LIVELIEST BRITISH POST-WAR FIGHT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 269, 13 November 1935, Page 7

LIVELIEST BRITISH POST-WAR FIGHT.

ELECTION STRUGGLE.

Largest Electorate Ever Recorded. MR. MacDONALD'S PROTEST. British Official Wireless. (Received 12.30 D.m.) RUGBY, November 12. Less than 48 hours remain before the nation goes to the polls, and almost every one of the 1348 candidates has many platform engagements before the campaign closes. Party organisations are working at full pressure on a final canvass of their supporters. The number of electors on. the rolls is the largest that has ever taken part in a Parliamentary election, having grown from 29,052,361 in 1929 to 31,305,527. Normal voting hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., will be observed, but in many constituencies, in order to suit the convenience of voters, polling booths will be open from 7 a.m. to 0 p.m. The counting of votes in some 300 boroughs will be undertaken immediately after polling closes, and results will be known within a few hours. In the more scattered constituencies, votes will be counted on the following morning, and early on Friday afternoon all results, with but few exceptions, will have been declared. Mr. Stanley Baldwin made his final speech at Newcastle to-night, and nearly every other Minister spoke at one or more meetings to-day. Mr. Baldwin, besides his last speech in the campaign at Newcastle, finally sent a message to the nation: "Steady recovery for four years has made Britain most envied of all nations. The world is watching because it realises that the continuance of a strong, experienced and stable Government here will be a vital factor in preservation of world peace through the League of Nations." The Prime Minister pledged the Government not to spend a penny more on defences than was necessary for safety, and to strive to bring the nations into agreement on an all-round reduction of armaments. The Labour Leader, Major Attlee, spoke at Nottingham. Mr. Ramsay Mac Donald faced an angry audience at Shotton. He referred to "mob dictatorship." The meeting was prematurely closed. London is preparing for its liveliest post-war election night. Special licensing extensions up to midnight have been granted to public houses, as well as to hotels and fashionable restaurants.