The Press Friday, December 8, 1922. THE VERDICT.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17632, 8 December 1922, Page 8

The Press Friday, December 8, 1922. THE VERDICT.

The result of yesterday's polling is a very narrow victory for tho Government. To all Reformers this is a rather disappointing result, but when they examine the details of the figures, and consider the general course of the polling and its significance, most Reformers will be well content with, the strength of their vote. In some of the constituencics the result is in doubt. Thero were 76 contests yesterday, and they resulted as follows: — Reform 37 Liberal 19 Labour 17 Independent 3 Taking tho Maori seats into account, we have the following state of parties:— Reform -10 Liberal 20 Labour 17 Independent 3 It is possible that Mr Jones may secure tho Kaiapoi seat, but for tho present we shall assume that the official recount and the absent votes will leave the interim totals unaffected. If- Waikato goes to tho Government, as it easily may, Mr Massey will have a bare majonty'of Reform members in the House when the Speaker is elected. But in the Liberal total we have inoluded Mr Isitt, and Mr Isitt will vote for the Government if it is challenged by a Liberal-Rod combination. There is, therefore, no danger of any change of Government in any case. But the situation does not end here. The Reform Party has lost some seats, but it will be found, we believe, when the totals are all made up, that the Reform vote as a whole has increased. >The Liberal Party has just succeeded in maintaining its numerical strength in tho House, but it has been very lucky to do this, since there* iB ample evidence that it has become much weaker relatively to other parties. Here and there its luck did not hold, particularly in Canterbury, where the Party has been going downhill for years. The terrible Liberal slump in Christchureh East and Avon is striking evidence of the decay of the old Party in our district. One more election, and the Liberal Party would almost vanish from the scene, for it is now obviously a party which has no place in the scheme of things. The Labour Party, on the other hand, has greatly increased its holding. It cam© out of the 1919 election with eight seats. To-day it holds seventeen, Mr Wilford thought that the Labour Party could not strengthen its position, bub we anticipated what has happened, and we have over and over again warned the electors that the Labour Party was growing in streugth. arid aggressiveness. Modorate-minded people, who dislike the dootrines of the Reds and dread the consequences of Labour rule, will have much to reflect upon in the result of yesterday's contest. There could hardly be a more emphatic justification of our warnings that the real issue is between Moderates and Reds. The support given to the Liberal candidates is proof that a great many moderate voters, believed Mr Wilford rather than us, and we have no doubt whatever that when they contemplate the figures they will admit that we were -right;- They were led to believe that there was a tremendous Liberal revival, and naturally they desired to have a hand in. giving .Mr Wilford 40 odd Liberal seats. They can now see that they have merely assisted Labour, as we predicted. They will not be pleased when they reflect that they nearly put Mr Massey in a minority, arid thus nearly delivered the country into the hands of the Reds. For what sort of Government should we have had from a combination of Liberals and Reds in nearly equal parts? We predict that a result of this election must be a definite alignment of parties along the true line of cleavage—the line dividing moderate men from revolutionary Labour. The Liberal members will have to make up their minds that the old labels must be discarded, and that they must choose definitely between the side of sane, and Liberal progress under the guidance of Mr Massey and the side for which Mr Holland stands. The fact that the Government's majority is so narrow will force this rearrangement of the old Liberal Party, which can no longer hope, and will, hardly attempt in any seiious spirit, to persuade the country that it has an independent mission.