THE AUSTRALIAN ISSUE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18278, 20 December 1922, Page 9

THE AUSTRALIAN ISSUE.

MR. HUGHES' LEADERSHIP.

COUNTRY PARTY HOSTILITY.

POSITION IMPROVING. By Teleju'iuph—Press Association —Copyisht. (Received 7.15 p.m.) A. and N.Z. SYDNEY, Dec. 10. As anticipated, later election returns are improving the position of the Country Party. The outlook for Mr. A. S. Rodger?, Minister for Customs, is more promising, and it is now expected that he will scrarje in on second preferences. The National, Liberal, and Country Parties eacli ran a woman candidate, and all three made a poor showing. The Melbourne press advocates that Mr. Hughes should resign, bu; it is understood that Mr. Hughes intends to meet tho House, throwing upon the Country Party or any other members the onus of taking action if they see fit to force a crisis. Should the leader of the Country Party, whose chief grievance is against Mr. Hughes' personal leadership of the anti-Socialistic forces, in the meantime declare that his party will not support Mr. Hughes, a declaration which at the present juncture is not expected, then the position will bo altered, and Mr. Hughes' hand will bo forced.

On the strength of the latest returns, tho Sydney Morning Herald has revised its estimate of the state of the parties a3 follows: —•

Nationalists . , . . . . 30 Labour 26 • Country Party 12 Independents and Liberals . . 2 Doubtful 5

It now appears almost certain that Mr. A. I'oynton. Postmaster-General, and Mr. Laird Smith, ex-Minister for the Navy, will lose their seats, and that Mr. Massey Greene, Minister for Defence, will give place to a Country Party member.

A feature of the elections is that all the members of the old Labour Party who joined the National Party, with the exception of M.r. Hughes, have been swept out. These include. Messrs. Poynton, Laird Smith, Lamond, Higgs, Chanter, and Thomas.