COMMONWEALTH REFERENDUM.

Otago Witness, Issue 3277, 3 January 1917, Page 5

COMMONWEALTH REFERENDUM.

WELLINGTON, December 27. The Hon. James Allen has received private information showing that the staframent that a majority of the Australian soldiers at the front voted against conserip tion is incorrect. Replying to a request by the Leader ot the Opposition (Mr Cook) that he should inform the House of the way in which the soldiers at the front had voted on tha referendum, the Prime Minister (Mr Hughes] said in the Federal Parliament oa the I9tii inst., that the expressed wish of the Imperial military authorities prevented him from giving the information. Mr Cook: Is there anything that prevents you from announcing the result? Mr Hughes: A majority of the soldier* of the A.1..F. abroad was substantially in favour of the referendum. —(Liberal and Ministerial cheers and derisive laughter from the Caucus Party.) Mr Finlayson : That's too tricky. Mr Tudor: Are we to understand that a majority of the soldiers abroad was in. favour of the referendum? Mr Hughes: That is so. A majority oi the persons who recorded their votes for and against the referendum, including nurses, was in favour of the referendum. Mr Parker Moloney: You had to drag the nurses in to get a majority. Mr Cook: Tho interjection was made just now that Mf Hughes had to drag the nurses in to malic a majority. I wonder if it would be possible for the Prime Mmis> tcr to say, within the limitations under which ho labours, what percentage the majority represented, and so set these tarradiddles at rest? Mr Hughes: I mentioned nurses, but there are doctors that I could claim if I liked, though I would rather claim the nurses.—(Loud laughter.) What I wanted to say was that it was not necessary to embrace the nurses to get a majority.—* (Loud laughter.)