The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1925. THE LOGIC OF FIGURES.

Hokitika Guardian, 25 September 1925, Page 2

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1925. THE LOGIC OF FIGURES.

! I/.vM' Saturday in l hud a reference In tli,' West land scat, called forth h.v tinart ive a ppca ra iia l ol Mr Sniihni in tli ■* field. Natm;ill\ U was a subject worthy 111 notice. Ini' at lilt' lllnllll'llt nothing is iiairi* important to our mini! tlum tlu* national weal in tlu* coining general election. Vot. strange to say. the “Urey River Arons" in its \Vim!unsday issue resented niir entry into tin* pub|ic controversy. notw itlistandiug that tor practically three years it has had a tree held to laud the candidate, the cause of whom it espouses. Apparently it may do so with impunity, hut none other may take such liberty with another candidate on pain ot being pilloried. That may he the way oi Labour, hut it is not lair play, and the ea (.oil i i ties of our contemporary will not. he elf active in deterring us from referring to the subject as otten as lie lIIIIV deem fit in the public interest. Tlie paper induhjes in a ciinsiderablc screed ot nearly a. lolumn. and as so often with such critics, is la reel v personal. We will leave our contemporary as also its correspon-dents;-to ravel in their personalties to their hearts’ desire. I hey do not affect; thi' political reputation ot the •‘Guardian" which has been staunchly Liberal always. Our contemporary seems to think that because the electors passed their judgment three years ae) in a certain direction, there all argument must end, and presumably the sitting member is to retain the seat for all time! Our <ontemporary ta.llcs of this paper being the mouthpiece of a “minority." Let us remind the “Argus’* that Mr O’Brien is n minority representative. which Mr Seddon Inis never been. When the two candidates met in dual combat in 1019. AIT Seddon polled 1201 votes to Mr O’Brien’s 2701. In 1922 there were four on,adulates in the field. Mr O'Brien polled 2920. Mr Seddon 2109. .Mr Steer 19u2. Mr Lynch 006. and informal ">2. or a grand total of 792 d votes in all. Air O'Brien received nearly 1009 votes less than half the number polled. Tn fact he received hutlittle more than one-third of the votes (in round fractions) so that our contemporary will see that Air O’Brien is very much a ‘’minority" representative. And there is another aspect of .Mr O'Brien's polling in the two contests. which is rather instructive to those who imagine that the winner at last poll had a. runaway victory. It is very interesting to record that Mr O’Brien's percentage of polling was less when he won in the four-sided contest, than when he lost in the dual run in 1919. In 1919 hi- percentage of the votes polled of the total, was 38.68. Tn 1922 his [leroontago of votes [Killed dropped to 30.92. There was a heavier poll on the latter occasion, and although Air O'Brien managed to win. it was because of the vote-splitting with the four candidates. Air Seddon defeated Air O'Brien by 119” votes in

1919. and Afr O’Brien was ahead of Afr Seddon I>\- -187 in 1922, hut behind them both "ere still 2500 votes east for the other candidates. The logic of these figures is apparent to those who rare to study them, and if our contemporary. with its hundred eyes, win look straight at tho position, it will not he so readv to see Air Seddon as a “minority” candidate, with Afr O’Brien at its very elbow for the last three years. actually a “minirit.v’’ representative. 8o far as MV Seddon is concerned, we can sav n all confidence that we believe ATr ■feddon w ill in the coming election relieve any approach against him of he nature suggested by the “Argus.” md that lie will ho returned again, in act as the majority representative dent her for Westland.

Mu Seddon was quite frank in liis address vo his supporters on Tuesday evening; relative to his position if elected. He made it clear that lie favoured fusion as a means essential to cornhat the official Labour Party led Ly Mr Holland. The necessity of keeping that party out of office L the central feature of the coming genera! election. The history of the parly, which has its it Ilex in Australia and at Home, is to discourage confidence in its administration as lending for the safety and security of tho country, .fust now Australia is preparing for a contest openly fought on lines which will he identical with those being brought about in Now Zealand and that issue brought to the Westland Electorate, is. whether the constituency will return an avowed supporter of the Labour Party, or one opposed to Labour under it' present policy and leadership, obtaining administrative power. It is a simple issue on the face of it, sn simple that none should mistake .it; or the possible < onseqnonces of their action if they ignore the plain issue, and from passion or prejudice vote without giving weight to the consequence of their action by voting against assured sanity and stability in general government.

Tin; need for Itision to combat Labor is so generally .self-evident that it is to lie regretted greatly that at this juncture Reform and Liberal are 110 l agreed to a common platform, and lighting the real enemy jointly, and not spurring fruitlessly with themselves. Mr McLeod, a prominent Reform Minister. set a very had example in that dire tion. anil it was perhaps only human that the Liberal Leader should take the platform to answer Mr McLeod.- Mr Korbes appears to be doing so very effectivel.v. but it seems a needless waste ef time to be correcting statements for each other, while the enemy at the gates is making the best of the proposition under cover of the party bickerings. Fusion, it is generally believed, will come to pass immediately after the poll. Such being tile case it is a thousand pities that the situation is not handled now that a e unposite party would meet the electors and place the whole issue of the count rv plainly before the people. Mr Seddon has indicated the part lie is prepared to play to bring abniil fusion. and he a| pears to have the confidence of the Reform Ministers, as also that of his own leaders. Mr Seddon thus stands well with both parties making his position definitely clear, and in fact his return is desired hv the t«'o parties .which will form the future government.