LOCAL OPTION POLLS: A COMPARISON.

Thames Star, Volume XXXX, Issue 10514, 9 December 1902, Page 2

LOCAL OPTION POLLS: A COMPARISON.

Now that the official: and corrected figures in connection) with, the local/ •option -polls taken im the Thames and Ohinemuiri districte' have been pub■lisihed the time may be opportune to make some conipivrisons thereon, particularly as there is a good deal of misappreheniS'io'ni of the actual position. The figui'esr we ipuiblished before the polls were 1 decktredi officially, wereof ooiui-sei incomplete, and the deduotions. mad© thereon: ware somewiat 'premia,tuire. Hioweyer,- the fact remains that in tiei Thames laind! Dihineaiiiuiri districtsi tihe -no-license inio-veniientoanh not be said' toi have progressed; on the cither haind, we note a retrograde ■movement. 'Let us first deal with- the votesl oast in the Thames 1 district at ;the local option poll. It was thought that as! Ohiinemuri had' -at the poll of 1899 cast suahl a large vote for nio'license^—assisted'materially by Block 27 and! Pairawai, this year included in: the Thames districit—that reductiotai wooild be carried .at Tlianxes, and thaiti possibly ftno'4icense" (.we-prefer ,the term; W ProTiibitiora) weald be attainedi. But strainge to say even with the inclusion of the portions mamed the NoHliicense vote in Thames shiCwed a substantial reduction. We find tba* in 1899 rtherei werei mi the Thames district 21531 vtotes oaist for comitintxian.ee, 2056 for a; eduotion, and 2374 votesi ciasti for n'oi-lieense—-a majority of 211 mi faivoi" of No-license the votes oaisit for conitiniiiance. This! year 1996 vtolte-s-wera cast for contin>uanic», 1768' for reduction, and 2090 for Noflicense. Thesei figures show that while three yearsi ago reduction, of lieemses mi the Thames district was 1 only 97 behind the Votesi oast fo<r continuance, this year the votes cai*t for reduction were; 228. bohind the number cast: for conitmuance'—a. substantial! falling off here. Tjhen take the No-license vote, while in. 1899 the Thames No-lioense vofe sihowedi a. majority' of 221 ovei 1 those ciaisit 'for cpntinuaince, this year the Nlo^license majority over the votes cast! for comtinuaiice! was but 94—am--othei* decrease.

Tttiemi tafce the ■■official fijjuii-ea for the Ohinemuri distnci In 1T399 there were 2280 votes east for continuance «nd 2175 for reduction, so that reduction was but 114 voles lower than the continuance vote Ira 1902 the votes casti for continuance totalled 1956, while those for i eduction! dwindled to 1255. showing that leductioto was no lesi-. than 701 votPSi lower than the number of votes lecordedl for continuance But a comparison of the votes cast for continuance and' "Nolicense" imthe Ohinemuri electorate is sTill moie startlipcr Ini 1899 there were 3172 votes recorded in favm of Nc-licensie—a majonty of 883 over those recorded for continuance, while 'n 1902 the No-license vote* dropped to 1808 a<? against 1956 cast for continuance,—ibeing a minoTity of 148 compaied witih the continuance vote, or a total Ids' of No-license votes of 1031 We make no 1 commetnti oni these figures—comment is really unnecessary We meirely give the) figures andi leave our readeiiv to make their own deductions