THE WELLINGTON ELECTION.

■ -♦ . The polling for the election of a member to represent Wellington in the House of Bepresentatives took place on Tuesday. The proceedings throughout the day were very orderly. But few votes were recorded during the forenoon, but in the afternoon the booths were kept extremely busy, the women voters rolling up in strong force. The weather was fine throughout. In the evening large crowds collected to hear the result of the poll, wbich was declared as follows :— Mr John Hutcheson . . 6945 Mr E. G. Jellicoe . . . . 4971 Majority for Mr Hutcheson, 1974. Mr Jellicoe addressed the crowd, thanking those who had supported him, and stating that probably no candidate for parliamentary honours had ever to contend with such a combination as had been brought to bear against bim. Mr Hutcheson, in returning thanks, said the electors had knocked the shackles off his wrists, and he would go back to the House a free man. The peojple that day, by their votes, had proclaimed that they, and not Ministers, were masters, and the victory would be. sounded throughout the colony. At the general election in 1896 the polling was as follows : — J. Hutcheson 6411, Sir B. Stout 6306, G. Fisher 5859, A. K. Atkinson 5831, C. Wilson 5570, A. A. S. Menteath 5560, F. H. Fraser 1811, J. J. K. Powell 185, A. Warburton 91. The total number . who voted on that occasion was 13,168. At the by-election on March 9, 1898, caused by the resignation of Sir Bobert Stout, the polling was as follows :— John Duthie 7283, B, C. Kirk 6254 ; total voters, 13,537.