BRITISH ELECTIONS

Hokitika Guardian, 22 October 1931, Page 5

BRITISH ELECTIONS

MACDONALD’S CHANCE. OF RETAINING HIS SEAT. (United (Press Association.—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) LONDON, October 21. The Prime Minister’s fight at 'Seaham is a most interesting one. Mr {MacDonald himself did rot expect any difficulty in retaining the seat, but 1; is now surprised at the strength of the Opposition. The Durhamites are a hhrhiy critical folk, and Mr MacDonald has never been their ideal type of candidate. His polished diction, aestheticism, occasional dreaminess, and idealism stand in sharp contrast to his opponent, Mr Coxon’s bluff oratory and uncompromising realism. No two candidates could be more d'ssimilar. Another obstacle that Mr (MacDonald is facing is that his opponent was formerly his agent. Therefore he knows all the ropes. One reliable observer from the North says that the Prime Minister's return is now doubtful. The figures for the 1929 election show the combined votes of the Conservative and liberal candidates as 12,087. There is no Liberal and no Conservative candidate at this . election. Therefore these 12,087 votes l should go to All* MacDonald. The question remains as to how many Of his *55,615 Labour votes in 1929 ho carl now retain. It appears that he must hold one-third of these in order to win. Th : s will leave Mr Coxon 23.744, against which Mr MacDonald will have , 12,087 Conservative and Liberal votes, plus 11,871 Labour votes, a total of 23,958, giving him a majority of 214. Thus Mr MacDonald’s retention ol one-third of the Labour votes in a constituency where a promise to restore the dole cuts means votes, would represent a considerable effort. TORY CANDIDATE. HAS A ROUGH TIME LONDON, October 21. Though local rugby football players were enlisted to keep order, nevertheless, the unemployed, hurling chairs and school slates, stormed the platform at the Birkenhead meeting of (Major Allen, the Conservative candidate. He and his supporters were the centre of a fierce struggle, and Major lAAen was carried out in a semi-con-scious state, due to a blow on the head, but he pluckily returned and made an effort to answer the questions. Thp disturbance was renewed when “God Save the ’King” was played. The Chairman was struck on the mouth, and had his lip split. Then the police rushed in with drawn batons, and they cleared the school and dispersed the outside crowds. BALDWIN’S DEFENCE. . • OF THE BANKERS, LONDON, October 21, Mr Baldwin was cheered by an audience of four thousand at the {Leeds Town Hall. In his speech, he declared: “That a Labour -Government had a great chance, which was thrown away, and it will be a long time before they get another.” He said he exposed the hohowness of the cry against the bankers, and he paid a tribute to the services of the Rt. (Hon. Mr Norman (Head of the Bank of England). He said : “Harmony must prevail in the National Ministry. There lies before us one or two or maybe more, years of arduous work that will not bring Labour or Toryism into conflict. Nor is conflict poss:ble while we are wrestling with the (finances of the country.” The loudest cheer greeted Mr Baldwin when he made reference to the tariff question. Mr Baldwin said that he could profess his faith in tariffs without any violation of the spirit of the Prime Minister’s manifesto.

NEW PHASE OF PROPAGANDA. LONDON, October 20. The “Sun-Herald” political correspondent says: “Stock exchange prices are booming. Yet three weeks ago, financiers, and even Rotheriere, whose financial prophesies are widely respected, asserted that an immediate election would plunge Britain into chaos; that sterling would collapse and that the Socialists would get a big majority, with a resuft little short of a national bankruptcy. To-day, this phlegmatic, unemotional nation is experiencing one of the most astonishing changes which have ever occurred in such a short period of its history. The majority of the prophets are entirely falsified. The publics psychology is such that there is an expectation of a huge Government majority, after which will come a boom to industry. Finally, there is a fear, not that sterling will collapse, but that on the contrary, it will soar h ; gher than is justified. For exrmpie, if it touches 'four dollars ten cents it will be too high, according to immediate values.

IMITvOYEMEXT IX TRADE. MR THOMAS'S CLAIM. LONDON. October 20. Air J. IT. Thomas, speaking at Herb'-, claimed that there were encouraging signs of a restoration of confidence under the National Government. Although nominally, he said, tin? unemployment had increased during October, there had been a fall tf fifty-eight thousand, while 110 applications from foreigners had been received during the past three weeks for factory sites in i** .Britain. Most of the textile iwlusjfcriea had made a considerable spurt.

One firm had received two orders for ten million yards of cotton and six million yards respectively. Four of the cotton mills in Lancashire were now employing an additional two thousand hands. The coal output was also increasing. Three pits had been reopened in Northumberland last week, 'ine coal shipments from the Welsh ports rose by 4QI|Vw«/ to 478,000 tone. The iron and steel trade was picking up. Boot factories in Northampton had orders for some time ahead. RADIO’S BIG PART. OVER 12 MILLION LISTENERS. LONDON, October 20. Latest statistics as to wireless licenses show that at the end of September, there were just under 4,000,000 receiving sets licensed in Great Britain, representing, a listening audience of between 12,000,000 and 16,000,000 people. These figures have a special interest in view of the series of political broadcast talks in connection with the general election campaign. The Electorate at last general election in 1929 numbered nearly 29,000.000 of whom about 23,000,000 went to the polls.

TARIFF IN CONTEMPLATION, TORY CRITIC OF SNOWDEN. RUGBY, October 20. Mr Neville Chamberlain, in a speech at Birmingham last night, disagreed with the Chacellor of the Exchequer's statement that the Conservative leaders would not regard a majority in the circumstances of this election, as a mandate for a general system of piotection. Air Chamberlian said that he understood the Prime Minister s declaration as indicating they would bring a free mind to an examination of the problems before them, unhampered by any pledges which would prevent them ilrom putting into operation whatever remedy was thought necessary. WAR DEBTS. RUGBY. October 20. The conclusion of an international agreement on war debt payments, was stated in the election address issued by the Prime .Minister to his constituents, to be one of the three essentia! measures which the National Government will strive to secure. The other two are stabilisation of the pound, and rectification of the trade balance. Regarding the war debt, he says an effort” will be made to come to an international agreement regarding the debt payments imposed after Lae war which had inch a detrimental effect upon trade with the whole woild.