BY-ELECTIONS

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

BY-ELECTIONS

TEMUKA AND HAURAKI HEAVY NATIONAL^ VOTE (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Feb. 8. By-elections made necessary by the deaths of Mr T. D. Burnett and Lieu-tenant-colonel J. M. Allen, members of Parliament for Temuka and Hauraki, were held yesterday. Neither seat was contested by the Labour Party. Although small polls were recorded in each instance, there was a substantial majority for the National Party candidates. The results were as follows: TEMUKA ACLAND, J. (Nat.) .. ... 4142 Davie, D. C. (independent Monetary Reform) „.';. ...... 1516 ' (Majority for Acland, 2626.) , [The polling at the general election in 1938 resulted: T. D. Burnett (Nationalist), 5494; J. A. Kearton (Labour), 4245.] HAURAKI SUTHERLAND, A. S. (Nat.) .. 3639 Head, H. T. (Ind.) ".",-'. .. /.. .. 1043 (Majority for Sutherland, 2596.) [The result of the polling■:, at the general election in 1938 was: J. M. Allen (Nationalist) 5291; R. Coulter (Labour), 4103.] , ' Mr Sutherland, who was born in Otago, entered the army in his teens and served with the New Zealand Forces in the South African War. On his return to New Zealand he.took up farming. In 1918 he moved to the Waikato, where he farmed a property at Te Akatea until 1939. He has been a member of the Waikato Central Rural Credits Board for 10 years, and is deputy chairman of the Auckland Harbour Board. He is also a member of the South Auckland Land Board, a member of the Raglan Licensing Committee, a director of the Farmers' Trading Company, Ltd., and an executive member of the Ngaruawahia Returned Services' Association. NON-PARTV government "REMARKABLE ENDORSEMENT" (F.0.P.R.) WELLINGTON, Feb. 8. " The results of the by-elections in Temuka and HaurakL show very clearly that the swing In public opinion in earlier by-elections, especially the Bay ot Plenty, has been more than maintained," said the Leader of the Opposition. Mr S. G. Holland, in ah interview to-day. Mr Holland said that in Temuka at the 1938 general election the National vote was 56 per cent, of the total, whereas on Saturday it had increased to 73 per cent. The same applied ,to Hauraki, where the National vote had jumped from 56 per cent, to 77 per cent. As was to be expected, the petrol restrictions had resulted in a smaller poll, especially in the country districts, otherwise the National vote would have been larger still. " The results," Mr Holland said. " can fairly be interpreted as a remarkable endorsement of the Opposition's attitude in connection with the war effort and ; i.ts advocacy of a truly non-party Government as being essential to the maximum, war effort. In 120 polling booths on Saturday electors in widelyseparated parts gave the National Party majorities in 112 booths, or 93 per cent, of the total. "Our two new members, Messrs J. Acland and A. S. Sutherland, will greatly strengthen our team in the House," Mr Holland said. "Mr Acland is a comparatively young man, who has just recently begun a career of local body service. He is a son of Sir Hugh Acland, the eminent surgeon, and comes from one of i Canterbury's oldest and most respected pioneer families, arid should do well in Parliament. Mr Sutherland has had a wide experience of . public service, having served for many years on local, bodies, land boards arid the Auckland Harbour Board, of which he is now deputy chairman. "With the addition of Mrs Arthur Grigg (Mid-Canterbury) and Mr W. Sullivan (Bay of Plenty), the strength of the Opposition party is increased to 26 members, of whom Messrs J. Hargest and T. L. Macdonald are overseas. Mrs Grigg will be sworn in on Tuesday, but Mr Acland and Mr Sutherland cannot be sworn in until the next meeting of the House, as the writs are not returnable before it adjourns this week."