GENERAL ELECTION

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16772, 11 October 1928, Page 7

GENERAL ELECTION

FIXED FOR NOVEMBER 14 200 CANDIDATES ANNOUNCED (Special to the Herald.) WELLINGTON, this clay. As was indicated yesterday, the general elections this year will he held on Wednesday, November 14, 10 dajs later than the last elections, in 1925, candidates thus being, allowed little more than a month for campaigning. The election date was finally fixed by a meeting of Cabinet yesterday afternoon. and subsequently announced by the Prime Minister. The contest promises to be one of the most interesting on record. Already 20G candidates are in the field, compared with 205 who went to the poll ii, ig2s. Only three candidates arc at present without opponents, and it is more than likely that there will be a. contest for every seat in the Dominion. The contest is generally regarded as being between the present Government and the Opposition, and the concensus of opinion is that the United l’arly, despites its activity, will have little effect on the result. THE MAORI ELECTORATES RATANA IN THE FIELD NEW INTEREST AROUSED (Special to the Herald.) AUCKLAND, this day. A statement that a new element of interest had been imparted to the contest for the four Maori seats in Parliament by the activity of Katana, the religious leader, and members o£ his party, in arranging for candidate.? to contest each of the scats, was made by Mr. George Graham, the well-known authority cn Maori life. According to Mr. Graham it is generally expected among the Maoris that, each of the sitting members will be returned. Supporters of the sitting members' have realised the danger of vote-splitting, and have done all in their power to keep down the number of candidates. Mr. Graham said this means that the main battle will be between candidates seeking re-election and nominees of the Ratana party. ft is not altogether a simple matter to keep down the number of candidates. Unlike Europeans, the Maoris do notthink on party lines. Tlio partisan spirit they bring to an election campaign arises from tribal considerations. Before the general election various aspirants voice thou* claims, and it is not easy to prevent seme of them from going to the polls. However, those who are organising campaigns on this occasion seem to have met with success in limiting the number of candidates. “IN IT UP TO THE NECK” MRS. MAGUIRE’S CAMPAIGN (Per Press Association.' AUCKLAND, this day. Mrs C. E. Maguire, the Reform candidate tor Auckland East, opening her election campaign, gave prominence to the social side of politics. She said she was fully persuaded that, it was her duty to stand, and was going to get into it right up to the neck. She looked upon Parliament as a kind of national housekeeping, and women were the greatest financiers in the world. She doubted if there was another country that had such fine social services as New Zealand. The administration of hospitals was a lesson to the world. She thought the Government had striven splendidly to meet the unemployed situation. A motion of thanks, and a hostile amendment were moved. The former was declared carried on the voices. The meeting broke up with some cheering for Mr. J. A. Lee, the sitting member. CANTERBURY SEATS UNITEDS TO CONTEST ALL (Special to the Herald.) CHRISTCHURCH, this day. It has been decided by the North Canterbury executive of the United Party to nominate candidates for every electorate under its jurisdiction. A candidate for the Avon seat lias been selected, and will be announced shortly. Already the party has candidates in the field for every Canterbury electorate excepting Avon, Mid-Canterbury, Timaru, and Temuka. It is expected that within the next week or two it will have nominees fori every Canterbury electorate. Tltp; Reform Party will probably run candidates for every Canterbury seat excepting Christchurch East. CAMPAIGN OPENS MR. D. JONES AT ASHBURTON (Per Pkibs Association.) ASHBURTON, last night. Mr. David Jones, Reform candidate for Mid-Canterbury, addressed a meeting to-night. He claimed that the Keform Government represented Labor better than any Labor Government in the Empire. Regarding finance, the interest on the war debt- sinking fund amounted to practically the amount spent on public works last year, so that but for (ho war burdens borrowing could have ceased. He defended the Government's land policy, but said further development was essential. A vote of thanks was carried by acclamation. A definite decision to contest the Oamaru seat as a United Party candidate was announced yesterday by Mr. J. A. Macpherson, who represented Oamaru as a Nationalist from 1922 till 1925. P.A.