GENERAL ELECTIONS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 1, 11 December 1911, Page 5

GENERAL ELECTIONS.

THE PREMIER AND MR MASSEY

(Per Press Association.) Timaru, December 9

Sir Joseph Ward, who was in the best of health and spirits, when asked to-day if lie cared to say anything regarding the statement by the Leader of the Opposition in the press this morning, readily responded. He said mere was no reason whatever for the Liberal Party to be other than hopeful as to the results at the second ballots throughout the country. He had examined the records of tne voting and found in the electorates where second ballots were to take place, that the Opposition scored 45,182 votes less than the candidates opposed to them, and it remains to be seen whether that large number of electors at the second ballots are going to help the Opposition Party to come into power. it was, in his opinion, unlikely, as such combination represented by the votes at the second ballot would be unnatural. Ho believed the people, now they realised the possibility of being put under Conservative rule, would bo roused to the danger that faced them. Though, lie continued, Mr Massey may find pleasure in calling the Liberal Party names in a statement to the press this mdrning, the fact remains that the Liberal Party has placed some of the finest legislation in the world on the Statute Book of immense benefit to the people and enormous advantage to the workers, farmers, traders, and women and young children. Besides, there is tire magnificent'work (as it undoubtedly is) sof placing 150,000 persons on the land and the incalculable benefit of financial aid granted to farmers and workers and local bodies, and though the Liberal Party may ho called extravagant i by; the Leader of the Opposition, there i are ! to-day many housands of happy homes hat did not exist prior ;to our policy being adopted and vigorously prosecuted. The record was one that any party had every reason to be proud of. A sham record and spuriousness was not on the side of the Government, but was found oil the side of the Opposition, which had strenuously opposed some, of tho most valuable legislation on the Statute Book, and who were' to-day as ever “wolves in sheep clothing,” -and were already “crying before they were out of the wood.” He was quite ready, as lie had always been, to trust the people, and would cheerfully abide by their decision next Thursday.

THE PREMIER’S MOVEMENTS

Christchurch, December 10

The Prime Minister, accompanied by Lady Ward, arrived from the south yesterday, and left in the evening for Wellington.

WORKERS AND ELECTION DAY

Greymouth, December 10. Head men of the maintenance department of the workshops and wharves, and others not engaged in running trains on polling day received a circular telling the men to cease‘work at noon on polling day and made preparations accordingly.

At 11.40 a.m. a verbal message was sent to the foreman of the wharf repairing gang on Thursday, saying the work was to continue till one. The men declined, as they had worked from six o’clock to suit the tide. Next morning thirteen men, including three permanent men, were suspended. They are still not working. NO SECOND BALLOT. Palmerston, December 10. A recount of the votes in the Palmerston North election finished at 5.30 pan. to-day. It leaves matters as they were, and there will be no second ballot. CHALMERS SEAT. Dunedin, December 10. An official count of the votes recorded in the Chalmers election gives the following figures: Clark, 2842; Johnson, 1474; Dickson, 1375; McCarthy, 576. Thirteen absentee votes are still to come. On election night 80 votes at one booth were wrongly credited to Mr Mc-Carthy which should have. been counted for Mr Johnson. A second ballot will therefore take place between Messrs Clark (Independent) and Johnson (Independent Liberal). THE DULLER SEAT. Westport, December ,10. At a largely-attended meeting of Mr ,F. F. Munro’s political supporters on Saturday night irregularities were alleged to have occurred in connection with the Puller Parliamentary election, in which, Mr Colvin, the Government candidate, was returned by a majority of 146 votes over Mr Monro, the Independent Labour candidate. It was decided that the executive committee make further investigation, and if it is such as to bear out the allegations, to take proceedings to upset the election. THE WELLINGTON SEATS. Wellington, December 10. An official report of a special mooting of the national administration council of the Now Zealand Labour Party was hold on Saturday evening to consider the attitude to be taken in connection with the second ballots states that the following resolution was passed unanimously: “That this party does not commit members to ' vote for or give their support to any

but a. pledged candidate of the Now Zealand Labour Party.” SECOND BALLOT RESULTS. ARRANGEMENTS FOR THORSL'A 1 EVENING. - The “Stratford Evening Post” has made arrangements to receive res id i s of {!i(' second ballots which take place on Thuisday next, and for the cciivenience of the public, by kind permission of Mr. Newton King’s Stratford manager, Mr. F .W. Webster, will publish the same on frames attached to the large window of Mr. Newton King’s machinery department in Broadway. At the request of Mr. C. I). Sole, Chairman of the School Committee, copies of the results will be forwarded to the Town Hall, so far as they comb to hand, during the time the school concert is being held, and will be announced from the stage. Those who may be particularly interested, therefore, will have the opportunity of learning the results at the earliest, so far as they have reached Stratford, and at tjie same time attending what promises to be the best of many excellent school concerts that the Stratford District High School boys and girls have yet put on. WHAT THE PAPERS SAY. In addition to election cutL'ngs from cur contemporaries published 'on Saturday, the following are from a further batch of exchanges now to hand:— “Lyttelton Times” : . From the figures we publish it appears that twenty-three Opposition and nineteen Government candidates and one Independent candidate have been elected outright, wnile two seats are undecided and no return has yet been received from the Bay of Islands. If this could be accepted, as a reliable indication of what will happen next week, Mr. Massey and Ins friends might fairly claim to have won a signal victory at the polls. But they probably will admit themselves that their prospects do not look quite so rosy in the second ballots as they did in the seats they have secured.

Wo think ourselves that at least twenty of the seats still unfilled should fall to Government candidates and that of the remaining thirteen seven should go to the Opposition, four to Labour candidates, and two to Independents. If this prediction should be realised the new House of 'Representatives will consist of thirty-nine Liberals, thirty Conservatives, four Labour representatives, and three Independents. The Labour representatives usually would be found voting with the Government, so that the progressive party would have a comfortably working majority of from twelve to fourteen. But, of course, the position of the Government in the new Parliament will depend to a verylarge extent upon the efforts the progressive party makes in the constituencies during the next few days. . . Whatever the elections have nor done, they certainly have emphasised the objections we urged from time to time to the second ballot.

Wellington “Evening Post”: Frankly, wo confess that wix «irb surprised, though not unpleasantly,Pbiy the election figures which time and the hour havo' ilatKupibii Kiel [wall ton day, and we believe that our surprise is shared by many thousands of New Zealanders, including friends and foes of the Government. The Ministerialists have been losing ground, slowly and surely, ever since the masterful hand of Mr. Seddoa suddenly lost its grip of the party machine. When reviewing the outlook early last inpnth we remarked that we should view the defeat of the Government with equanimity, for reasons which we then stated ; but we did not anticipate, on the evidence, that the Government was destined tq.;get suclr a blow (not yet a f ‘luiock;-diiP’)y'as the'people delivered yesterday. ... A week

of suspense awaits sixty candidates and a million people. . . . There has never been a licensing poll which called forth exertions on the part of both'‘the Trade and its assailants, and which more completely baffled all consciotitious calculation, than that which \tas decided yesterday. . . .

‘‘Otago Daily Times”: . . . The experience which Ministers themselves encountered in their personal contests provided the most significant indications of the waning of their inliuence in the country. Three Ministers have to submit to the ordeal of the second ballot system which the Government imposed on the country in 1908, and Mr. Fowlds, who was a member of the Cabinet when the electoral law was amended in this way on a foreign model, has also to undergo a second contest in order to secure, if possible, his re-election. A just retribution has fallen upon the Government, which forced this system on an unwilling country, and the measure of retribution will be greater if, as seems quite probable, the result of the second ballot should be unfavourable to some of these gentlemen. Tire Prime Minister himself, challenged by a local farmer, previously unknown outside the limits of his own district, had to fight determinedly to retain the representation of Awarua, which had been regarded as an impregnable Ministerial stronghold, and though he obtained an absolute majority yesterday, with nearly 400 votes to spare, the fact that Mr. Hamilton polled so strongly against him is full of signbcauce. . . . A comparison of

these figures with those for 190 S .shows that, while the licensing polling was slightly heavier on this occasion on tlie issues combined, the No-licenso vote has been marked by an actual decrease, while that for continuance has made a considerable gain. It becomes, however, at once apparent, when the figures in connection with the licensing poll are considered as they bear on the question of national prohibition, that in these lies the significance of the unusual smallness, of the margin between the votes cast for local No-license and continuance respectively. As a matter of fact, the anticipation that a large number of persons who have reluctantly voted tor local no-license in the past, because they have realised that it has operated amid unsatisfactory conditions, would welcome the opportunity of expressing at the poll their belief that tremedy for the evils against which the No-license Party is up in arms is national prohibition and not local no-license has been realised. “Auckland Star”: The eventful day has come and gone, and the political situation is still curiously indefinite and chaotic. . . . In the meantime we may content ourselves with observing that we can see no signs in the results so far to hand of the great revulsion of public feeling against Liberalism that the Opposition so confidently counted upon, and that so far as the evidence now available can help ns to form an opinion, there is every probability that the Government will command a working majority in the now Parliament. . . it is ‘dill impossible to predict the result, but though the falling-off of I he Nolicenso vote in “dry” districts may

ho perhaps construed as an admission uiat oven in the opinion of its advocates local proiiihitiou does not prohibit, liiis snould not be allowed to mcle the tact tone Hie feeling m favour of National nroiiibition is strong; and unless strenuous efforts are maae to combat ic ra-ner than to block Nolicense in individual constituencies, New Zealand may ho prepared to “run dry” by cue time the next general election comes round.

“Waitemata Times”: The growth of the Labour or Socialist vote lias been made manifest at the election. In Auckland we lind that some of the candidates of this party have run into good positions, ana tnougn unable to gam a seat, nave proved in a few years that they will have to be seriously taken into consideration. xu the same tale is told.

“Pahiatua Herald”: Thursday was a glorious day for the cause of Reform, and although, owing to the large number of second ballots necessary, it is impossible to say what the ultimate state of the parties will he, it is very apparent mat the Ward Administration will he very lucky if it gets a bare majority.

“Waipa Post”: Roughly and hurliedly summed up, it would appear that the Ward Administration will have the greatest difficulty in whipping up a majority in the new Parliament. One striking feature is the almost total absence of Labour members, although, that party may succeed in winning several seats at the second ballot. . . We venture the opinion that National Prohibition has met with much greater approval than its most sanguine supporters had expected.

“Wairarapa Standard”: In any case, the Ward Government is doomed as a vital political force, it may go back to power with a bare, but never with a working majority. That political terbium quid—the Labour members—may find themselves the determining factor in New Zealand politics in case of the latter eventuality. 'This is not the pleasantest of prospects, to he sure, but it is preferable to the return of the Ward Government as a solid power.

“Timaru Herald”; ... It is clear that the Government has sustained a most severe reverse. It has already lost a considerable number of seats to the Opposition, including some which have been held by Government supporters for many years, and the figures indicate that it is certain to lose more to Reform, and Labour candidates, at the second ballot next week. We have only to consider the positioii in which Ministers, find themselves to realise how far the mafia of the Government has fallen throughout the Dominion. . . .

“Taihape Daily Times’M The electoral poll has furnished a fair ci op of surprises, and a large batch of second ballots. . . . .New Zealand

lias indulged in many experimental actions, and the latest bids fair to becpmo a startling innovation _ that v, ill 'have far-reaching effect if it is carried out . in one r direction National -Prohibition, willjprove an awkwardOS's bade, add that is in tile"tourist traffic. Considerable, sums . keen, ■spent 'by the' Government Hi Making tourist resorts attractive, and in advertising the scenic and ether advantages oi the country in order to induce the wealthy class overseas to visit the Dominion, but it may saiely be predicted that the absence of licensed hotels would prove a liar to tms traffic

“Christchurch Press”; The movement for political reform Which lias been spreading over the Dominion since tne elections of 1908 culminated in a great victory yesterday, and Ciiere is every reason to believe that the end of tne Ward Government is in sight. . . > The Ministry has

aultered its full share of the misfoxv tunes of the party .The Prime Minister’s majority, which ran into thousands tnree years ago, has dropped to a little over GOO before the attack or a political novice. 'Jhroe Mmasters —the Hon. J. A. Millar, Sir John Findlay, and Mr. Bud lo—imve to go throngu the ordeal of second ballots with little hope of success, while the chief Whip just escaped, with his political life. Of the Muustcis referred to, Sir John Findlay may be as already beaten; Mr. Buddo’s case is almost equally hopeless • and Mr. Millar’s return depends on an unlikely reconciliation until the Dunedin railwaymeii. . . . With regard to li-

censing . . The most i omarkable feature of the returns is the laige number of votes cast in favour of National Prohibition. In some electorates, not only do the votes for National Prohibition exceed the votes for No-license, but, what is more extraordinary still, the votes against National Prohibition exceed the votes for not equal the votes cast for continuance in the same district. It certainly looks as if a good many electors got confused over the multiplicity of ballot papers, and voted in some cases without knowmig exactly what they were voting for. ...

“Fit!)am Argus” :We have referred to the important position in which the Labour Party finds itself at the present time. There is another party that must be considered—the No-license Party. They now have an opportunity before them of which they will not bo slow' to avail themselves. They will not support any candidate who does not pledge himself to a bare majority vote on the question of Dominion Prohibition. What complications the politicians now have t£_ face. There are the “Trade” vote, the No-liconse vote, and the Labour vote. The three cannot combine, hut two may. Noliconse and Labour may work together. If that combination can he effected, the Party that receives its support on Thursday can look forward with pleasurable anticipations to the second ballots. What an interesting time for members and would-be members of Parliament.