MARLBOROUGH SEAT

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 79, 30 September 1938, Page 11

MARLBOROUGH SEAT

EXTENSIVE ELECTORATE

' (Special to the "Evening Post.") BLENHEIM, This ■ Day. This,week there has been an intensification of the election campaign in the Marlborough electorate, and both candidates, Mr. E. P. Meachen (Government) and Mr. E. F. Healy (National) have been addressing two, and sometimes three, meetings each day. Such an energetic programme is necessary because of the extent of the electorate, the boundaries of which were recently enlarged to include Rai Valley, formerly in Nelson, and the country south of Kaikoura to the Con way River, which brings in, a number of large public works camps on the South Main Trunk railway, including Oaro, the headquarters of the southern section of the line. , In addition to the candidates' meetings, addresses have already been given by Mr. J. A. Lee and the Hon. P. C. Webb,.in support of the Government candidature, and' Messrs. W. A. Bodkin (National candidate for Central Otago), and W. L. Barker (National candidate for the Wellington East seat) in support of Mr. Healy. The indications are that Marlborough must be regarded as definitely .an uncertain quantity, as both parties have made arrangements for a number of outside sp.eakers to visit the electorate, including the Minister of Education (Mr. Fraser), the Minister of Finance (Mr. Nash), and the Minister of Public Works (Mr. Semple) in support of the Government, and the Leader of the Opposition and two other speakers yet to be allocated, for the National Party. Although considerably overshadowed by the interest in the European situation, politics have certainly captured public interest to an extent riot known in any previous election, and all meetings held to date have been largely attended. A feature, however, has been the fair and patient hearings accorded to all speakers. Interjections have been more notable by their absence than anything else. Some idea of the trend of public interest, however, has been given in the nature of the questions submitted to speakers, most of which have concerned the Government's guaranteed price scheme, the issue of Socialism as opposed to the encouragement, of private enterprise, and the question of closer settlement of land. The Minister of Finance (Mr. Nash) will speak next Tuesday, at Rai Valley in the afternoon, and at Blenheim in the evening.