PARNELL FORECAST

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 102, 2 May 1930, Page 10

PARNELL FORECAST

INTEREST INCREASING

NO MENTION OF FUSION

(By Telegraph.) (Special to "The Evening Post.") \ ' ■"■ AUCKLAND, This Day. Although the polling day is now less {liana week array, the Pairtiell election campaign is not arousing such keen interest as might have been expected in view of the present political situation. The candidates are holding nightly meetings, assisted by prominent supporters' of their respective parties, but nobody has succeeded in setting the AVaitemata Harbour or ei;en the Parnell baths on fire. Mr. Donald, the Government candidate, ivas assisted, to-night by the Hon. W. A. Veitch, while Mr. Endean, the Reform nominee, was aided by Mr. H. Holland, M.P. for Christchurch Korth. The speech to be delivered to-morrow evening by the Hon. W; Downie Stewart may be expected to infuse more life into the campaign, and on Monday and Tuesday, the last two nights before polling day, the platform wiil be taken by the Bight.Hon. J. G. Coates, the Leader of--the Reform Party. ■■.■., With the arrival on Saturday of the Leader of tho Labour Party and two other Labour members, the close of the campaign should be less uninteresting than it has been up to the present. , FUSION DROPPED. ' 2sot much new political ground, has Itcen broken by the three candidates. It is interesting to note that the question of the fusion of the United and Reform' parties is not .being discussed. When Mr. Jenkins resigned the seat he declared, that the- present situation demanded the merging of tho two par•ties, and he stated that he had joined the Reform Party with tho object of •working for such a union. Had he been chosen as the Reform nominee his candidature would have placed the.fusion issue more or less definitely before the electors, but the selection of Mr. Endean seems to have .at once relegated this1 question entirely to the backgrounds There has been no mention in the speeches of any effort to bring Reform aud United into line. In fact the subject seems to have been entirely overlooked since Mr. Jenkins was eliminated. • ■ . » The only suggestion of a fusion was that made by Mr. Wright on Wednesday, when ho said that United aud Labour should combine. So far as the question of ending the triangular party system is concerned, the country is not likely to get. any .further forward as a result'of this by-election, y ; CHANCES OF CANDIDATES. As to the chances of the three candidates, it seems likely that the issue lies botweeu United and Reform. TLie ParHell electorate, as now i-onstituU-il, may be termed'anti-Labour. That portion of the Parncll Borough whie.li largely favours the Labour Party is included-in Auckland' East. Many of those in closest touch with the campaign predict a close, run between Mr. Donald and Mr. Eridean.' The United candidate has the advantage of having a niore impressive platform manner than Mr. Endean. The latter is not such a good speaker as his principal opponent, and has not the same facility for. dealing with iute.rjectors as Mr. Donald. Mr. Donald, it is suggested, is likely to poll well among the women voters who have no strong party ties. The women electors in Parnell outnumber the male voters by about 1000, and judging by the number of women's meetings addressed by Mr. Donald, it would seem that he is paying special attention to this circumstance. At the same time it is not to be supposed that this point has escaped {he notice of Mr. Endean's well-organ-ised committee. Mr. Endean is being well supported by Mr. J. S.v Dickson, the former' member, who still has a large foUowing and who is loyally fulfilling his promis*c to assist the party nominee that he made when the ballot was taken. His experience and influence should prove a valuable aid to Mr. Endean.