THE VOTING. WELLINGTON SOUTH.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 144, 15 December 1911, Page 2

THE VOTING. WELLINGTON SOUTH.

MR. HINDMARSH DEFEATS MIV. WRIGHT. Mr, Hindmareh 3567 Mr. Wright 3287 There were 9065 electors on the Wellington South roll, and of these 6854 voted at the polling place* in the constituency. There were 49 absentees who voted in other parts of the Dominion, and 12 eeamen's votes. Them have yet to come in, but they will not affect, the result, which the local voting showed was a majority of 280 for the Labour candidate, Mi 1 . A. H. Hindmarsh. At the firet ballot Mr. Hind.marsh was eecond to Mr. Wright, the Opposition candidate. It was openly stated in New town and other parts of the electorate after the first poll hafl been announced that tho supporters of Mr. Barber, the defeated Government candidate, would assist Mr. Hindmai*h. The votes caet for Mr. Barber were 1256, which, added to those, then given for Mr. Hindmareh, would have made a grand total of 3524, or 357 more than ho actually received at the oecond ballot, when, all told, 7071 vote« were cast. At the St. Thomas's H*ll polling station an elector recorded his vote under protest, and in doing co he requested the clerks to_ state hia objection in writing for tho information of the Returning Officer. His reasons were that there .was no secrecy about the ballot, that it could bo discovered if necessary how he voted. His name having been- given to the poll clerk, he eaid, his dumber was found and put on to the butt from which the voting paper was detached, but not before the number put upon the butt wae also written on the voting paper attached to it. It was, he complained, a comparatively eaey matter to turn up the paper and ascertain how every person had voted ; hence hie protest against tho system. The following was the state of the poll. Hindmarsh. Wright.. Newtown Library ... 479 475 Newtown School ... 343 363 St. Thomas's School ... 1039 804, Wallace-street ... ... 366 288 Tasman-street 117 132 Palm Grove 107 66 Constableetreet 231 345 Brooklyn 645 589 Schoolj Berhmnpore ... 60 64 Masonic Hall, Berhamporc 139 136 Vogellown ... ... 41 35 Total 3667 3287 Majority for Hindmarsh, 280. First election—Wright (O.) 2985, Hindmarsh (Lab.) 2649, Barber (G.) 1260, Couzene (I.O.) 183. The first result wan from Berhamporo School, and it reached the Returning Officer (Mr. Perry) at Nowtown Library at 7.10 p.m. By 8.5 all the returns were in, and the result of the poll was announced shortly afterwards.