THE FIGHT BEGINS.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 16 March 1923, Page 4

THE FIGHT BEGINS.

SIR JOSEPH WARD AT TAURANGA.

TAURANGA, Last Night;

The Tauranga fight has begun in earnest, and from now until the night of March 28 this contest, the result of which all New Zealand is awaitiiig, will be strenuously waged. It N will be strenuous because the electorate is a largo one, and in order to cover it by pollin'; day the candidates will have to fin an enormous amount of travelling and speeches will have to be de. livcred at several plac s per day, ) Sir Joseph Ward reached Tauranga to-day after a somewhat adventurous motor drive from Te Aroha. He has been received all along me line with wonderful enthusiasm. He was at iuorrinsville on Wednesday and visited the show, and it was clear the people were delighted to see him. At Te Aroha he was entertained at a big public recej t on, and the enthusiasm there was unite remarkable. The gathering cheered him to the echo, and ~i unmistakable terms expressed the hope that he would be returned at the head of the poll. From Te Aroha he set out that evening for Tauranga, but motor trouble developed en route, and long delays by the wayside induced him to stop for the night at the township of Katikati. Quite a number of people had heard that he would be passing through, and they stayed up till a late hour to cheer him on his way. They gave him a rousing reception, and he had hardly stepped out of the car when he was met with a request for a new post office. Tauranga was reached early in the afternoon. There was a big crowd waiting and the cheering for Sir Joseph and Lady Ward lasted some lime. In thanking the people for their reception, Sir Joseph said that he could not understand why it should be so. It was said that he was really a passing stranger. He had come here feel, ing that Tauranga was part of New Zealand, and that he was part of Now Zealand, and if Tauranga was part of New Zealand and he was part of New Zealand, how could his opponents put him down as a stranger? (Cheers). Sir Joseph added i.’.iat he was entering the campaign with a I s ght heart, and he hoped to come out of it at the finish with a light heart. (Applause). If he won he would shake hands with his opponent, and if he lost he would shake hands with him. (Applause, and cries of "xou will beat him easily!”) The enthusiasm for Sir Joseph in Tauranga is unmistakable, and even Reformers express the opinion that the majority their party had at the general election will be changed to a minority. It is gathered here that there is some trouble in the Reform camp owing to many considering that Mr Macmillan is not the chosen candidate of the Reform section of the community, but is foisted upon them. Mr MacMillan is not a good platform man, and has not the personal following of the late Sir Wm. Herries.

A striking feature of the campaign so far as it has gone is the personal popularity of Sir Joseph Ward. An instance which was furnished at Te Aroha will serve to illustrate this fact. Both Sir Joseph and Mr Massey visited the Te Aroha races, and while the Prime Minister spent the day in comparative loneliness, Sir Joseph was surrounded throughout his stay at the course by knots of acquaintances and people anxious to meet him. The attention shown to Sir Joseph by so many of those present was a subject of comment for days afterwards. Sir Joseph is in splendid speaking form, and his platform work was never better. He is in excellent health and great though the task is he has decided to visit every portion of the electorate between now and polling day. This afternoon an itinerary was mapped out, which covers the whole electorate. While Sir Joseph Is shouldering the whole campaign himself, the Reform candidate is by no means single-handed. The Prime Minister and the Hon. J. G. Coates have been in the electorate for some days, and it is expected that the Reform fighting force will be reinforced in the course of a few days. It is very evident that the full strength of Reform is being concentrated here.