The Wanganui Chronicle FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1925. PROSPECTS OF PARLIAMENT

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19448, 6 November 1925, Page 6

The Wanganui Chronicle FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1925. PROSPECTS OF PARLIAMENT

Twenty-four hours has not brought about any marked alteration in the returns of Wednesday’s general election —absentees’ votes, of course, are still uncounted—but the correction of slight errors and omissions which occurred in the announcement of the results has made the position a little clearer. If we disregard for the time being the votes of absentees and the possibility of alterations when the votes are officially recounted, and accept as the elected member in each case the gentleman who at present appears to have the greatest number of votes, we have a Parliament comprising 55 Reformers, 13 Labour members, 10 Nationalists. and two Independents, who are the Speaker, Air. Statham, and Sir Joseph Ward. Sir Joseph declared that he stood as an Independent Liberal, while Mr. Atmore and Mr. Ngata also appear to have retained a measure of independence, though we may presume that they will generally be found among the Nationalists. Two members of this party, Mr. Ransom and Mr. Seddon, are concerned in close contests. Air. Ransom, who is one of the ten Nationalists mentioned, is leading his Reform opponent by 54 votes, while Mr. Seddon is 15 votes below the Labour candidate for Westland. Another Nationalist, Mr. S. G. Smith, may still have a chance in Taranaki, where Air. Bellringer leads by 51 votes. If Air. Ransom. Air. Seddon and Air. Smith were all returned, the Nationalists would number 12: and Air. O’Brien’s elimination would reduce Labour’s total to 12, including Air. McCombs, who is only five votes ahead of Air. Lyons at Lyttelton. The defeat of Air. McCombs and Air. O'Brien would leave Labour in third position. If these Labour members were both defeated and Mr. Ransom and Air. Bellringer retained their positions, the Labour Party and the National Party would each have 11 members, and if Sir Joseph Ward threw in his lot, with the latter it would be the official Opposition. The position as it affects the two parties which oppose the Government is certainly most interesting. The Government’s majority, of course, is overwhelming: even if it should lose Air. Bellringer and gain neither Lyttelton nor Pahiatua, it would hold 54 seats, as against 25 held by other parties. With such hacking in the House, Air. Coates will be able to carry on a vigorous programme. The Prime Minister who gets Hiings done has made no rash promises to the electorate. He is pledged to maintain his development policy, but not to undertake rash experiments. Free from anxiety as to the safety of his party in the House, he will have ample time to devote to the investigation of the problems which, as he stated in his pre-election speeches, he regards as demanding serious attention, and a fruitful Parliament should be the result. There are vacancies to be filled in the Cabinet, and Mr. Coates, with the cordial co-operation of his party, should be able to fill them in such a way as to add to the strength of his team. We hope that for the country’s sake, as well as for his own, he will not overload himself with portfolios. As Minister of Public Works, of Railways, and of Native Affairs he has been doing a tremendous amount of work. The Departments at present under his control are so well served that not one of them could well spare him: but as Prime Alinister he has important duties to perform, and if he could see his way to transfer, say, Public Works to a colleague upon whom he could rely to carry out his policy, he would still have a big man’s burden to carry. Mr. Coates promises to be so capable a leader of his party and the country that his friends will do the right thing if they encourage him to conserve his strength.