WELLINGTON SOUTH

Evening Post, Volume XCVIII, Issue 146, 18 December 1919, Page 9

WELLINGTON SOUTH

VICTORY FOR COLONEL MITCHELL Colonel Mitchell (i.) .. 4612 R, Sentple (Lab.) 3313 Majority fer Mitchell 1229 Mr. Robert Semple's defeat evidently came ,as a great surprise to his supporters, especially as his opponent was much less known in the district than himself. The first intimation of the result came from one of the booths of the Newtown Library polling station:—Mit-. chell. 237, Semple, 170; but it was thought that polling at Brooklyn and at St. Thomas's Hall would give Mr. Semple a lead, if a slight one. On the contrary, here, too, Colonel Mitchell secured substantial majorities, and so it went on at every other polling station. In every case the Colonel was in the lead. Mr. Semple's aides, who worked indefatigably for him throughout the day .—distributing his colours, the red ribbon, to all who would wear them—it was made apparent were much surprised as the results came to hand. Colonel Mitchell's supporters, who had worked, with great zeal and, as it turned out, in great confidence, of ensuring his election, were

naturally elated with the result. Mr. J. E. F. Perry, the returning officer, had his headquarters at the Newtown Library. Hei'e the arrangements ran like clockwork, the returns coming rapidly to hand in the case, of most of the polling stations; and shortly after 8 o'clock it was definitely known that the sitting member had no- chance against the sol-dier-candidate. The polling was very good throughout the constituency, there being 8031 votes cast, out of a roll of 10,104. One surprise to the Returning Officer was the large proportion of informal votes cast, especially as there were but two candidates for the seat. The returns of each polling station were as follow :— -g "& Newtown Library 1100 862 Riddiford-street 1033 850 Constable-street 557 219 Palm-grove 220 188 Tasman-street 222 193 Grosvenor 357 215 Brooklyn : 1085 757 Vogeltown 38 29 Informal, 104. 1914.—A. H. Hindmarsh (Lab.), 4279; J. P. Luke (R.), 3064; R. B. Williams (1.R.),. 221. Labour majority, 1215. By-election, 19th December, 1918.— R. Semple (Lab.), 2411; G. Frost (I.), 1286; J. Castle (I), 398. Labour majority, 1125.