LABOUR LOSING ANOTHER SEAT?

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 21963, 6 March 1946, Page 4

LABOUR LOSING ANOTHER SEAT?

RAGLAN POLLING

194 VOTES DOWN J PROVISIONAL COUNT FINAL RESULTS IN WEEK (P.A.) AUCKLAND, March 6. When the provisional count for the Raglan by-election was | completed last night it showed I that Mr. H. Johnstone, the i National Party candidate, had a ! majority of 194 votes over Mr. A. 0. Baxter, his Labour opponent. There are still 530 absentee and postal votes to come, as well as an unknown I number of votes from serviceI men in the electorate. | The official figures for the provisional count were:— Mr. H. Johnstone (Nat.) 4627 Mr. A. C. Baxter (Lab.) 4433 Majority for Mr. Johnstone 194 Absentee and Postal Votes In the four-cornered contest for Raglan at the 1943 general election the successful candidate, .the late Mr. successful candidate, the late Mr. R. Coulter, had a majority of 108 votes over the National Party candidate. In yesterday's election a total of 25 votes were cast by servicemen overseas. Of these Mr. Baxter received 14 and Mr. Johnstone 11. There were 30 informal votes out of a total roll of 13,477. Absentee votes totalling 378 and postal votes totalling 152 have still to come. In addition, a number of votes from servicemen in camps within the electorate have yet to be taken into considcraion. These-votes will go to Wellington to be counted, and it is not expected that the results will be known for about a week. The number of these servicemen is not known. Campaign Cleanly Conducted

Connratulations on the clean manner in which the Raglan by-election had been carried out were given by the successful National Party candidate, Mr. H. Johnstone, to his opponent, Mr. A. C. Baxter (Labour), when both candidates addressed a large ciowd which assembled outside the chief returning office at the Ngaruawahia Post Office when the results of the provisional count were made known. There were rounds of hearty applause for both candidates. “It has been a clean contest and 1 would take this opportunity of assuring the electors of Raglan that, if the oflicial count shows that I have been returned, I will do my oest in the interests of the electors and the country.” said Mr. Johnstone. Mr. Baxter also expressed appreciation of the way in which his opponent had conducted his campaign, and lie thanked .the electors who had voted for him.