and D. G. Sullivan have been re-elected. Messrs AS. Tavlor. H G HI, MP., J. R, Haywardand P. R. Chmie did not seek re-electioril I and Mr A M. Loasby has left ChristThe polling for the council yesterday was as follows: CENTRAL WARD. (Six Member*.) W. Nienolb (CA.) .. .. 2«w CS. Harper (CA.) ..■ .". 23M A. McKellar (CA.) .. .. " £§ 1. O. J»rae»on (CA.) .. ~ 23M C P. Ajar (CA.) . J074 W. IL Cooper (Independent) IBS E. J. Howard (Labour) .. .. 1535 G. Wanning (Labour) ~ .. 1272 K. Ikppy (Independent) .. «S3 ST. ALBANS W A ED. (Three Members.) 3. W. Bern bird (CA) ~ .. ffi# , f. H. Andrew. (CA.) .. .. JM A. Wilfitnu (CA.) • dm Ada Wells (Labour) .. „ «« • J- H. G. Chappie (Labour) .. 7« A. D. Hassall (Independent) .. 168 S. S. Page (Labour).. .... j« G. Hyde (Independent) .... *H STDEXHAM WABO. (Four Members.) E" 2 Br ««:nie < La l»nr) .. .. 1H77 H. T. Arißitronj; (Labour) .. JS4S K. B. Lsr.sler (Labour) .. .. JSJS JrA*"? ('"dependent) .. .. jo?. F. a Coole (Labour) .... A. C Maxwell <CA.) .. .. -,*,„ J. Longlon (CA) 1««9 W. G. Hutchison (CA.) .... SM 1 A. G. Goring (Independent) .. 56* 1 Lmwoon. (Three Members.) H. F. Herbert (Labour) .. .. IMS i D. K. SaUiTan (Labour) .. .. ffH 2£ H. Banter (Labour) i<ji» T. S. Dacre (CA.) .. .. .. 755 I * "-Carter (Independent) .. tfil ria .■ ■ 3. Taylor (CA.) ........ n| W. S. Godfrey (CA.) ~ .. M 7 AFTER THE POLL CANDIDATES ON THE PLATFObJH Prior to the final result of tjafll mayoral contest being posted up st§ and Mrs Thacker were wailing in a motor car a short distance away, and when the figures were announced a section of the crowd immediately rushed up to Dr Thacker, shook hands and insisted on his immediately mounting the platform and addressing the assemblage. Dr and Mrs Thacker were cordially congratulated by Mr Dougall before taking their place on the stand. Amid loud cheers Mr Holland, the retiring mayor, said thai he desired i lo congratulate Dr Thacker on the."M result of the poll, which showed that 1 perseverance had won. After congratulating the former councillors who had been returned, Mr Holland expressed his thanks for the kindness and courtesy that bad been exfended to him during the seven years he had occupied the mayoral chair. "I am proud of Christchurch and its people," he concluded, "and will do my best for them as long as I canMany people have expressed regret. ; that I was not standing on this occasion, but " A voice: Who expressed regreL (Laughter.) "Never mind" replied Mr Holland, "there will be another election in November or December and I will possibly be a candidate then." - Dr Thacker amid cheers and some - booing, said that the fight had been a great one, and against worthy opponents. The battle for the mayoralty had been fought and woo cleanly. They should now unite as one harmonious body in the interests of the city. It was necessary for " him to say that the war had been" fought and won far democracy ami civilisation, and in returning Mm democracy had had another great A voice: Lay it on thick, dot! His motto, continued Dr Thacker, would be "soldiers first, and tbeir dependents, their wives, children and sweethearts." (Applause.) He had had to stand the storm of mudslinging, but he bad won in spite of that. However, be would ask for three cheers for Mr Dougall, and-Mr - McCombs. "Tips is the supreme moment of my life." concluded the new mayor, amid laughter and After cheers had been given folß the defeated candidates and for Dfl9| Thacker, Mr Dougall, who had a verm good reception, said that Ihc fight hatf". been a fair one. He was very weHH satisfied with the support he had nW ceived, and the number of l for him had been enough fo tnatflH j the-.contest "a close go." After mentioning that he would sifflH I continue to do his best for the ritjtigffl Mr Dougall remarked "I believe there is a possibility of some of his MpPi jesly's ships sailing up to Heathc/ite." (Laughter and voices: "That's a goitd jone! ). The only way to «cttk i'ie j canal question, in his* opinion, wa* to get the voice of the people tm i! by ; means of the referendum. A voice: You have got it to-day. j Mr Dougall: But it cannot he gi'v. -n j effect to. i Mr McCombs joined with Mr Dongall in congratulating Dr Thacker on his success. He was glad fo see fisat Labour bad been so successful, par* .

ticularly in Linwood, and the citizens of Christchurch were to be congratulated on having returned several Labour representatives. (Applause.) Council Aspirants. Messrs J. W. Beanland and E. H. Andrews, two of the successful candidates at St. Albans, briefly returned thanks, the latter stating that he * considered it an honour to follow Mr A. S. Taylor, who was one of the best councillors the ward had ever had. Mr Alfred Williams, another of the successful aspirants, informed the crowd that he had endeavoured to serve them to the best of his abilitv for the past 12 years. He hoped that Christchurch would be the city it deserved to be, Mr Williams concluded somewhat abruptly when a member of the audience drawled out "Amen!" Mr A. D. Hassall, one of the defeated candidates for St. Albans, said that he took his defeat very gracefully and heartily congratulated those who had been returned. The candidate was about to proceed further when a weary voice interjected. "Weill good-night and goodbye." The Labour Men. There was jubilation among the Labour section of the crowd when the successful Linwood candidates stepped forward. Mr H. F. Herbert, who topped the poll for the ward, was accorded hearty cheers on the call of Mr D. G. Sullivan. The result of the election showed that the Eeople of Linwood realised that they ad good men in the Labour candidates. Mr D. G. Sullivan, who came next on the list so far as the number of votes polled in the Linwood ward was concerned said that when the Labour Party were fighting for proportional representation just before it was revoked they pointed to the faults of the old "past the post" system, but he thought the first past the post in view of Mr Herbert's success in the Linwood ward was not such a bad thing after all. Anything that Dr Thacker put forward for the welfare y of the city would have the support of the Labour members. (Cheers.) Mr H. Hunter, another of the Linwood candidates who were returned, said he regretted that Mr McCombs did not head the poll, because if any man had a good record from the Labour point of view it was McCombs. (A voice, amid ironical laughter: "Go gently with the soap, digger.") Mr F. Burgoyne said he considered that as the Citizens' Association candidates had no policy of their own thev had pledged themselves to the Labour Party's ticket. (A voice: You are the only genuine man who has spoken from the platform to-night.) (Laughter.) Mr Armstrong said that the people of Sydenham were very much better judges than the rest of Christchurch of what constituted real patriotism. He congratulated his opponents on the clean fight they put up. "Despite the vile vapounngs of the Press of this city," began Mr E. E. Langley, one of the Sydenham candidates— "Where did you get it from?" asked a voice. The candi- . date, continuing, said that those who had cribbed the Labour platform would have to carry out their promises. Other Speakers. -Mr E. Peek, another of the Sydenham candidates, said that he was sent to the council as an Independent, and no Independent could take a party attitude. Proportional representation so far as the council was concerned should not have been considered. (Voices: "What rot!. Why did you not tell us that before you were elected?") ■>"* . . Mr Wm. Nicholls in returning thanks for his election for the central ward said that he would loyally 'support the Mayor. If it was the wish of the people he was not going to oppose proportional representation. (A voice: You will go out if you do.) . V ". Mr J. 0. Jameson*said that as a member of the Navy League he would like to ask Dr Thacker why he had failed to include sailors amongst those whom he intended to look after first. __ AMONG THE CROWD. INCIDENTS OF THE EVENING. Since the advent of party politics into the Christchurch City Council, the displaying of municipal election results has always attracted a large gathering. By 7 o'clock last evening a'crowd had assembled, and it continued to swell in volume for the next hour. At 7.15 the. first return was posted, showing a substantial majority for Dr Thacker, and it was greeted with loud applause by his supporters. As the subsequent returns were posted, it became evident that the majority of the crowd were "Thackerites." They expressed their feelings' in such remarks as "Good old doc." and "We!ll have that ditch yet." Then a voice would cry, "Did we strike out the top line?" (the name of Mr Dougall), and a chorus would reply, "Yes." There was an outburst of applause from the Labourites when the posting of the Linwood results for the election of councillors showed the three Labour men to have a substantial lead, and there was another chorus of "Well done, Linwood!" and "Good old Dan!" The crowd was good-natured though here and there

small groups of onlookers engaged in heated conversation concerning the merits of the mayoral candidates. "McCombs should have pulled out," said a man, "he's outed." "He'll come back," replied an enthusiastic supporter of the Labourite. "Not a bit of it," was the answer, "he's a wowser. He had better drown himself in the doc's canal." A statement that Mr McCombs would one day be Prime Minister was met with a shriek of derision. The sentiment of the workers in the crowd was clearly in harmony with that expressed in the figures shown in the mayoral contest—namely, that Labour had "turned down" its own official candidate, Mr McCombs, and had "gone for" Dr Thacker. At times, when Mr Dougall had a lead on Dr Thacker, there were displays of really hostile feeling against Mr McCombs, the fear being that the votes given to Mr McCombs were going to rob Dr Thacker of victory. When at last the issue was no longer in doubt, there was another demonstration from Dr Thacker's supporters, and shortly afterwards the final figures for the election of councillors in the Linwood Ward were posted, and three cheers were lustily given for the successful Labour candidates, Messrs Herbert, Sullivan, and Hunter. Considerable attention was devoted to the election of councillors in the Central Ward, the primary point of interest being the position of Mr E. J. Howard, who was fighting an uphill battle against the Citizens' Association nominees in an anti-Labour stronghold. In regard to the St. Albans Ward, the Labourites—especially the women—were concerned about the fate of Mrs Wells, and a few women were visibly affected when the posting of the filial returns showed that the lady member of the last council had lost her seat. A popular victory was that of Mrs A. E. Herbert for the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, a tribute to her splendid work during the recent influenza epidemic. The final cheer that greeted the posting of figures came with the display of the Sydenham figures, showing that three Labour candidates, Messrs F. Burgoyne. H. T. Armstrong, and E. E. Langley, had been elected, together with Mr E. Peek, an Indenendent member of the old council. Interest in this phase of the contest quickly died down, however, with the appearance on the platform of the mavoral candidates and the retiring Mayor, Mr H. Holland. The Mayor-elect received an enthusiastic reception, and there were also cries of "Poor old Jimmy" for Mr McCombs,

BOROUGH ELECTIONS. RICCARTON. In Riccarton, Mr A. D. Ford, who had been a member of the Borough Council for some considerable time, was returned unopposed for the mayoralty, which had been held by Mr J. Brown. ! The election of borough councillors gave a victory to the Riccarton Citizens' Association, six of whose candidates—Messrs J. Munnings, F. George, H. W. Wise, A. E. Steere, G. A. Rankin and W. C. W. Charters —secured seats. The association had also supported Messrs H. Gudsell and T. G. KiUick, who were defeated. Seven of the candidates were advocates of the borough amalgamating with Christchurch city, but only two of them—Messrs T. J. Stokes and G. W. Barrcll—were elected. One of the defeated candidates, Mr H. Gudsell, was a member of the council. The polling figures were as follow, the first eight candidates being elected:— J. Munnings 457 F. Gcor/re .. 449 H. W. Wise 434 A. E. Steere 404 T. J. Stokes .. 395 G. A. Rankin .. 391 W. C. W. Charters 388 C. W. Barrell 384 H. Gudsell .. .. 329 T. Hflberficld .. 321 T, Thomson „ .. 31(1 F. W. Pudney .. .. .. .. 315 T. G. KiUick .. 291 G. I). White 284 B. Wilson 270 J. Hanna .. -. 239 SPREYDON. No election was required in Spreydon. Mr A. Manhire, a member of the last council, was the only nominee for the mayoralty, which was vacated by Mr W. H. Winsor. There were eight nominees for the eight vacancies on the council, as follows : WEST WARD. J. P. Diach. ,"" E. O'Rourkc. D. Williamson. W. Wittc. EAST WARD. A. J. De Roc W..8. Gahagan. • .',. F. Lawg. H. Worrall, jun. SUMNER. ' There was no necessity for a poll in Sumner. The Hon. J. Barr, M.L.C., was returned unopposed as Mayor, and the following i eight candidates were returned without opposition for the council:— C. Benjamin. T. Dryburgh. F. GUI. H. C. Jamicson. S. R. Piercy. C. M. Roswell. T. E. Whitfield. H. J. Yates.