FEDERAL ELECTIONS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3072, 7 May 1917, Page 6

FEDERAL ELECTIONS

INCOMPLETE RETURNS, , NATIONALISTS IN THE LEAD, HUGHES ROMPS IN POSITION AS REGARDS SENATE ' . (Rec. May 6, 5.5 p.m.) : m , ■ Sydney,.May 6. ihe weather was fine for the Federal elections. The voting generally was solid. The figures in no instance are complete, but when the counting ceased at midnight it was sufficiently advanced as far as the House of Representatives is concerned to place a big Nationalist victory, beyond all doubt. As for the Senate, some days will hare to elapse before tho count will show anything like finality, but the Nationalist bunches in all the States are leading with such margins as to make the Nationalist hope of winning the required majority in the Upper House most promising. Postal and soldiers' votes have still to be taken into account, and probably ft will be something like a fortnight before the soldiers' poll will be available. The incompleteness of the election returns and tho capability of very considerable alterations makes it impossible to state the position with any exactness. On present figures a rough approximation of probables for the House of Representatives is:— Nationalists -47 P.L.L 22 Doubtful '6 Excepting Mr. W. Webster, the Post-master-General, who has considerable leeway to make up, all Ministers are apparently safe. Mr.' Hughes's faith in abandoning ins old love, West Sydney, for Beudigo was well placed. He secured a thumping majority, while Mr. J. Cook bad a runaway victory for Parramatta. Mr. J. H. Catts (Labour) romped in. > A number of seats are likely to change hands. The P.L.L.-looks like capturing two or three New South Wales seats, while Mr. F. G. Tudor (Leader of the Labour Party) admits that three Labour seats in Victoria appear to have gone to Nationalists. _ As regards the Senate, the outstanding feature is "tho probability of the Nationalists capturing three Victorian seats, aud for a third seat in New South Wales previously held by Labour the Nationalist holds a good lead. However; the Senate figures at present arc- a mere dribble compared with the finals.—Press Assn.