BRITISH ELECTIONS

Hokitika Guardian, 21 October 1931, Page 5

BRITISH ELECTIONS

SIR 0. MOSLEY IN CLASCOW. (United Press Association. —By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) M LONDON, October 20. There have been violent scenes at the election meetings in Glasgow and Liverpool. At Liverpool, two speakers were injured through stone-throw-ing when an open-air meeting, on be half of Mr Eric Ellington, the Conservative candidate for the Scotland Division of Liverpool, was broken up. V At Glasgow, the police, before the , start of Sir Oswald Mosley's meeting 'A at St. Andrew's Llall, ordered the doors to be locked. Thousands of people then stormed the entrances, and two of the doors were smashed. Sir Oswald Mosley asked that the public should be admitted by the police, but the management of tiie hall refused to allow this on account of the damage that had already been done. Sir O. Mosley afterwards attempted to address the crowd outside the hall from a motor car. The police advised him to go to his hotel. The Opposition wrecked the meeting of Mr Duncan, the Conservative candidate for North Kensington. Free lights occurred and stink bombs were thrown inside the school room where -A the meeting was held, ' and stones “Were thrown outside. One speaker was howled down at a National Labour meeting at Peckham, when he described his Labour opponents as “a lot of cannibals.” the crowd smashed the windows of the committee rooms of Sir Frederick Hall, the Conservative candidate for East Dulwich. The Premier’s son Mr Alistair MacDonald, was howled down at a National Labour meeting in Essex. MR HENDERSON’S APPEAL. LONDON, October 20. Rt. Hon. A. Henderson, th : s morning, through the “Daily Herald” appeals to the supporters of Labour for a fair hearing for all opponents. Y DICTATION TO LIBERALS. LONDON, October 20. Following on the publication from a, Liberal source, of a series of questions to the candidates, asking them to define their attitude towards free trade, Lord Stonehaven (the Conservative Party Chairman], wrote to Mr Stanmore, the Liberal Party’s Election Chairman, protesting at any attempt to tie the hands of supporters of the National Government in advance. 'He described such a course as / being inconsistent with the Prime > Minister’s demand for a free hand. He also .suggested the desirability of a disclaimer oil the part Of Mi' Stan-; more. Mr Stanmore replied that he did t not Sthink that any such exception rt CO uld be taken. The Liberals, he to make a distinction between temporary expedients and the country’s ultimate fiscal policy.

MR MACDONALD'S SEAT. LONDON, October 20. The Prime Minister, who Has rested in the country during the week-end, V'' to-day resumed his election campaign in ' his constituency of Sealiam Harbour. Although offered" safe seats in several other localities, the Prime Minister insisted on appealing again to his old constituency, where the voters are mainly Durham miners, and where the delegates of the local Labour laity, by a small majority, expressed thendisapproval of his action in becoming the head of the present National Government. This has involved Mr -MacDonald in a keenly-fought contest against a ideal Labour official, who is receiving the strong support from the Trade Union and Labour Party organisations. There is a third candidate, also a local man, a'Communist. He is one of the few Communists who are contesting seats in this election. ELECTION EPISODES. LONDON, October 19. 'An amusing feature of the election \ is that a number of sportsmen are inI tervening, usually .on behalf of the . Party, though Sir Oswald Mosley’s engagement of Kid Lewis, the pugilist, is an exception, as is also that of Perry, the noted tennis player, who is assisting his father, who is the Labour Party candidate for Kettering. Steve Donoghue and Freddie Fox, the noted jockeys, addressed meetings to-night at Dudley in support of the Conservative candidate, Mr Dudley ./Joel, the sou of Mr Solly B. Joel.

Lord Burghlev, the hurdler, is con"V testing Peterborough against Mr Horrabin, a Socialist. A cartoonist depicts Lord Burghlev, who is a Conservative, as eel psing every speed record, in dashing round the big constituency in a motor car to address fifty meetings weekly. Even more novel is the candidature of Mr Noel Whiteside, the Conservative nominee for South Leeds. He is an airmail, and was leading a squadron i of aeroplanes, piloted by h : s friends, over the constituency on Saturday. An enterprise on even a larger scale ‘is an air circus composed of famous owner-pilots, who have cancelled ail their engagements for the period of the election in order to “canvass by air'” on beh If of the National Party. Miss Winifred Spooner, and Lady Bailey, the airwomen, are among the women’ pilots who are giving their services. Speed boats have also been organised to assist the National Party’s Nru.

candidates of the river-side constituencies.

Finally a flying squad'of young motorists has -sec off from Westminister to-day on a series of so-called “tip and run” visits to those constituencies where there were Labour members returned at last election. They propose to park their cars at the street corners, and to attract bystanders. Each car is an open tourer, with three or four speakers among its passengers, who will deliver brief addresses on the lines of the “Two Minute Men” in the United States during the World War. These meetings promise to .be very lively, but the organisers say that the "flying squad” will be well able to deal with any Communist roughs. MR MACDONALD'S CONTEST. LONDON, October IS. A stern contest is proceeding in the Prime Minister’s constituency. There was some rowdyism last week, but Mr MacDonald secured a good hearing at the meetings he has since addressed. His Labour opponent is a well-known local man, whose supporters include the wife of Lord Passfield, formerly member for Seaham. Mr MacDonald has issued a manifesto to the Seaham electors that the j Opposition’s programme was a cure that wifi ki.l the ailing State. The Nationalists are all determined to approach the question of tariffs with a practical mind, in the light of the country’s immediate needs. Agreements with the Dominions should play all important part therein. WIRELESS ELECTIONEERING. RUGBY, October 19. The General Election campaign has entered upon an intensive phase in every constituency in which a seat is contested. Many meetings are being held daily until to-morrow week.

Radio is playing a more important part in the campaign than ever before. This week, tune is allotted in the evening programme at all stations for statements by Mr William Graham (Labour), Sir H. Samuel, Mr Baldwin, Mr Henderson and Mr MacDonald. These broadcast talks, carried to the homes of the people, have enabled the political leaders to place the issues calmly and clearly before the electors. LABOUR LOSSES FORECAST. LONDON, October 20. Mr S. ’Baldwin departs to-day on a tour of the North of England and Scotland. He is not returning to London till the eve of the poll. The “Daily Express” gives a list of 105 seats which it expects the Labour Party to lose, including Burnley, which is Mr A. 'Henderson s seat. THE TARIFF ISSUE. LONDON. October 20. Mr R; MacDonald’s election address, which is being issued to-day, makes the Government’s position on the question of tariffs clear, He refers to there being a necessity for balancing trade, and he says; “One section thinks that a tariff is essential. Another thinks that it may not be necessary. We are all determined to approach this subject with a practical mind in the light of immediate needs.” He adds; An agreement with the Dominions should play an important part in this work. THE MAIN ISSUES. LONDON, October 20. The general election has resolved itself into three great fights. One is Mr Henderson versus Mr MacDonaul ; another is Mr Snowden versus the whole Labour Party; while the third is the freetraders versus the tariffites. SNOWDEN’S PROPAGANDA. LONDON, October 20. The action of Mr Snowden (Chancellor of the Exchequer), in taking on the whole of the Opposition singlehanded has provided an unexpected division. Hjß now says grimly that he will deal further with his former colleagues before the end of the election. Printing presses are working overtime ; printing millions of leaflets, which have been ordered by the Conservatives, and which were containing extracts from Mr Snowden’s week-end onslaughts on Labour. COM MUNI ST CN ADID ATE.

RUGBY, October 19. No Communist candidate obtained a seat at the last general election, when out of eighteen candidates professing that political creed, nearly all had to forfeit their £l5O deposit through the failure to poll one-eighth of the electorate, which voted in the constituencies, wherein they contested. > 'BETTING ON ELECTION. LONDON. October 19. . The stock Exchange election majorities are now quoted at two hundred. MR SNOWDEN’S ATTACK. SUPPORTED BY MR CLYNES. (Received this day at 9.<--> n.m LONDON, October 20. Mr Snowden returns to the attack this tv>“i,ring in a vigorous article in the “Mail.” He says he has never known- a general election where a- political party had sunk to such depths of deception ns the Leaders of the (Labour Paitv had done on this occasion. The brazen way in which they were .repudiating their own actions in the Labour Government is an instance of political depravity unparalleled in

party warfare. Mr Clynes speaking of the scandalous disclosures of Cabinet proceedings said: I agree with him hut the disclosures came first from members of the late

Government, who perverted the disclosures to excuse their own disgraceful surrender to the dictation of Trades Union Caucus. Tt was the dictation (if the Trades Union Council, not the dictation of the Bankers which broke rp the Labour Government. If the Labour manifesto means anything at all it mean, a Bolshevik revolution.