ELECTION IN IRELAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19659, 10 June 1927, Page 11

ELECTION IN IRELAND.

FREE STATE POLL TAKEN. GOVERNMENT GAIN LIKELY. REVERSE FOR REPUBLICANS. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyrisht. (Receded June 9, 6 pjn.) A. and N.Z, LONDON, Juno 9. Polling took place yesterday in the general election for the Irish Free State Dail. There were 375 candidates for the 152 seats. The election had been hotly contested. The Dublin correspondent of the Daily Telegraph says the Government P3rty expects to be returned with a gain of five seats. The return of Mr. E. Blythe, Minister of Finance, is considered to be doubtful. The Labour Party will probably return stronger, but Mr. Eamonn de Valera's Party will be considerably weaker. Representation in the Irish Free State Dail (Chamber of Deputies) is based on a. regulation that'there shall be not less . than one member for each 30,000 of the population and not more than one member for each 20.000. At the last general election, in 1923, there were 153 seats vacant, for which 369 candidates contested. The state of parties as a result of that election was: Government, 63; Republicans, 44; Independents, 17; Labour, 14; Farmers, 15. On the present occasion there were eight parties in the field, namely, Government, Republican, Independent, Clan Eireann, National, Farmers, Labour and Sinn Fein. Interest centred in the Republicans, led by Mr. Eamonn de Valera, recently returned from America with plenty of money which was expected to bo ample to enable him to put many candidates forward. Mr. de Valera, who now .calls his followers the " Party of Destiny," recently claimed that he would take supporters from the Government. In that event he would enter the Dail and assume office, but he would refuse to take the oath of allegiance. That would immediately reopen the Irish treaty issue. • The Labour Party was very active in the campaign. Since last July between 130 and 150 local organisations had been instituted in support of Labour candidates, and the party hoped to be able to put at least 50 strong men in the field. The National League, under the leadership of Captain William Redmond and Mr. Thomas O'Donnell (formerly a member of the Irish Nationalist Party in the House of Commons), made opposition to compulsory Irish an important plank in its political platform. The Farmers' Party suffered through lack of funds. Mr. de Valera's most formidable rival was the People's Party, headed by Mr. Magennis, of the National University, which, although it professes Republican principles, has no obiection to attendance in the National Parliament. Miss Mary MacSweeney's small party of irreconcilable Republicans split into three minor groups; it was virtually negligible as far as the election was concerned, and badly in want of funds.