LABOUR'S REVERSE.

Auckland Star, Volume LII, Issue 101, 29 April 1921, Page 4

LABOUR'S REVERSE.

I • . Further information abuiu the Wei- ■ ungton inranx - spa.l elections strenptlwrtti , what we said about the s«iI bitck to labour. Two years ago the I Labour candidate for Mayor polled IKH3 votoi, against Mr. biikc's TiJCO and ( ' Mr. Barber's o(il5. On Wednesday over tbree thousand more votes were cast i than hn 1919, and while Mr. Wri-ht [ T>oßed "2542 more tluui Messrs. Luke mid Barber did togwtihw iv l'.)10, Mr. Hk-kcy g"iv<?n oaly 640 -moro votes than tlit* former La-bonr candidate. Mr. lllivkey was beaten a.t 35 oirt of a!) poiliug booths, and ht l hsii a substantial majority at only one —tho wliarf. A comparison between "the fouwrl cV w : tions i« also iaiterwting. In 1919 Labour won four aea-ts, zund was placed foitrt-i, nin^ l )!. i4evenfch, und foiirteeirth. Tliii rime it won only two, aird was plivccd tliirtwn'.'h and fifteenth. In the two years" invervaJ Labour lias worked 'hard in every centre ;to proclaim and oxr4ain if« policy n;n.i ( extend its organisatioii, yet it ha.s suf i fored a severe imd widcwprra.d r<. , wwc. It is nobpworthy that in tihree oi tlx , four centres members of the official Labour party, which harbours the wrrn at the laot Parliamentary elections, which were foeii seven "months after the nnimri|Ml pnil?. If Parlianientary- eSeatAonsn -were hold to-morrow -would t-hc iparty hold all these *eat»? It will be a •pity if the I rank and file of the party cannot read the lesson of moderation written by Wednesday's voting.