THE RED FEDS ROUTED.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2136, 30 April 1914, Page 8

THE RED FEDS ROUTED.

GREAT WIN FOR MR. J. P. LUKE, , .. A SWING YEBDICT. ' A RESULTS FROM OTHER CENTRES. J. P. LUKE 11501 D. M'LAREN 4539 J. CLOVER 43J7

Thero has not often been a keener ' ■ Struggle for supremacy in the field of ' municipal politics than was witnessed in the City Mayoralty election conducted , ,yesterday. No pains had been spared .■by the threo parties engaged in perfecting their organisation, and the re;sult was seen in the record total of .votes polled. Pleasant weather was 'no doubt a contributing factor, but in ! any case tho heavy voting followed Jia'turally upon tho strenuous organising Hhat has been going on for some time ■past. Tho surface aspect of events i.ycsterday gavo little indication of the ! tense nature of the struggle in progress. !An ample provision of polling-booths' iad been made, and the election arrangements worked smoothly, and with an entire absence of friction. Votes ■'wore well distributed amongst the different polling-places, and no overcrowding worth speaking about occurred any-' jivhcre. In general, the election was "admirably orderly and well-conducted. i Tho stir and bustle sometimes seen, around tho doors ,of polling-places was to ii great extent absent, but the elec'tion was a. very frequent topic of conversation in the streets. ' The general ■ attitude was one of tense expectancy. Thousands of people turned out in tho evening to hear the result of the policing. In past years tho Town Hall has ■■usually been thrown open to tho public nt election time, candidates and electors being allowed to surge,round the door of the returning officer's room as ■the results came to hand from the various booths. Last evening better arrangements were made. The outer doors of the. hall were closed, excluding tho public, and upstairs the returning officer (Mr. Jas. Ames) and his assistants worked in a room which no outsiders were allowed to enter. The Jlavoral candidates and a number of reporters were accommodated in another room, to which the returns from tho various booths wero brought from timo tn time by a messenger. The first booths to send in returns wore Hataitiii and Wadestown, which reported simultaneously at 7.10 p.m. Kilbirnio followed five minutes later, and the others in rapid succession. The whole' of the work was put through with remarkable expedition, and at eight o'clock tho last return had come in. and the returning officer was enabled : to announce the result of the poll. Immediately afterwards the, successful candidate and his defeated opponents addressed some hundreds of people who had assembled at the main vestibule of the Town Hall. There , were some evidences of party feeling, "■■' but they were not very loudly expressed, and each of the candidates was given .a good hearing. AVlicn they .'poke later from the "Evening Post" balcony, the Mayor and his opponents m the election all had a mixed recep- £,._ tion from the crowd of about three -■"thousand-, wlijoli had assembled there. I Each speaker in turn 'Was both cheered and hooted, and could he heard onlv at intervals.

POLLING AT THE BOOTHS. Booths. o I 2. Tilt Street, Witdcstowii 27 122 SJ Church Schoolruom, Tinakori Koail 59 173 97 Mrs. Kearney's Tea Rooms, Timikari Rr. 27 10(i „ 52 Cliiirclirooiii, -Northland 29 90 " jl. CliuL'chrooni, Upland Tioiitl, Kelbnrne 11 319 18 Clnirclii'Roiii. Aro 5t.... 105 111 102 Bnptist Church, Brooklyn !):( 213 13-t Jlasouic Hall, Brooklyn f>!) 111 78 JlKhodist PflHiDlraoin, Island Bay SO '."1 51 Church Hull, ilarantii VI 119 21 O'Djiincll's Hall, Kilbiriiic 10'! 301 103 Bowliii!? I'avilion, H;ifaifni' 39 353 W Ft-hoolroo'ii, I!n*cucal!i 2l> !)l 2-3 New Onhiry Hall 311 ' 821 3fii St. Miirki Schoolroom, DiiK'ps'ui Street 71) 213 07 Victoria llnll, Adelaide • lioail 22fl 377 W Ne\v(r,y.-n Library 119 3SO 119 St. ThiiiKisV Schooirnoin. Uidiiil'ord 5t.... 2SI 751 290 Mt.MiiiH- Hall, Adcliiidc Ti'wid 7(> 2.18 107 Alexandra Hall 2-tt lilß 213 SI. Peter's Schoolroom 231' 395 178 UpclioljHo Hall, 3tan-npi-ri .StrcPt 238 3PI 270 "Wharf Waiting Enoni -1-lli ll.j 113 'funiculi's Auction Koom m 922 23:) Auction . Tbom 11l 1020 ' 25S SI. Paul's Schoolroom, Sydney Street 291 SCO dls Biintisl Schoolroom, Vivian Street 171 2IG 121 Town Hall CM- ' 1735 558 Totals '1337 11,501 4539 Pififcrenco to the pollinc; figures will show that Mr. Luke received n majority over one or bntli of hia opponents at nil save-, two polling places, thn Aro Street Cliurrhrooin and' the Wharf waiting-Toom. Mr. Luke had an ahgoliito majority of 2(520i over the comhhipil votrs polled by his two opponenis. Ho liad a" majority of f>962 votes ovor Mr. M'Larcn nnd a majority of 7164 votes Over Mr. Glover. Tim valid votes polled numbered 20,370. PREVIOUS CONTESTS, Following are the results of the Mavoral elections in 1912 and 191:):— ' 1912. M'Larnn 423". Smith 2034 Smith 1007 Wright 1557 1913. Luke. ; 9991 Jl'Liiron 9fSfi Majority for Luke ... 508 election Totals Compared. The table printed below shows the total number of valid votes recorded at

local municipal elections and the number of voters on the roll in tho years indicated: :— Valid Number votes. on roll. 1905 0,695 . 19,703 1907 8,621 21,162 190S 14,816. 28,682 1909 13,406 30,146 1910 11,515 31.578 1912 10.333 30',005 1913 19/180 34,179 1914 20,379 40,400