THE ELECTIONS.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20382, 31 October 1931, Page 16

THE ELECTIONS.

LYTTELTON SEAT. MR F. W. FREEMAN'S CANDIDATURE. A large meeting of supporters of Mr F. W. Freeman, the official Coalition candidate for the Lyttelton seat, was held last night in the Town Hall, Sumner, tho Mayor (Mr W. n. Nicholson) being in the chair. Tho chairman urged those present to use every effort to secure the return of Mr Freeman, who would undertake to assist those best able to handle the affairs of government in New Zealand during a particularly difficult period. Referring to the elections in Great Britain, he stated that it was evident that the electors there were satisfied after a fair trial that the Labour Socialists could not deliver the goods, and the electors of England had now returned to those who had in tho past kept Great Britain the foremost Empire in the world. The candidate said that the British elections had acted as a spur to those who were going to the country on the Coalition platform. In times of stress the services of men of conservative thought were demanded by all classes of tho community. Prior to tlje Coalition agreement some arrangements had already been entered into for a fusion of the forces of the United and Reform Parties, and Mr G. F. Allen had generously stood down to reduce the contest to onj of the Socialist Party against the rest of the constituency. A Bound plan on national reconstruction was necessary, and the Forbes-Coates Government was deserving of the full support of every elector of the district. Subsequently arrangements were made for the organisation of the Mt. Pleasant-Sunmer-Kedcliffs district. RICCARTON. A meeting of supporters of the Coalition Government and tho official Coalition candidate for the Riccarton seat will be held in tho Riccarton Town Hall on Wednesday night at 8 o'clock.

AUCKLAND SEATS. AGREEMENT REACHED. U'SES,* 4.SSOCUTIOJI TEI.E'jrUU.; AUCKLAND, October 00. A coaicrcnco of tlio United and 110I'onu Auckland provincial executives to-dav agreed on Coalition candidates tor twenty-two of the twenty-four Auckland seats. Nine Reform and seven United witting members wero endorsed. Tlio Reformers, Messrs Allen Bell, >S. ltoid, and It. Marryatt were endorsed as Coalition candidates for the Bay ot Islands, ltaglan, and Auckland Suburbs, respectively The United nominees, Messrs W. li. Murray, and >v. H. Waekrow wero endorsed for Grey Lynn and VVaimarino. The X T nited Party will also contest Auckland Central. ' Two seats undecided, Auckland West and Manukau, were left for negotiation. The Reformers Messrs J. A. Allum and S. Rickards, have been announced as the respective candidates, but tho United Party officials hope to secure agreement to the nomination of their candidates, in which case the candidatures in the twentyfour seats of tho province will be equally divided between the parties.

INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE FOR AWARUA. (FRZ3S ASSOCIATION TBLEORAM ) INVERCARGILL, October 80. At a meeting of Awarua Reform supporters to-night, it was decided to ask the Leader of the Reform Party, the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, to como to Southland for the purpose of explaining the position with regard to the selection of Official Coalition candidates. Mr Norman Mclntyre, farmer, of Tussock Creek, has announced himself as an Independent candidate for Awarua. Mr George Agnew, who was recently, selected as the official Reform candidate for Ittvercargill, announces that in response, to representations from a largo body of Reform supporters he has decided to accede to their request that he should offer himself as an Independent Reform candidate at the coming poll. Mr Agnew says that his decision was arrived at not in any spirit of disloyalty to the Party which he had consistently supported, but solely in deference to tho wishes of his local supporters.