DEMOCRAT LEADER

Waikato Times, Volume 118, Issue 19663, 24 August 1935, Page 7

DEMOCRAT LEADER

MR T. C. A. HISLOP.

ANNOUNCEMENT AWAITED. LIKELY CHANGES IN POLICY. WELLINGTON, Friday. / Although no official announcement was made at the conclusion o Terence of Democrat Pal ' l ]’ ( c , a ,f ni ui this afternoon there is little demb that Mr T. C. A. Hislop, Major o Wellington, has been chosen leader oi the party. At the conclusion of the conference the Dominion organiser, Mi • Davy, said he was not empoweied make an official statement. He would not disclose the name of the elected leader, nor was he able to give a list of candidates. The business of the conference was complete at about two o’clock this afternoon, somewhat earlier than was expected. Mr Hislop had been absent, but he arrived at the conference room just as the candidates were departing. He was warmly received and all the delegates shook hands with him before leaving the building. In spite of the fact that the leader of the party has not yet been officially announced it is known that Mr Hislop has already been invited to address public meetings in various parts of the Dominion. Modified Polioy. No indication has yet been given as •to the seat that Mr Hislop will contest at the general election. The Democrats are naturally anxious to secure his return, but in the present state of political affairs a safe seat is somewhat difficult to discover. At present all the Wellington seats, with the exception of Wellington Suburbs, are held by Labour, and the member for Wellington Suburbs, Mr R. A. Wright, is an Independent. If Mr Hislop does not contest one of the city constituencies, Otaki, Wairarapa and Masterton are mentioned as possible seats. Policy matters would not be discussed by any of the candidates who were approached at the conclusion of the conference. However there are grounds for believing that the platform which was originally foreshadowed has been modified in certain important respects. When the policy is finally announced it is possible there will be apparent an attempt to reconcile the interests of the Dominion manufacturer with the expressed hope of securing a greater measure of reciprocal trade with Great Britain. How this will affect the party’s attitude to the exchange question is a matter of conjecture.

Mr Hlslop’s Career. Mr T. C, A. Hislop, who has been Mayor of Wellington since 1931, is a partner in the firm of Brandon, Ward and Hislop, barristers and solicitors. Born in 1888, he is a son of the late Hon. T. W. Hislop, a former Mayor of Wellington, and grandson of the late Mr John Hislop, who was In a large measure responsible for the foundations of the Dominion’s educational system. lie was educated at Wellington College and Cambridge University, returning to New Zealand in 1911 to enter the firm of which he is at present a member. He was first elected to the Wellington City Council in 1912, but resigned in 1914 for war service, in which ho was twice wounded. In 1927 he was again elected to the City Council and in 1931 was elected Mayor, a post which he has held continuously since. Apart from his public career, he Is a past president of the Wellington District Law Society, president of the Wellington Aero Club, and of numerous philanthropic institutions, besides being an active leader and participant in many forms of sport.