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Hokitika Guardian, 19 September 1922, Page 2

The General Assembly election, will probably be held the iirst week ill December, is likely to he as interesting in Westland as anywhere else in the. Dominion. This for the reason that in the coining contest, according to all accounts, tlie electors will have the choice of three candidates. According to press reports the three parties in Parliament will have a standard bearer in the field. The representatives will include, Mr Seddon. the sitting member sine,. 1996. who will of course, espouse the Liberal cause. Labor, according to rumour, is likely to have a doughty representative in Mr .lames O’Brien who was the contestant for the seat at the last general election. The lieform candidate has boon selected with some difficulty, hut the official announcement gives tlie name of .Air Jess? Steer. a well-known public man iu Greymouth. In point of fact tlie three candidates, reside in Greymouth, which is rather a coincidence. The triangular contest may have sonic surprises in tlie result it will bring about, hut from general appearances the sitting member, with a good clean record of sixteen years’ faithful service behind him. will start off rather as the favorite of the trio. Mr Seddon has a reputation for good nature, and is a persona gratia with all with whom he comes in contact. He wields a good deal of personal influence wherever lie goes, and his popularity is certainly wellestablished. Air O’Brien stands well in the ranks of Labor where he will hare a solid following, and Mr .Steer who is untried in the political arena, has a good record of local body service Ik>liind him. The three personalities will enter Jnrgelv into the fray, and each in his own circle will have his own special following. Hut as the contest pro- , coeds the politics of the parties repre- : sented will come up for serious con- j sideration and so far as AVestland in I general is concerned, the Liberal principles are sure to find the most accept- : anoo. Liberalism in AVestland has boon well founded always and the indications are that AVestland will remain Liberal.

Looking backward In the matter of past polling we find that in 1914 the emotion jn AA'estlnpd Sad*

don (Liberal) 3236 and Air A. Pnnpe (Reform) 2410. The war intervened, and Afr Seddon did his bit, and incidentally the life of Parliament was extended. Tiie last general election was in 1910, when Air Seddon (Liberal) polled 4201, and Air J. O’Brien (Labor) 2704. In 1914, there were 5691 votes cast out of a roll strength of 6474. 'Last polling the total voting was 6990, out of a roll strength of 8311. There was thus a higher percentage of non-voters on the last occasion. The new 101 l contains only 7,244 names, but these will be substantially increased, so that the voting strength of the electorate should he greater than at last poll, and no doubt a larger number of votes will be recorded. AVith three candidates in the field the chosen representative will poll extremely well if he receives a majority of the total votes recorded. No doubt in the course of the general election a good deal will he heard about proportional representation and preferential voting. As far as the Liberal and Labor parties are concerned tlie question will lie one of the planks < f the rival platforms. Reform will not have any of it now, though there was a time when the present leaded of the Government proposed to make the Upper Houso elective on preferential voting. But that proposal has gone like many other broken promises, and is not likely to he redeemed till Liberals or Labour attain power. The Government regard the first past the post system as a safety first device with two opposing factions in the field, and will maintain that system till someone else has the power to alter it in keeping with democratic demands. Referring to policies, it is not unlikely the near future will reveal the political superstructure proposed to be reared by their several planks. The country needs a decided change in policy, for the present Government lias muddled the finance to the extent that taxation is overburdening, and the administration bankrupt for the want of funds. A change is needed hadl.v and the coming general election will be helpful in the direction if the public study the political issues aright.