LATEST DOMINION FIGURES

Northern Advocate, 19 December 1919, Page 5

LATEST DOMINION FIGURES

A TIGHT FIT

CONTINUANCE SLIGHTLY AHEAD

ll).S0n VOTES TO COME

WELLINGTON, This Day. Tho result of the National Licensing Poll taken on Wednesday is not yet known. The official figures available last night (subject to slight additions in a few cases) dealt with all but four of the licensing districts, and give the following totals: — Continuance 217,161 State Purchase 28,737 Prohibition 244,308 Majority against Prohibition 159 The districts from which official returns had not been received last night, were: —Waitemata, Hurunui, Bruce, and Kaiapoi. The returns received by the New Zealand Alliance give the Prohibition total for these four electorates as 12,000, and the Continuance and State Control combined total as 12,414.

These figures, added to the official totals, make it appear that tho majority against Prohibition at present is 1404, but it seems likely that there is an error in the official figures from Waikaio. An Alliance report states that the Prohibition votes in the Waikato number 4216. The official report says approximately 1000 between the official totals of the licensing votes and the electoral votes in the Waikato. This discrepancy seems to confirm the Alliance figures.

If that correction is made the majority against Prohibition is reduced (on the Alliance reckoning) to 404.

The votes of over 2000 soldiers have still to be counted, and there are about JBOO seamen's permits and 16,000 absent voters' permits on issue. The soldiers include 1373 men at sea and about 700 men in England and Samoa. The votes cast by the seamen and absent voters will be counted when tho official counts are taken, which will not. be until after the holidays iv some cases.