LICENSING POLL

Wairarapa Age, 19 December 1919, Page 5

LICENSING POLL

Intense Interest The Evening Post of yesterday had the following:At two o'clock to-day the official returns were still short. Thirteen electorates, including Waitemata, Manakau, Raglan, Rotorua, Taranaki, Eangitikei, Hutt, Motueka, Hurunui, Kaiapoi, Avon, Tcniuka, and Bruce, had sent in no official returns, while a number of others were incomplete. The official figures available were as follows: Continuance 184,244, State Control 208,570, an apparent Prohibi--1 tion minority of 258 votes. The returns yet to come include 16,000 absentee votes, 2000 seamen's votes, and about 1500 soldiers votes. The New Zealand Alliance, who have six additional returns, are fairly confident, however, that the completed returns will give them a majority. "So far as we are at present advised, with seven electorates of which we have not received particulars," stated the Rev. R. S.* Gray this afternoon, "we have something over 5000 votes in hand. The seven electorates yet to come g%.ve in April about 1200 votes against us. The soldiers' votes arc about 1500. If the absentee votes and seamen's votes, and declaratory votes are fairly equal, and even should ; the whole of the soldiers' votes go against us, it looks as though we should have a majority of between 2000 and 3000 when everything is cleared up." The official position as at present disclosed {is as follows: Continuance 184,244 State Control 24,584 Prohibition 208,570 Prohibition minority 258 VOTES YET TO COME. Electorates, of which no details 13 Absentee votes 16,000 Seamen's votes .' 2,000 Soldiers' votes . .*. '. >.. 1,500 Should Prohibition bo carried it will come into effect on June 30, 1920. AN AUCKLAND REDUCTION. (Uy lelegraph—Press Association) AUCKLAND, Last Night. The returns for Auckland City, including East, West, and Central, show over 1500 less for Prohibition than previously. The corrected figures are: Continuance 11,985, State Control 1015, Prohibition 10,788. CONTINUANCE LEADING. WELLINGTON, Last Night. The latest figures in the National Referendum are as follows: Continuance 217,161 State Control 28,737 Prohibition 244,308 Majority for Continuance 1590. There are still four districts to come in. , THE LATEST REPORT. WELLINGTON, Last "Night. The districts from which official returns have not been received are Waitemata, Hurunui, Bruce, and Kaiapoi. Returns received by the New Zealand Alliance give tho Prohibition total for these four electorates as 12,600, and combined Continuance and Stato Control total as 12,414. These figures, added tq -the official totals, make it appear that the majority against Prohibition at present is 1404. It'seems likely, however, that there is an error in the official figures -from the Waikato, and that the Prohibition total should be a thousand greater than returned. This would bring the majority against Prohibition to 404. The votes of over two thousand soldiers have still to be counted, and there are about 1800 seamen's permits and 16,000 absent voters' permits on issue,

The soldiers .include 1373 at sea and about 700 in England and Samoa. The votes cast by seamen and abspnt voters will be counted when the official counts are taken*