The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1911. HOW THE PROVINCES WENT.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1316, 20 December 1911, Page 4

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1911. HOW THE PROVINCES WENT.

O.n'e of the Wardist organs in the South has been congratulating Canterbury upon its fine stand for what, it is pleased to call "Liberalism," but which has nothing whatever to do with Liberal principles general or special. Canterbury's case is certainly a very curious one, for it rallied to the support of Wardism quite as vigorously (on its smaller scale) as Wellington, Taranaki, and Hawke's Bay rallied to the flag of Reform. A comparison of the net returns from the, provinces makes an extremely interesting table. The old provincial boundaries arc almost effaced, of course, but they may still be usefully employed to divide the country roughly into five areas. In our table Auckland and Poverty Bay comprise about half this island—the half north of a rough line from just above New Plymouth to a point be.tween Napier and Gisborno. The candidates returned from the European seats in the five areas were as follow: Reform. Wardist. Indep. Lab. Wellington, Taranaki a n d Hawko's Bay 15 4 0 3 Auckland and Poverty Bay 11 6 2 1 0 t a go and Scuthland ... 9 6 0.0 Canterbury and Marlborough 2 11 1 0 Westlaud and Nelson 0 J 1 0 •37 31 1 i The first thing that strikes the eye, here is the singular oppositcness of the _ results in the two islands. Taking Cook Strait as a dividing line we find this result: Reform. Wardist. Indep. Lab, North. Island 26 10 2 4 South Island 11 21 2 0 It is thus obvious that, the Ward party, almost demolished in Wellington, Taranaki, and Hawke's Bay, and badly beaten in Auckland, Otago and Southland, exists as the remains of a party to-day only by the grace, of the two smallest of the, areas, viz., Canterbury and Marlborough, and Westlaud, and Nelson. In these two double areas there were only 19 seats, altogether, or exactly one-fourth of the total of European seats, so that three-fourths of the whole country were very emphatically indeed against the so-called "Liberalism" of the Ward Administration. Our "Liberal" friends can take as much comfort as they choose from Canterbury. So far as Westland is concerned, it is very easy to see why it remained faithful to Sut Joseph Wakd, Westland, owing partly to its geographical position, is in a measure apart from the current of political life, and only in a, comparatively small degree affected by tho tide o' Reform feeling. , We do not doubt,

however, that its ramparts against the spirit of the age—its bar harbours on its coast and its mountain ranges on its eastern border—will be insufficient to prevent its invasion by the spirit of licform. Canterbury's ease is curious. Always rather slow to move, and rather conservatively inclined to maintain what it has been accustomed to, it was not expected to return manv Reform members. The votes cast for the licform candidates were, however, so encouragingly largo that there is no room to doubt that the moral effect of the revolt in the more alert and progressive portions of the Dominion will be to give the Reform party several seats at the next general election. At the 1905 election Canterbury and Marlborough (which then embraced 15 scats, C'ourtcnay having since disappeared) sent to the House 12 Government and three Opposition members. In 1908 its contribution was 9 Government, 2 Independent, and 3 Opposition supporters. Here is proof of its tendency to continue in a rut; but what has now happened in politics is a complete revolution, and so soon as Canterbury realises it—it has doubtless realised it already—it will recognise the call for change. In 1905 the Auckland, Wellington, and Otago areas contributed only 12 Opposition candidates between them. The number has now grown to 35. We fancy it is a very modest estimate that when Canterbury again speaks it will elect half a dozen Reformers at least.