GOVERNMENT LEAD

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23042, 20 May 1938, Page 12

GOVERNMENT LEAD

SOUTH AFRICAN POLLS HUGE URBAN MAJORITY NATIONALISTS REJECTED DOMINION LEADERS UNSEATED By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright (Received May 19. 11.00 p.m.) CAPETOWN, May 19 The counting of votes in the urban areas has been completed, the state of the parties being:— United Party . . ..: . « .51 Nationalist Party 0 Dominion Party «.• .. .•. 6 Labour Party ........ 3

Independents . . . 1 Counting in the rural areas is now in progress. It is anticipated that when the counting is concluded the United Party, led by General Hertzog and General Smuts, which holds the Government benches, will have over 90 seats.' 1 Those defeated include Colonel Stallard and Mr. C. W. Coulter, tlio Dominion Party's leader and deputyleader. The Dominion Party won two Durban t seats from tho Government, which, is attributable to the EnglishRpeaking province's reaction to tho introduction of the Africaans National Anthem, and also fear that the Govern-ment-would abolish the term British subject. . . . The Nationalists were never strong in the urban .areas, and the real test of their opposition will be revealed after the rural counting.

Tlio Cape Times, in an editorial, says: "The, results show that the United Party triumphed by slider commonsense and loyalty to its great leaders. If the rural vote goes similarly we. may well believe the last has been heard of the Dominion Party's heresy, and the severest check has been given the Nationalists' dangerous and detestable racialism."