THROWN AWAY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LII, Issue 17009, 16 April 1926, Page 7

THROWN AWAY.

SAFE REFORM .SEAT LOST. EDEN GOES TO LABOR. THE NEW OPPOSITION. (Per Press Association.i . AUCKLAND, last night. . The final result.of the Eden by-election is H. G. R? Mason (Labor) ... 4473 Sir J. Gunsoii (Govt:) 4032 Miss Melville.(lndpt. Govt.) ... 2250 There are 284 absentee votes to come, but they cannot affect the result. INTENSE INTEREST IN AUCKLAND. POSTING THE RESULTS. (Special to the Herald.) AUCKLAND, this day. Intense interest was displayed in the result of the Eden by-election, crowds gathering to await the posting of the results. A ; s' was anticipated; Miss Melville, succeeded in ‘ depriving Sir James Gunson of a large' number of votes that would otherwise, have? gone to him. The early returns mostly favored Mr. Mason, and this also was to be expected, as there were . booths mostly in districts 'where; Labor has a lai'ge following. From. the crowd’s point, of view the contest \yas full of interest; first. i\l.iv Mason arid then Sir J. Gunson taking the lead as progress returns came in. Towards the-close Mr. Mason gradually forged ahead until his/ position was unassailable. :■ -

The Government is solely indebted to Miss Melyille -for .its loss -of the seat: She had ;no chance 1 of winning, but was determined to go to the poll, thereby keeping Sir Jas. Gunson out of Parliament Whether Sir James will stand againfift some future date is not known, but his pres'erit defeat is a distinct loss to Parliament.

PRIME MINISTER’S COMMENT. AN OBJECT LESSON FOR FUTURE. (Per Press Association.. -t WELLINGTON, this day. When, the final figures arrived, the Prime Minister, Mr Coates, commented that it was another case of the evil effects of vote-splitting, and added: “The Vote shows definitely that there is jn the electorate a. majority of over 1600 votes for the Government. Labor, therefore, by a large minority vote, secures the seat. The responsibility for this result must bo barne by those whose actipns enabled a safe Reform seat to be handed over to the Labor party. 1 sincerely hope yesterday’s experience will prove an object lesson for the future and demonstrate that, unless loyalty and whole-hearted support are forthcoming when the occasion calls, the result must inevitably bo failure. MR. H. G. R. MASON’S CAREER (Special to Hie Herald.) AUCKLAND, this day. . Henry Greathead Rex Mason has been successful in reaching Parliament in bis fourth ,electoral aontest. He first stood -as a Labor candidate for Manukau in 1&19, when Sir Frederick Lang retained the seat for the Government. Again in 1919 he contested Eden against Sir Jas. Parr and was beaten. In the election of last December he again, opposed Sir James, who won by a majority of 2336, the polling being 7158 votes to 4822. Mr. Mason was born in Wellington in 1885, and was educated at the Clyde Quay School, Wellington College (where ,he was head of the school, in 1902) and Victoria University College, to which he went upon a scholarship. At the University he gained the degrees of M.A. and LL.B. After serving for some years in law offices at Wellington and Eltham, Mr. Mason began practice on bis oy/n account at ffakekohe in 1911. Moro recently he has boen in practice in Auckland.. • For four years he was Mayor of Pukekohe, and during his term of office the electricity and streets and water supply scheme' were- inaugurated. INTERESTING BUT UNIMPORTANT. OPINION IN EDEN UNCHANGED. (Special to the Herald.) CHRISTCHURCH,.this day. Referring editorially to the Eden election the Press says:— “It is interesting that Mr. Holland will now lead the official Opposition, though it is hardly important. A few years ago many people would have found the thought of a Labor Opposition mildly disturbing, but.until a few months ago it was still being proclaimed in the Liberal camp that the Dominion must be saved from such a mischance. at all hazards. Now no one thinks about it but the few Liberals who*still brood on the good old days. A. Labor Opposition is the natural and necessary sequel to the hardening of opinion for and against Socialism. It will mean no more in the future than that the Liberal remnant will be driven finally into one camp or the Otffer. It means no more now than that Mr. Holland will rob Mr. Forbes of .one or two pleasant little privileges, and so far as any broader issues are 'concerned, the election means precisely nothing. In other words, it, shows, as everyone must have expected it would, that the state of opinion in Eden today is precisely what if was in November and that Mr. Mason is to be congratulated, not on his strength, but on his luck. His party, of course, will say that something more than luck lias brought it within reach of its opportunity, and this is true. It. has worked hard and.co-ordinated its work with such skill and thoroughness that ■Reform, for all its strength, cannot quite, afford to ignore the moral. ’ ’