NATIONAL PARTY NOMINEES

Southland Times, Issue 23461, 18 March 1938, Page 6

NATIONAL PARTY NOMINEES

FORMER MINISTER NAMED POSSIBLE CANDIDATES IN CANTERBURY It is considered likely in National Party circles that either Mr D. Jones, a former Minister of Agriculture, and a member of the Executive Commission of Agriculture, or Mr M. E. Lyons, secretary to the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association, will be selected to contest the Mid-Canterbury seat at the next General Election. The' selection will be made at Rakaia on' March 24. Doubts whether the Rt. Hon. G. W., Forbes would again seek election have been removed by the assurance given the National Party by the former Prime Minister that he will again contest the Hurunui seat if desired and the names of Mr Gladstone Ward, a son of Sir Joseph Ward, Mr A. M. Carpenter, a farmer of Femside, Mr H. McMillan, a store keeper, of Ouruhia. Mr Hiram Hunter, and Mr W. Ashe, a farmer of Ohoka, are likely to go to the National selection ballot in the Kaiapoi electorate. In 20 centres in the Waitaki elec-| torate in which they were justified, branches of the National Party had| been formed and the elected commit-; tee represented between 2300 and 2500 electors, who had subscribed small sums to the party, a party spokesman told The Press, Christchurch. In past years, the party organization did not have more than 20 subscribers in the electorate and the new members had joined on a voluntary basis. Mr D. C. Kidd, chairman of the Crown Tenants" Association, a member of the Canter-i bury Land Board, and a prominent local, body man and farmer, fias been selec-' ted as the National candidate for Waitaki.

The difficulty in the Timaru electorate in the past had been in organizing a body of any kind to take a lively interest in the political situation and the party claims that all sections of the community are now represented on the very strong branch there. Mr H. W.< Hall, a former Mayor of Timaru, will, contest the seat against the sitting! member, Mr Clyde Carr. The sitting member, Mr T. D. Burnett, will again contest the Temuka seat. The electorate is now well organized, a feature being the number, of women’s committees formed to support, the National candidate. STRONGLY ORGANIZED Mid-Canterbury, regarded as a Reform stronghold until Mr J. Connolly! defeated Mr D. Jones, is considered by 1 the National Party to be one of the best organized electorates in the South Island. Branches have been formed from Hororata to the southernmost boundary and the elected committee,, representative of 45 branches, has held two meetings at Rakaia, at which more than 100 delegates have attended to discuss the selection of a candidate. The selectioh will fie made finally on March 24, and at this stage it appears' that the two most favoured nominees 1 are Mr Jones and Mr Lyons. A smaller organization exists in Riccarton, where the candidature of the sitting member, Mr H. S. S. Kyle, has' been endorsed by the National Party. He won the seat and held it at past elections without the aid of an organization such as is now being developed in his district INTEREST IN KAIAPOI

The National candidate for the Kaiapoi constituency, now represented by Mr C. Morgan Williams, will be announced in about a month. Two organizers (Mr J. A. Poulton and Colonel' S. C. P. Nicholls) have been very active in the electorate building up the; party membership. The party is extremely hopeful of winning this seat. The latest to announce his name is Mr; Gladstone Ward, who was for a time; farming at Southbrook and is now at sfiarebroker in Christchurch, while one; of the most prominent members of the; Christchurch City Council has been; asked to allow his name to go to the ballot. An important aspect of the Kaiapoi. electorate is that it is not wholly rural,; a large section of the voting being as. far south as St. Albans Park and Shir-i ley, as well as in Papanui, suburbs of I the city. The present indications are that thei Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes will be opposed by only a Labour candidate for Hurunui. At the last election, Mr! Forbes defeated two candidates.

CITY SEATS TO BE CONTESTED The selection of the National can-, didate for Lyttelton will be announced in about six weeks, as at present the; formation of branch committees of the National Party is proceeding. Mr S. G. Holland, M.P. will contest! Christchurch North, and in the remain- 1 ing city seats —Avon, East and. South the party will oppose the sitting Labour members. The selection of the candidates will be deferred, however, until; the organization in the country areas is completed. Mr J. W. Greenslade, a former Mayor of Greymouth, has been mentioned as a National nominee for the Westland; seat, and the party expects that no, difficulty will be found in selecting a suitable candidate. Although Buller, held by the Hon. P. C Webb, is regarded as being one of the most difficult seats for the Na-, tional Party in the South Island, the; district is being organized and the Minister will be strongly opposed.