Manawatu Daily Times TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 1923. THE BY-ELECTION.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 2594, 13 March 1923, Page 4

Manawatu Daily Times TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 1923. THE BY-ELECTION.

In political circles the by-election for the Tauranga seat is the one topic ot discussion. Sir Joseph Ward spent the week-end in Wellington and was kept busy with preparations for the campaign, and with efforts to acknowledge the good wishes that have been pouring in upon him by mail and telegraph from all parts of the Dominion. He will address his first meeting on Wednesday evening, and after that will devote himself entirely to the fight right up to the eve of the polling. He realises that the election must resolve itself largely into a contest between the Government and himself, and he is not complaining in any way of Ministers giving all the assistance they can to his opponent; but he hopes, before the campaign is over, to satisfy a large majority of the voters that he is not seeking to re-enter Parliament for his own aggrandisement. He feels that whatever Government may be in office when the party tangle is unravelled, he will be able to offer useful service to the country. His health is now fully restored, and he is entering upon a | strenuous fortnight with a light heart and an abundance of confidence. The Reformers do not attempt to disguise the fact that Sir Joseph Ward is the strongest candidate their opponents could have put in the field, but they are relying upon the large majorities they have scored in the constituency for years past, and upon the survival of Sir William Herries’ “mana" to carry them through. Many of them are regretting that Sir Joseph has ( not signified his readiness to cooperate with Mr Massey in restraining the aspirations of the extreme section of the Labour Party, and are still hoping that when he appears on the Hustings he will leave them with some hopes in this respect. Sir Joseph’s intimate friends, however, are giving them no encouragement. They predict (hat Sir Joseph will not be a seeker after office; that he will be content to sit on the Opposition benches without allying himself to any leader, and that his principal mission will be to give whatever party happens to be on the Treasury benches the advantage of his knowledge and experience. The ex-Liberal leader himself refuses to be drawn on the subject. “I shall make my position perfectly clear to the electors of Tauranga this week,” he said as he left for the scene, “and I feel in the circumstances they should be the first people to have my confidence.” If Mr McMillan should retain Tauranga for the Government, the Prime Minister’s position will be just the same as at present, except, of

course, that in the place of a very able and experienced colleague sitting with him on the Treasury benches, he will have a raw recruit with all his Parliamentary knowledge to acquire. On the other hand, if Sir Joseph Ward should succeed, the Government’s strictly party vote will be reduced by two, from SS to 3G, and the Opposition, nominally at any rate, will be reinforced by the most ready financial debater among present-day politicians. But it is thought—again by his friends —that Sir Joseph would be no more ready than the Independent Liberal trio proved to be during the short session to vote Mr Massey out of office with the prospect of his successor being dominated by extreme Labour. With Mr Holland and his associates out of the way the fate of the Government would have been sealed at the general election. The party position has not changed since then, and i the return of Sir Joseph Ward to the House would not change it materially. Probably quite unintentionally, but nevertheless effectually, Mr Holland remains the Prime Minister’s best friend. Though Mr C. E. Bloomfield has announced himself as an unofficial Labour candidate for the seat, ho is not likely to divert many votes from the other two candidates. Official Labour recognises that without any effective organisation in the constituency, and without the least prospects of polling more than a few hundred votes, it would be wasting time and money and impairing its prestige in the country by entering the field. It has no mere love for the Liberals than it has for the Heformers, probably a little less; but there are a considerable number o£ workers in every constituency who have a kindly recollection of the efforts made on their behalf by Mr Seddon and .Sir Joseph Ward in the old days, and some of these arc said to be among Sir Joseph’s warmest supporters in Tauranga just now. Tho inevitable result is a report that Labour is standing aside in the present contest in order that the Liberal candidate may have a clear run and re-enter Parliament under an obligation to Mr Holland and his colleagues. The story is very far-fetched, and too clumsy to have emanated from the Reform organisation, but it has got an early start, and is sure to obtain credence from a credulous elector here and there.