TWO BY-ELECTIONS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24836, 9 February 1942, Page 4

TWO BY-ELECTIONS

It will probably be .suggested. that the fact that the Government, to its -credit, did not present a candidate in either of the constituencies in which a by-election was held on Saturday deprives the results of any- material" significance. It might be a, mistake to adopt this view. The lightness of the polling in each instance, may' be attributed to two or three causes!' The principal; of these; is the public distaste for political disputation in circumstances in which the preoccupationiof the community should be the prosecution of the war with ah 'earnestness that should necessitate the subordination of. every other interest to this one purpose. Other reasons for the abstention of large numbers of electors from voting may be discovered 1 in the character of the constituencies in which the elections were held. Hauraki and Temuka 4 r e both rural districts. Farmers- would, ordinarily at this season (jf -the year be so busily occupied on their holdings that, it would be "/ith reluctance that they would fe&ij' themselves- away'; from their t,asks in order to record their votes. And their inability under existing conditions to secure labour to the extent of their requirements may be presumed to have deterred a great many of them from exercising the franchise on Saturday.; They will have been the more greatly disposed to sacrifice their votes on tMs occasion because of the knowledge that the success, of the National Party candidates was assured in each case. It should excite no surprise, therefore, that the voting'in both constituencies was considerably smaller than it was at the last general election. Yet the return of Messrs Sutherland and Acland was not altogether devoid of significance. It consists in the fact that the votes recorded for them were votes favourable to the formation of a National War Government. The two successful candidates had both emphasised the desirability of the suspension of political controversy during the war, the importance of directing the national energies to the single object of winning the war, and the need, therefore, of the temporary disavowal of sectional interests, of which the continued pursuance must be inimical to the achievement of an ■'• all-in " effort. It was probably no exaggeration on the part of the Leader of the Opposition when he said lately that 80 per cent, of the people of New Zealand supported the view that a National Government should be brought into existence. ''.•■■;:;'■: