WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14534, 20 February 1918, Page 7

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

W RLLTNGTON Rr-ELRCTJON

INTENSK fXTEIIEST

(Special Correspondent)

WELLINGTON, Feb. 15.

The. contest in Wellington North is exciting. more interest and creating more oommotion than h:is any by-election ior many a long day. Mr. .). P. Luke, the official National' Government candidate,! and Mr. H. E. Holland, the Labor nominee, are the principal figures in the struggle, and Mr. A. <lo I'- Brandon, Independent -Reformer, and Mi-. A. N. Poison, Independent liberal, are obtaining their share of the limelight and there is a growing fear among orthodox people that by detaching votes from the official candidate those, "two gentlemen may help Mr. Holland into Parliament. Neither of (hem is making a very brave show in his platform addresses, and Mr. Poison is handicapped by the too obtrusive patronage of Dr. Thacker, but the National Government is no more popular in Wellington than Governments usually are in the capital city, and Mr. Luke ' himself is very far from being a persona grata in this particular constituency. ,\i I N ISTEftTAL APPEALS.

la tho opinion of many of his friend 1 ' Mr. Massey.is making a mistake in entering upon a personal controversy with Mr. Holland in regard to various issues that have been raised during the contest, hut the Prime Minister is in the ■ unfortunate position of having to assist a candidate who cannot take the -whole burden of, the fight upon his own shoulders. Mr. Luke, both as Mayor and as a private citizen, has done a lot of very excellent \vai - work, and on this account he will receive support from a; number of electors who have no sympathy with his politics; but his Parliamentary record, for one reason and another,* is not a. very impressive one, and patriotism is a virtue which both the vote-splitters can claim. Mr. Massey ptits the position quite fairly when he says the electors have to pronounce an opinion upon the war policy and administration of the Government, but this does not help Mr. Luke against Mr. Brandon or Mr. Poison. HOIST WITH HIS OWN PETARD. There can be no doubt that if Mr. Luke were contesting the seat against any one of the other three candidates in the field, his success would be assured.! The only danger confronting him now. in that a number of electors wishing to "give the Government a fright," or to pay off old |Kirty scores, will. cast their votes for Mr. • Brandon or Mr. Poison, without any' expectation or hope of returning their candidate, and so let Mr. Holland slip in between the disunited supporters of military service. If tho second ballofc were still in existence, there would not be the slightest chance of this occurring, and of course Mr. Massey is being reminded that he is responsible for the removal from the Statute Book of a measure which would 1 have saved him from much anxiety just now. The second ballot was., open ■■' to many objections, but in its clumsy wny it at least secured tho representation of majorities. THE OUTCOME. The statement attributed to Mr. Massey that the return of any other candidate than Mr. Luke would lead to an early dissolution of the House and a general election is not taken .seriously here. It is'. true that the success of Mr. Poison would place the old Reform Government and the old Liberal-Labor (Ipposition on an equality so far as numbers were, concerned — thirty-eight on each side — but these party divisions are no longer existent, and it never -would oocur to Sir Joseph Ward or to anyone of consequence.. among his supporters to take advantage of such a mishap to the Prime Minister's schemes to revise the old party lines.. Mr. Brandon is pledged to support the National Government, I and Mr. Holland is a reed on whom no i leader would care to lean. The defeat of Mr. Luk&; which is not among the probabilities, of- the contest, would not bring about ft political crisis.