The Bag of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY NOV. 20th, 1949. THE POLITICAL BAROMETER
TWO things stand out from the result of the; Waipawa byelection —that there has been a general but none the less definite reaction against socialistic policy, and that the country booth returns indicate an almost complete lack of confidence by farmers in the Government. The. first statement is shown in the increase of the Nationalist majority from 446 when 9694 valid votes/ were cast in. 1938 to one of 1656 . when 7504 votes are cast. Probably that majority will be - increased at least pro rata when the 478 absentee and postal votes, and the unannounced number of soldiers' votes from overseas are included. It must not be forgotten that this is almost purely a country electorate—the only towns of any consequence are Waipukurau and, Waipawa, with pepu lations of but 2120 and 1160 respectively. Because of the extremely large proportion of country to town population the sympathies are likely to be more National than almost any other electorate, but that does not in any way alter the fact that whereas when Mr Jul! regained the seat from Mr Christie about 47 per cent of the electors voted Labour, the percentage on Saturday dropped to about 39 per cent Also it is noteworthy that the town of Waipukurau, which voted solidly for Labour at the last election, was only able to give Mr Christie a bare majority on this occasion. Whether a swing from Labour in Waipawa can be construed as a swing from Labour in the whole Dominion is doubtful; it merely indicates that there is a strong possibility of a general swing. In 1935 the Labour Party was well supported by the farmers; there was a reaction against this in 1938, though Labour still commanded quite a country following, but ever since then farmers have become increasingly resI tive, and in Waipawa at least the farmers have been almost brusque in their rejection of Labour blandishments. Such matters as Mr Nash's treatment of the dairy farmer in regard to the guaranteed price, the mauy taxation anomalies, the Small Farms Amendment Act and other phases of Government land policy, and above all, the cost increases, have influenced these farmers, and they will doubtless influence other farmers much the same way, even, if the result be not quite so definite. It would be dangerous to decide that just because. Labour's majority was largely reduced in Waipukurau that it is likely to be similarly reduced in small towns throughout the country. Local conditions play a large part, and the district is a far more wealthy one than the average. The only indication we have of the feelings in the cities is that six months ago, in the Auckland West seat, the Labour vote dropped by 3193. Part of that would be accounted by the fact that a Prime Minister is likely to be more popular in his own. electorate than an ordinary member, whilst the total poll was reduced. Summed up, there is every reason to. believe that farmers have swun ; ? to the ' right: there is some reason, but by no means a conclusive one, to believe that the small towns may be tending to some extent in the same direction; and that the same position applies to the cities/though here the premises of the argument are even less conclusive. Still, the Waipawa result can be rightly deemed by the Nationalists to be a triumph, whilst it should give the Government cause to restrain, any extremist legislation, particularly that effecting.the land.
Getting on With the Job. "I trust that the necessity for this committee; and for the Home Guard will soon disappear. But it looks as though we. will have to settle down to a Jong period of war and we had better get on with the job," said Mr L. B. Savage, chairman of the borough Home Guard committee at the meeting last night. Edgecumbe Pig Sale. The Farmers' Auctioneering Go. report having held their fortnightly sale at the above yards on Monday, when they offered a good yarding of pigs to a large bench of buyers. Competition was keen throughout and all lines sold at good prices. Buying was animated for baconers and buttermilk pigs. Wo quote: Heavy baconera £4 7s to £4 10; medium baconers £ r l 2s to £4 ss; light baconers £3 18s to £4; porkers and buttermilk £2 18s to £3 10s; large stores £2 10& to £3 3s; slips 29s to 375; weaners 17s to 245; choppers £2 8s to £4 Is. The next sale will be held on Monday, December 1.
Not an Everyday Affair. At 8.50 this morning Whakatane experienced a particularly sharp hail-storm. Hail is very unusual in November and the stones which fell in a clatter on' the roofs and window panes this morning were no midgets. Ohope Sections. The County Clerk reported at the meeting yesterday that four residents of Ohope had not intimated their intention of accepting t|he council's offer to lease a portion of the road, or council property, whichever applied, behind their premises. With these exceptions all others.were leasing all such areas at the agreed nominal rental of 10s. The Clerk sought the council's instructions as to what action should be taken in respect of those occupiers refusing to accept the council's offer while remaining in occupation and it was decided that they should be warned and failing result, should be prosecuted.
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Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 240, 20 November 1940, Page 4
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912The Bag of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY NOV. 20th, 1949. THE POLITICAL BAROMETER Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 240, 20 November 1940, Page 4
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