BRUCE OUT.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 243, 14 October 1929, Page 7

BRUCE OUT.

labour success. federal election. Amazing Debacle Suffered By Nationalists. SCULLIN'S POSITION SECURE. (Australian and N.Z. Press Association.; SYDNEY, October 13. The returns to hand at midnight in connection with the poll for the election of a now Federal House of Representative* revealed a definite Hnd-lidc to Labour, which is practical certain to have a good working maioritr, with Mr. -J. H. Scullin as Australia's next Prune Minister. Indeed, the Nationalist-Country party Government has suffered a debacle so -treat that even Mr. Bruce himself, who j as been Prime Minister for nearly 6even years, runs the risk of losing his seat. Analysis of the state of parties early C n Sundav morning- showed that Labour ]ia d"44 of the "•"> seats in the House within its grasp. and the Bruce-Page partv had dwindled from 43 to 26, the remaining five seats being'held by Independent Nationalists. The state of parties late on Sunday evening was: Labour Nationalists JU Independent Nationalists .. 3 •Country party 9 Country Progressive party . 1 Independent ~... 1 Doubtful 13 Four Ministers, Messrs. C. L. A. Abbott (Home Affairs), W. G. Gibson (Postmaster-General), Sir Neville Howse (Health and Repatriation), and C. W. C. Marr (honorary Minister), appear to have been defeated. There is still a slight hope for Sir Neville Howse and Mr. Abbott. Bruce's Seat Doubtful. The feature of the checking last night was the battle in Flinders (Victoria) for the Prime Minister's seat. Mr. E. J. Holloway, a well-known trades union leader, maintained his lead all the eveninsr and when counting ceased for . the night Mr. Bruce was still 900 behind him with 6000 votes to come. However, Mr. Bruce should just manage to win when the preferences for his opponent are distributed. Later the Prime Minister was still nearly 500 behind in Flinders. However, with the distribution of the preference votes of the Liberal candidate (Mr. J. Birch) his return is confidently expected. At the last election Mr. Bruce defeated Mr. Holloway by 12,000 votes. Triumph of Recalcitrants. A noteworthy feature of the election is the triumph'of some of the members who broke away from the late Government and responsible for its defeat on the arbitration issue, which precipitated the election. They are Messrs. W. M. Hughes, W. M. Marks, G. A. Maxwell and P. G. Stewart. Each has a substantial majority. Especially is this so in the case of Mr. Hughes, who defeated Dr. Nott at North Sydney by 12,000 votes, and Mr. Marks, who already has a lead of 9000 over his opponent for the Wentworth (New South Wales) seat, Mr. A. G. Manning. The changes which, have taken place are almost incredible. In some of the Nationalist strongholds in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania many old members have disappeared only to be replaced by Labour candidates whose chances of victory were never dreamed of. Swing to Labour. The position in Victoria discloses a definite swing to Labour. The outlook in Queensland and in South Australia is more favourable for the Government, but there is small hope of the Bruce party winning additional seats. The Government will lose at least two seats in Tasmania to Labour, where Messrs. J. A. Lyons and J. B. Guy, who resigned from the State Parliament to contest the election, are in winning positions at Wilmot and Bass respectively. Scullin Delighted. The Federal Labour Leader, Mr. Scullin, commenting o.» the results to date, said, they were magnificent. Mr. E. G. Theodore, Deputy Labour Leader, said: "Our gains are greater than I anticipated. We should have 44 seats in the new Parliament." ' Mr.- Bruce said he was deeply disappointed. He admitted the noticeable swing of the pendulum in favour of Labour and deplored the defeat of at least five of his old colleagues. Mr. Hughes said the Government's defeat had sounded the death knell of the party machine. Arbitration was to remain an integral part of Australia's social life. Officials at the headquarters of the ■Nationalist Association express the opinion that the primary reason for the Government's defeat at the polls was the fear that with the abolition of the federal Arbitration Court an organised attempt by the anti-Labour forces would be instituted for an all-round reduction in wages. The entertainment tax also helped to cloud the real issue before the people. The Senate. Labour's victory, by reason of its decisive nature, makes another election in the Federal sphere almost certain in the near future, as the Senate, which is overwhelmingly anti-Labour, is able to obstruct Labour's programme. Moreover, it is believed that the Independent Nationalists, who broke away from the Government and received Labour's support at the polls on Saturday, are bound to ally themselves with Mr. Scullin in the greater portion of his programme.

The state of parties in the House of Representatives prior to the last dissolution ■was: — Nationalists ... 30 Country Party 13 Labour 32 The number of seats required to give a "y party a bare majority is 38. . The Commonwealth Senate is elected for six years, and not like the members of the House of Representatives, for the duration of Parliament. By a provision in the Constitution half the members of the Senate retire at the end of three years, hut are eligible for re-election.