WARM WELCOME

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 95, 19 October 1938, Page 10

WARM WELCOME

MR. HAMILTON'S RETURN

NATIONAL PARTY'S GAIN

(By Telegraph—Press Association.)

INVERCARGILL, October 18.

National Party supporters gave the Leader of the^ Opposition (the Hon. Adam Hamilton) and Mrs. Hamilton a warm welcome when they returned to Invercargill this evening.

A big crowd at the railway station greeted Mr. Hamliton with cheers and the singing of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow."

"Now that the election is over," said Mr. Hamilton, "we must accept the verdict in good grace and allow the Government to carry on. The electors have decided. We think their decision was made on a short-sighted view, but the will of the people must prevail.

"The Government," he continued, "was fortunate in taking over when finances were sound. There were also three years of high produce prices and record exports. This brings real wealth, which was shared by all New Zealand^rs. It is to be hoped these conditions continue.

"Although we did not gain as many seats as we expected, our gain was quite substantial: We had 19 members in the last Parliament. In this we have 24. It is worthy of note that, leaving out the city areas, we hold a solid block of rural electorates from my own Wallace electorate right up to Hurunui in North Canterbury. In the North Island, we also have a solid block beginning with Waipawa and Manawatu and—omitting big towns again—running right up through the dairying districts of Taranaki into the Waikato, where we won fo^jJr seatsmaking a continuous area of 12 electorates. A study of the map will show that the farmers of New Zealand have not endorsed the Government's policy."