BIG MAJORITY.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 245, 16 October 1929, Page 7

BIG MAJORITY.

FEDERAL LABOUR. Bright Prospect Of 46 Seats In House Of 75. STATES AND ARBITRATION. (Australian and N.Z. Press Association.) SYDNEY, October 15. There is still good ground for the belief that the Labour party will have 46 of the 75 seats in the new Federal House of Representatives. The Prime Minister, Mr. Bruce, at the present stage of the count in the Flinders (Victoria) electorate, is 13S votes behind the Labour candidate, Mr. E. J. Holloway. There are nearly 5000 absentee votes to be counted before the preferences can be distributed. That will probably be done on Thursday. Mr. E. G. Theodore, deputy-leader of the Labour party, denies rumours to the effect that he' intends to contest the Prime Ministership with Mr. J. H. Scullin. Mr. C. W. C. Marr, honorary Minister in the Bruce Cabinet, arrived at Fremantle yesterday by the Otranto from London." He had already learned of his defeat for the Parkes (New South Wales) seat by "wireless. Mr. Marr was too ill to be interviewed. Sixteen candidates have had to forfeit their deposits t of £25. The Premier of New South W ales, Mr. T. R. Bavin, has convened a conference of State Premiers to discuss the situation arising from the election and the rejection of the proposal to abolish the Federal Arbitration Court. It is understood that the . main purpose of the conference is to deal, with aproposal that the States shall now surrender their arbitration powers to the Commonwealth in order to dispose of the disabilities due to conflicting State and Federal awards.

POLITICAL "MYSTERY." Scullin " A Man Without A Past." LONDON PRESS SURPRISED. (Australian and N.Z. Press Association.) LONDON, October 15. The Leader of the Australian Labour party, Mr. J. H. Scullin, has caused some mystification to the London newspapers. They describe him as "a mystery man." The "Evening Standard" publishes a report under the captions: "Australia House Does Not Know its New Chief," "A Man Without a Past." The "Standard" says that when inquiries were made at Australia House an official said: "I am afraid we are sadly ignorant of biographical details of Mr. Scullin. All we can do is to turn up our reference books, which tell us he was born in Victoria and is a journalist."