ELECTION ANALYSED

New Zealand Times, Volume LII, Issue 12315, 9 December 1925, Page 4

ELECTION ANALYSED

SOME GREAT MAJORITIES MR J. S. DICKSON’S RECORD GOVERNMENT’S SWEEPING .VICTORY • Mr E.. A. James has made the following interesting analysis of the-'general election results:— Reform Party candidates secured some remarkable majorities, and led also in the number of votes polled in their interest. The Senior Government Whip, Mr J S. Dickson, headed the list, of successful candidates with 8497 votes, the highest. vote ever recorded for any candidate in the Dominion. His majority was 4887 t Three other Reform candidates—Mr V. H. Potter with 7301,. Sir James Parr with 7158, and Mr A. Harris with 7101 —reeeived'over 7000 votes, and eight others secured over 6000 viz. Messrs 5. A. Wright 6881, E. D. McLennan 6714, J. A. Nash 6584, J. A. Young 6380, J. G. Coatee 6307, Hon. W. D. Stewart 6305, Messrs T. Forsyth 6191, and F. J. Rolleston 6140. Of 25 Reform candidates who secured majorities of over 1000, 12 had absolute majorities over all other candidates of over 2000, as under

J. S. Dickson (Parnell) 4887 Hon. J. G. Coatee (Kaipara) 4835 E. D. McLennan (Franklin) 3919 J. A. Young (Hamilton) 3529 J. A Nash (Palmerston North) ...... 3240 T. W. Rhodes (Thames) 2666 Hon. G. J. Anderson (Mataura) ... 2664 F. J. Rolleston (Timaru) 2486 Hon. W. D. Stewart (Dunedin West) 2478 C. E. Macmillan (Tauranga) 2310 Sir James Parr (Eden) 2218 R. P. Hudson (Motueka) 2102 Of the remaining 13, eight obtained majorities of over 1500, thus':—

A. Harris (Waitemata) 1942 Sir George Hunter (Waipawa) 1781 Hon. R. jj\ Bollard (Raglan) ......... 1658 J. McC. Dickson (Chalmers) ?593 W. H. Field (Otaki) 1577 W. Linklater (Manawatu) 1570 R. A: Wright (Wellington Suburbs) 1542 V. H. Hotter (Roskill) 1513

At the 1922 elections five seats were lost to the Reforin Party by the splitting of the Reform vote by candidates standing, allegedly in the party interest, against the officially-selected candidates. With better organisation on the present occasion, the officially-selected candidates had a clear run against their opponents, and thus four out of the five seats— Waikato, Patea, Napier, and Wellington East —lost to the party in this way in 1922, were captured on the present occasi°n _ The three Independents holding the Bay of Islands, Christchurch North and Rlccarton seats in the late Parliament have been replaced by pledged supporters of the Reform cause* and 11 othei seats—Marsden, Ohinemuri, Hawke's Bay, Stratford, Taranaki, Lyttelton, Oamaru, Dunedin North, Clutna, Wallace, and Awarua—have been captured by Reform supporters.

HOW THE VOTES WERE CAST An analysis of the votes recorded on November 4th, gives the following results : ‘

.j The following table gives the voting strength of the several parties, as shown by the total votes polled at the 1919, 1922 and 1925 elections.— Reform.—l92s; 315,688; 1922, 279,933; 1919, 207,037; increase over 1919, 108,651. Labour.—l92s, 183,201,; 1922, 152,329; 1919, 140,606; increase over 1919, 42,595. Liberal or National.—l92s, 143,291; 1922, 179,182; 1919, 168,183; decrease over 1919, 24,892. ’

Conntry Party.—l92s, 5475; increase 5475. "

Independent.—l92s, 15,285; 1922, 27,944; decrease 12,659. The 1925 totals include, in the case of the Reform votes, Mr W. D. Lysnar’s vote of 4652, the member for Gisborne having announced himself as an Independent Reform candidate. Included in the Liberal and National, ist votes are those polled by Messrs Wrathall (Bay of Islands), J. J. McGrath (Wellington North), H. G. Ell (Christ, church South), H. M. Jones (Ashburton),

and Sir J. G. Ward (Invercargill). The Independents as here classed, are Messrs A. J. Whiteside (Thames),' H. Poland (Ohinemuri), H. Atmore (Nelson), C. E. Statham (Dunedin Central), and Peter Gilfeddor (Wallace). AVERAGE VOTES IN CONTRAST The Reform Party has the biggest average of votes per seat contested. Sixtyeight candidates were, nominated by it for an equal number of scats. One candidate (Mr K. S. Williams) was returned unopposed for the Bay of Plenty. In the other 67 constitnencies the Reform vote totalled 915,688, giving an average of 4720 per electorate contested. Labour nominated 55 candidates in as many electorates. Its aggregate vote of 183,201 gives an average vote of 3661 per electorate contested.

The Nationalist Party contested 50 seats and obtained 143,291 votes. Its average was, therefore, the lowest of the three, viz. : 2865.

Total votes recorded .y. 669,425 6,485 662,940 Total effective votes Of these _ the party vote* cast were: For Official Deform candidates ... 311,036 For Independent Eeform 4,652 . Total "BeMrm vote 315,688 For Labour candidates 183,201 132,117 11,174 143.291 For Independent Nationalists For Independents For Country Party candidates... 15,285 5,475 662,940