WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 11 September 1929, Page 2

WELLINGTON TOPICS

ECHOES OF ELECTION. OPTIMISTIC PALMERSTON NORTH (Special Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, Sept. 8. Speaking in the concluding stage of the, Budget debate, Mr J. A. Nash, the Member for Palmerston North, set himself out to show that the rebuff suffered by the Reformers at the November election was merely a passing incident that to be reversed in the near future. He warned Sir Joseph Ward rather in a, conciliatory than in an aggressive tone, that the United Party was ,in, possession of the Treasury Benches only for a brief period and that Mr Coates and his colleagues would return to' their own as soon as the constituencies had an opportunity to repair their blunder. Proof that the Reform Party never had lost its hold upon the electors Mr Nash found in the fact that it had polled. 35,000 more votes than had the party, now in office and in the further fact that from one end of the country to the other there was growing regret that a freak of the ballot had temporarily removed it from office.

, THE FACTS. Mr Nash is a cheery optimist and a merry wag but in this instance he seems to have rather overdone his humour.' His figures to begin with, are a litttle astray. At the recent .election the Reformers put seventyone candidates in the field and secured 267,079 votes, an average of 3761 votes for each candidate. The Uniteds produced fifty-seven candidates, secured 244,474 votes and averaged 4306 votee for each candidate, while the Labourites produced fifty-six candidates, secured 203,621 votes and averaged 2626 votes for each candidate. These figures, taken from the official returns show that 267,079 votes were cast for Reform and 4&9,095 against it; 245,474 for United and 470,700 against it; and 203,621 for Labour and 512,553 against it. But while only 110,260 Reform votes were

\ effective, 143,296 United votes were effective, showing conclusively that Reform’s multitude of votes was made up by its multitude of candidates of whom, approximately two-thirds were defeated while more than one-half of tUe United candidates .were elected. SAMOA AND THE SAMOANS. I The mpst striking speech heard in the Heuse of Representatives for many a long day was delivered by the Hon Sir Apirana Ngata, the Minister of Native Affairs, on Friday while the administration of Samoan affairs was under discussion. The discussion was opened by the Prime Minister announcing that an alteration was to be made in the constitution of the Samoan Legislative Council which would give the natives a greater say than they had at present in the Government of the Mandated Territory. Though Sir Joseph Ward struck a conciliatory note he let it be known that the law had to be properly administered and that he was looking for the co-operation of the Samoans towards that end. Mr H. E. Holland, the Leader of the Labour Party, seized upon the opportunity to reiterate some of his former charges against the administration of the previous Government, and his ready henchman, Mr E. J. Howard, moved to the effect that the whole policy in Western Samoa should be recast. THE IDEAL. «: It would be impossible in the few lines that are available here to convey any adequate idea of the fervour and eloquence of the appeal of the Minister of Native Affairs for a sane solution of the Samoan problem. “The ideal,” one passage ran, “would be to remove the bulk of the officials who govern Samoa now,' if it wore possible. If Samoa is to be governed for the Samoans, plainly it should be governed by the Samoans, with the best possible assistance this cquntry can give. Tt is not so much a matter of quantity as it is of quality. What Samoa has always wanted is fair, reasonable, sympathetic, understanding British administration in the early stages. Let us run them, hut let it appear they aro

t running themselves.” The “Hansard” report of Sir Apirana’s appeal for sanity and understanding in the solution of the Samoan problem should be read by every elector in the Dominion. It is a subject in which the credit of the whole country is deeply involved.