The Hawera Star. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1924. CONSERVATIVES’ OVERWHELMING VICTORY.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 31 October 1924, Page 4

The Hawera Star.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1924. CONSERVATIVES’ OVERWHELMING VICTORY.

Delivered every evening by 6 o'clock jn Hawera, llanaia, Normanby, Okaiawa, Eltham, Mangatoki, Kaponga, Awatima, Opunake, Otakeho, Manutahi, Alton, Jlurleyville, Patea, Waverley, Mokoia, Whakamara, Ohangai, Meremere, Fraser Hoad, and Ararata.

Our cable messages this morning show thciL> the Conservatives have secured an overwhelming victory at the polls and the electors declared their veixlict in a most definite manner upon the issues placed before them. With only twenty-one results to come, at time of writing, the Conservatives have a clear majority of 200. One has to go back to 1006, when the Liberal majority was 354, to find a victory approaching the present one, except the Coalition majority of 249 tat the election of 1018. Jn our article on Tuesday we wrote that “the deciding factor will be how the people who have formerly been Liberals vote on this occasion.’’ The small Liberal total of 41 in the returns to hand show plainly that there has been a swing over to the Conservative Party, and Labour, too, has lost many supporters—probably electors who have learned from experience of Labour’s term in office that, though Mr. MacDonald’s Ministry introduced little legislation of an extreme character, there lias been he-'

hint! the party a. vigorous body of extremists to whom 'axe attributed the Anglo-Russian treaty and the Government’s action in the Campbell case. No doubt the sensational- Zinoviev letter also had an important effect upon the polling, which the cables state was unusually heavy. It seems as if the ; electors of Britain decided definitely that they must end the instability of Parliament and place in power a party of strong principles who would be prepared to govern without fear of their entering into agreements containing dangerous possibilities. The British electors have given a straight answer to those who have urged that Socialism is the panacea of all national ills. Britain ha.s definitely declared that she does not want a Socialist Government and ■ Labour ha.s come back considerably weaker, while Socialism has received a set-back from which the majority of people <\vill hope that it will not recover. What the effect will be in international affairs it i<= perhaps too early to say, but probably knowledge that Britain is to be under a strong Conservative Government will be sufficient to stave off further efforts by Russia and other dangerous States to interfere with the British Empire, for the unity and safety of which the Conservatives can be relied upon to do their utmost. No election in recent years has created more widespread interest, but even those who desired to see the Conservatives return to power must be surprised to find their party elected by such a huge majority. The election marks the end of indecision and indefinitenees which in recent months have had a bad effect, and it is hoped that the way is. now clear for Britain to attack firmly and successfully the great problems with which she is faced. A word of praise is due to the great body of Liberal electors who have not hesitated to place patriotism before party and to vote.for a strong Government.