EDEN ELECTION.

Hokitika Guardian, 16 April 1926, Page 3

EDEN ELECTION.

MR -MASON WINS. [by TELEGRAPH rER PRESS ASSOCIATION The Eden bye-election took place today, resulting in a victory for Mr Mason. the Labour candidate: Mr Mason (Labour 4,473 Sir J. Gunson (Reform) ... 4,032 Miss .Melville (fn. Reform) 2,253 -Majority for Mason ... 441 Absentee votes total 284. MR. COATES’S COMMENT AUCKLAND. April 15. When the final figures for the Eden election arrived to-night, the Prime Minister, Mr Contes, commented on them. Ho said that it was another ease of the evil effects of vote-splitting. He added : ‘‘Tile vote shows definitely that there i.s in the electorate a majority over 1.600 votes for the Government. Labour, therefore, by a large minority vote, secures the seat. The responsibility for this result must be borne by those whose action enabled a Reform seat to be handed over to the Labour Party. T .sincerely hope that to-day's experience will prove an object lesson for the future, and that it will demonstraj.e that, unless loyalty and whole-hearted support are forthcoming when the occasion calls, the result must inevitably be failure.

The polling figures at the General Election in November were: Sir J. Parr (R.) 7,158 Mr Mason (L.) 4,852 Mr Grigg (In.) 118 To Ha l 12.12 S AFTER THE POLLS. MR HOLLAND’S COMMENT. WELLINGTON, April 16. Commenting on the result of the byeelection, tin 1 fiCader of the Labour Party (Mr H. Holland) said it was eminently satisfactory from the Labour Party point of view. ‘‘Prior' to the election.” lie said, “the Reform Party stpted throughout the electorate that it the seat was lost it would amount to a vote of no-confidence in the Reform Government, and naturally I agree with that view., The point where Mr Coates made his strong point "as that Mr Mason was elected on n minority vote. Ho seems to have forgotten that his very large majority in the House at the last General Election was also secured on a minority vote, hut in my opinion if the light had been n straight-out line between Mason and Gunson, Mason would still have won, for if is quite evident that Miss Melville secured a large number of the women’s votes, which in her absence would have gone to the Labour camlindte. Again, if was quite evident that within the electorate itself there a decided revulsion against the administration of the Government. On Ibis occasion the total vote cast was 10. 1 55 while at the General Election it amounted to over 12,000. It is significant dial while, with a heavily reduced lotal vote, the Labour vote fell by only 35(1. flic officiiil Reform candidate'-, vote fell by over 3000.

From the Labour Party's point of view, the elect ion has bad one most important result. It definitely .settles the question as to which Party shall he the Official Opposition.