THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1908. THE SECOND BALLOTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14380, 25 November 1908, Page 6

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1908. THE SECOND BALLOTS.

The Ministerial expectations regarding the second ballots have assuredly been not realised. It was estimated by a prominent member of the Government this week that the result of the twentytwo second ballots which were held yesterday would be to give the Opposition sis additional seats. The inference was that sjxteen seats would be secured by the 'Government. As a matter of fact, the result has been, so far as we are able this morning to judge, to give the Government twelve seats, the Opposition nine, and the Labour party one member—the first 'direct representative which the Independent Labour party has. secured in Parliament. But the roturns are really less favourable to the Government, than this bald statement of the figures suggests. \For the Ministerial nominee for the Chalmers seat who received the benefit of the assistance that the Minister of Labour could give him by a speech in his favour on the eve of the polling day, was defeated by an "Independent Liberal." And it will not be altogether Surprising if Mr Clark's sense of .independence- is. somewhat deepened and sharpened through the activo interference of a Cabinet Minister- on behalf of his opponent. It is to be observed in this case, moreover—whether the factmay or may not be regarded as a protest against Mr Millar's, action,—that Mr Clark's victory.is due to his having captured votes that were given to Mr Allen a week earlier. For while the total vote yesterday was 101 votes less than it was last week, when Mr Barr, whose presence in the contest involved the necessity for the second ballot, secured 102 votes, Mr Clark polled 180 votes more and Mr Allen 161 votes loss than at the previous ballot. Tho result in the Avon electorate, although it sends a Ministerialist to Parliament, also involved the rejection of the Government's nominee. In this case the licensing question, was an important factor in the election, Mr Tanner, who was the sole survivor in the last Parliament of the batch of Labour members returned in 1891, being an advocate of the bare, majority on the no-license issue and Mr 'Rus-sall a supporter of the principle of the ' three-fifths majority. Mj Russell never was a good party man, for he always exercised freely the privilege ■ of criticising the proposals even of the _ Governmentwhich he supported, and 'consequently his election, like that of Mr Clark, is not likely to be wholly acceptable to the Ministry. If, however, as fairness compels us to do, we credit the Government, with all the twelve members who, among the successful candidates of yesterday, are more or less favourable to it, the effect, is to increase the Ministerial strength in the new House to do. The strength of the Opposition party is increased, to 25; there are four Independent members, of whom one, Mr Glover, will probably support the Government pretty consistently;

and thoro is. ono Labour member. Now,; if there had boon no second ballots at all and if the elections had been decided l as formerly upon a single ballot, tlio Government would—if we leave out of reining the Bay of Plenty seat, in respect of which a second ballot will bo hold nest week—have had a party of 47 members in Parliament, while the Opposition party would have numbered 24, the fmi'r Independent members completing the House. The effect of the second ballots has been, therefore, to give the Government two seats Iks thmi it. would have had under the conditions that iiave governed all former elections in New Zealand, to give the Opposition one additional seat, and to furnish the Labour party with its solitary representative. The question which is at once suggested in these circumstances is whether, personal considerations entirely apart, the introduction of the second ballot system with iilllhe itorry and turmoil that are entailed by it is justified by such a result, and whether the changes it effects in the personnel of the House and in the strength of parties, as compared with the results that would have been recorded under ths former system, are .worth the expenditure of the several thousand pounds which the new device must have cost the; country. The experience of yesterday must have convinced the supporters of. this innovation of the soundness of a. great deal of the criticism 4 with which the proposal : of the Government was met when the legislation was before Parliament, When ire como to examine,the results in detail of the polling: yesterday we 'find great cause for satisfaction. Particularly is this the case in'respect t-d. elections which more particularly concern the electors in Otago/ We recognise that' the result in Dunedin North'must, still be viewed as in suspense, for while Mr Thomson obtained a majority of two over Mr Barclay iu the-votes that were counted yesterday it is possible that this result maybe reversed by the votes of seamen which have yet to come to hand. And in this circumstance is illustrated,one of the anomalies and injustices that are perpetrated by the Second Ballot Act, For while seamen's electoral rights are available for use at a \second ballot absent voters' permits cannot be exercised more than once—and Mr Thomson estimates that he lost a large number of votes psterday through this latter circumstance. Even, however, if Mr Barclay should after :a]l, be found to ; have scraped into Parliament, he will do so with 1 the'knowledge that one half of the constituency i is. distinctly opposed to the political views he has been expressing and.that there is a strong feeling in the electotate in favour of a policy of -moderation''in legislation and expeudit•ure. , In the .meantime Mr Thomson, whoni we hope to see finally acclaimed as- member- for Dunedin North, is to he cordially congratulated upon the> achievement he has' accohir plished upon,' his'first appearance as'a candidate for, Parliament—in a contest, 'moreover, in which even bis friends were at one' time disposed to fear he would be severely defeated. To the rejection of Mr. -fe. G. 'Allen for Chalmers ;i we have already referred, and since the issue between him and ■ Mr .Clark-was; largely a personal. one— ? though the pronounced Socialistic tendencies of the successful candidate on the one hand and his objection to some of the administrative acts of the Government, on the other hand were factors that • were not /'.wholly to be ignored—we need* not further,allude to it. .The return; of Mr Scott,by a decisive majority for. the Tuapeka seat will afford distinct, gratification to all opponents of the Government's land legislation, among them evidently being numbered, a ;large proportion of the electors in' the'district who recorded their votes last week in- favour of Dr Chappie.' The'new member for Tuapeka completes a quartet of country, member's- in Otago who are directly opposed to the Government, which, whatever its strength in the urban constituencies, must now recognise that the farming community is far from satisfied with the trend 1 of some'of the recent legislation. We may note in, passing that it is a cruel fate which lias befallen the three members of the late Parliament who failed to obtain absolute majorities in Otago on the ; day of the general election. They have,'subject to a revision of the returns, all been- defeated through the operation of an electoral "law- which they assisted- to enact. Mr Phillipps, Mr Newman, and Mr Dive, who enter'the House as representatives for Waitemata', Manawatu, and E-gmont.respectively are all, like Mr Scott, prominent officials of the Farmers' Union, ,with which organisation, moreover, Mr Bnick, the new member for Palmerston, is,- we think, also connected. It is qudto apparent, fore, that agrarian interests will be well served in the new Parliament. The reappearance in the Legislature of Mr Herdman will have the effect of materially strengthening: the debating pc-wer of the Opposition, and will afford, keen pleasure to his friends in Otago, where he first won his political spurs. Mr Nosworthy, also, who has defeated a docile Ministerialist in the person of Mr Flatman, promises to tajse a prominent part in, and to "contribute sound sense to, the deliberations jf the representative Chamber. While Mr M'Laren has fairly won the Wellington East seat on his merits, and while it is not at all unfitting that the Labour cause should be specially represented in Parliament by. one who has been so prominent.and able advocate of it as he is, we regret that the election of Mr M'Laren has involved the .rejection of Mr Atkinson, who proved llimself to be a useful member and an incisive debater when he' lormerly occupied a seat. Mr Wright, the new member for Wellington South, for which district he has been returned in place of MiBarber, holds views somewhat similar to those of Mr Atkinson, and \t is not unlikely that he will make his mark in the House. The Government, may possibly find consolation for some of the losses it .sustained yesterday in the fact that' neither Sir William Russell nor Mr George Hutchison, both of whom struggled manfully in the face of adverse circumstances, has secured election. It is unfortunate that a statesman of the moderate opinions and acknowledged fairness of Sir William Russell should be. excluded from Parliament, and we are pleased to observe that he has not taken his defeat on this occasion as final. Mr Hutchison, like Sir William Russell, is certain to renew his candidature, and, with the turn in the political tide, his prospects of future success shoidd be altogether

encouraging. Mr Dillon and Mr Hogari, who respectively won the Hawko's Bay and Wanganui seats, are politicians of a very mediocre, order, and a like remark applies to Mr Ross, Mr Poland and Mr Gniham, three of the other members of tlio late Parlianwni f ' who secured re-election 1 . Nor do we think that Mr Craigie, who gained the Tiniaru seat after a hard fight, with a young and .vigorous opponent, will take more than an inferior place in the 1 Legislature. Mr J. P. Luke, the,new member for Wellington Suburbs, is decidedly the best acquisition to tlio Ministerial side ns the result of yesterday's polling, though Mr Forbes, who succeeds Mr Rutherford in the representation of Hurunui, and Mr Buxton, the elect at Geraldiue, are likely to be useful members. The re-election of the Native Minister for the Gisborne seat was wholly expected, and, though lie may not bo regarded as a successful administrator, there would be widespread regret if Mr Carrol! were excluded from. Parliament.