ASHBURTON.

Bush Advocate, Volume XXI, Issue 119, 18 November 1908, Page 5

ASHBURTON.

ASHBURTON, to-day. The returning officer's revised figures for Ashburton are: Flatman, 2293; Nosworthy 1336; Jones, 1302; Gobbe, o«9; Maslin, 276. Messrs Flatman and" Nosworthy go to a, second ballot. Seventy absent voters, to come in, may reaffect the result so far as Messrs Nosworthy anr Jones are concerned. WOODVILLE, to-day. For the Pahiatua <seat all the returns are in, and the official figures now are: Ross 1839, Cooper 1239, Hawkins 1129; informal votes 31. HOKITIKA, to-day. Complete results of Westland, with the exception of 70 permits, are : — Seddon, 2811 ; Michel, 2683. Owing to being laid aside by illness, Mr R. Heaton Rhodes, Opposition candidate and ex-member for Ellesmere (Canterbury), has had to cease his electioneering campaign. His wife, however, has stepped into the breach and is addressing meetings of her husband's late constituents. A Christchurch correspondent telegraphs that a meeting at Green Park^.that was addressed by Mrs Rhodes on Saturday night was the largest and most enthusiastic ever seen in the district, jpeople came in front many miles amXxnd, "aiid the schoolroom, tho on% r public building available, was packed to suffocation. The chairman of the School Committee presided. He has occupied a similar position on many occa-

sions, but Saturday's meeting was the easiest to control that ho ever experienced, the onl5 r . interruptions being the frequent outbursts of applause. Mrs Rhodes said she had always taken a deep interest i-,\ her husbaaid s political career, and i*i addressing the electors now that lv; \\ os ill she was 'partly influenced by the fact that two-of her friends in l'n.inland had helped their husbands i;i political campaigns. Mrs Rhodes then dealt at some length with ji number of leading questions of the day, explaining her husband's views. At the conclusion of the speech the meeting carried a unanimous resolution of sympathy with Mr Rhodes in his illness and' a hearty vote of thanks was passed to Mrs Rhodes for her address, which the mover declared was a modern political speech. • [Mr Rhodes was re-elected.]

The scrutiny in connection with the Parliamentary election will be commenced, by Mr Tilsley at the courthouse at 9 o'clock to-morrow morning. ;