HOPELESS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 246, 17 October 1929, Page 7

HOPELESS.

BRUCE'S POSITION. prime Minister's Defeat Now Certain. TATB OP DOUBTFUL SEATS. (Australia 0 and N.Z. Prese Association.) (Received 11.30 a.m.) MELBOURNE, this day. When the counting finished last nieht in the Flinders electorate, in connection with the Federal election, the Prime Minister, Mr. S. M. Bruce, Tvas in a hopeless position. The figures Mr E. J- Holloway (Labour) .. 29,804 WsM. Bruce (Nationalist) .. 29,689 Mr! J. Birch (Liberal) 2,242 There was a majority on the primary votes of 115 for Mr - Holloway, but on Z allocation of 2070 of Ifx. Birch's references, 1158 went to Mr. Holloway Jnd 012 to Mr. Bruce. If Mr. Bruce is defeated, he will be the first Prime Minister in the history nf the Commonwealth to suffer defeat in his own electorate while holding office. The counting of the preference ana absentee votes is now proceeding and the fate of a number of doubtful seats should soon be decided.

Mr. W. G. Gibson, PostmasterGeneral, and Sir Neville Howse, Minister of Health and Repatriation, are both in precarious positions, but Sir Lyttelton Groom, Speaker in the last Parliament, has now been defeated.

Mr. H. S. Gullett, Minister of Customs' has retrieved his position, but at most can only win the Henty (Victoria) seat by a mere handful of votes.

Mr. C. L. A. Abbott, Minister of Home and Territories, is having a neck-, and-neck battle for the Gywdir (New South Wales) seat with Mr. L. L. Cunningham (Labour), and he will probably just lose the contest when the absentee votes are all counted. There are about ten other seats in doubt. The indications are that Labour should win about half of them. Mr. J. H. Scullin will broadcast the new Labour Ministry from Canberra at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. Mr. E. G. Theodore, Deputy-Leader of the Labour party, met representatives of the coalowners and discussed the coalfields deadlock. The outcome of the conversation was not divulged. A mass meeting of the striking timber workers was held in Sydney. At its conclusion the men were ordered back to'work. ' The employers, however, have assured their volunteer employees of then* positions, and there is practically no work available for the former employees.