MR O’BRIEN WINS

Hokitika Guardian, 3 December 1931, Page 5

MR O’BRIEN WINS

WESTLAND SEAT ► w A MAJORITY OF 1031. O'BRIEN 4919; GREENSLADE 3,888. The General Elections are over—lost and won. Mr J. O’Brien, Labour candidate for Weiti'and was returned by the substantial majority of 1051 voltes in preference to Mr J, W. Green- * sladej l the . Coalition candidate. The y polling was: O’Brien 4,919, Greenslade 3,888, the'final results being to hand, at 9.15 o’clock. (By 7 o’clock, .the hour at which the polling booths closed, a crowd began to assemble outside the “Guardian” office where special arrangements had been made to convey to ithe people of Ilokil;ika the results of the voting both in the Westland electorate and throughout the Dorriinion. Within a short .space of 'time the assemblage grew until several Hundred were gathered in Weld .(Street. Election night is generally visualised as a night of cheers, jeers, and heckling, the. throwing of articles at candidates, and personal abuse at the J latters’ expense. It was a different story \ in Hokitika, . however/ for it is eonX sidercd that the crowd last evening was one o{ the mos-tr orderly that has gathered on. such' till; Occksidfi. /Marked liitgHiSt idWnrLct the posting up of the the various booths in Westland; 'Ever since tjie pall* tical campaigns by the respective'members .had been ;in train, ..there was con’*iderabie speculation as to the ultimate issue, and .at last the public were to know whether their hopes were sanguine or not. The first local figures showed a slight majority for Mr “Greenslade, but, as they continued to come in, the lead was decreased, and (Mr O’Brien went to the front, and by 8 O’clock he was about 400 votes in front. Later returns increased hjs lead, many, in small decree, but others substantially, placing the issue completely beyond doubt, this being received in warm manner by Mr O'Brien’s supporters. ' / ; . Next to, or equal with, the interest in the local contest, was the position r»f the Parliamentary seats throughout tho Dominion, and this was made possible through the medium of a Crossley Super-Buddy radio, by permission of Mr ißay Thompson; • the local agent. Considerable interest and enthusiasm was evinced when the respective strengths began to take form, and this was maintained .until the position was made known, The public were given -the opportunity of hearing the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes, and the Leader j, of the Labour party, Mr S. Holland %i speak to the electors, the former’s voice being droymedon occasions by the. rowdy element—a satirical example of New , Zealand—the land of free speech. A ,■ THE SPEECHES:

£> Wkefii the result was rid longer In thiiibfc, M? (T: W, Greenslade, Coalition eandldate, f'&hg through from Gveymouth, und asked his nominator/ Uh return thanks on his behalf, promising to visit the town at an early date and express personal thinks, Warm applause greeted Mr O'Brien when he mounted the platform and faced

the crowd, He returned sincere thanks

to those who had, supported him, and * for the honour conferred upon him. He congratulated his opponent on the tfight put up, and assured his listeners of his continued support of the district he would represent in Parliament. He ai'so expressed pleasure at the absence !/ i of personalities iii the campaign. Mr D. J. Evans spoke on behalf of Mr Greenslade, thanking those who had accorded him their support. The candidate was greaitly indebted to the noble band of followers who had assisted him at the poll. On behalf of Mr Green«;ade, Mr Evans congratulated Mr O’Brien on his handsome victory, which lyas a splendid expression of confidence. Mr 'Evans concluded by again thanking the suppoDters of Mr O’Brien in what had been a very friendly contest. The announcement of other returns from different parts of New Zealand occupied the attention of the gathering until a late hour, and by midnight the streets had resumed their natural tranquility. So ended the General Election as far > as Hokitika residents were concerned. Seats were won and seats were lost. CPolitcial policies were defended and also rejected. And to-day? People returned ito their mundane callings with much depleted verbosity in the question which ~ has been occupying their minds since the start of the campaign. MR O’BRIEN STATEMENT,

"The vote as far as the Westland Electorate is concerned will convince everybody that it is of no use for any- 1 'body of a Tory tendency standing for j this district, - and that the spirit of ( West Coasters will- not tolerate legis-1 lat-ion in the interests of bondholders and vested interests, to the detriment of the general public. The change to the Labour * platform during this particular eieC'ticM'kin the part of old West Coasters and' ; followers of the late Mr R. Ji Seddon, has been remarkable,” were the remarks.of the successful candidate,- Mr Jas. O’Brien, when the final results' were made known to him at the headquarters of the Returning Officer, Mr R. Cox. “I do not consider the victory mine at all, but it is a victory for West Coasters, men and women, who have ■worked so hard, and sacrificed so much to win the election. T am taking - up immediately the betterment of the sawmilling, and mining industries:, <v.-u closer settlement, and I intend to push these as much as possAue. My sincerest thanks are due to those who supported me, and also to those who opposed me, for' the wav in which the election was conducted.” Mr O’Brien was • a most interested listener at'the Customs House where the

Returning Officer announced the returns as they were received from the different parts of the electorate. Shortly after 7 o’clock the first result came to hand, from Woodstock, while the second lot of figures arrived five minutes later. The next twenty minutes were busy for the Returning Officer and his assistant, and the returns piled in, and by 7.45, thirty-four returns, or nearly haif of the total, were 'to hand. “It’s all over now,” said Mr O’Brien at 8 o’clock.when it was announced that he had a majority of about 490. Mr O’Brien remarked on the returns as they came in, and he compared each witu the official figures for the previous election in 1928. .The results continued to arrive until 8.20 when some trouble was experienced with the telegraph wires. At 8.50 the Ruru figures came‘in, whjt Bell. Hill brought up the rear at 9.18. Referring to the voting, Mr O’Brien said “The Hokitika figures were better than I anticipated, and are the best returns we have had here. Hokitika people are more appreciative of services '.rendered than in any other part of the electorate.

The Returning Officer expressed satisfaction 4t the manner in which his deputies and poll marks had carried out their duties. “Everything went smoothly” he said. It has been his usual practice to employ, as far as possible, the same deputies at each election. This is quite practicable in the larger centres, but in the smaller, country places, it as hot always possible owing to the ebb ahd flow in these pmces. THE OFFICIAL FIGURES THE VOTING AT THE POLLS. *3 rj « 8 S 3 't ® CQ t- O O Ahaura 50 42 Aickens 4 10 Arahura 34. 22 Aratika (Kotuku) 15 12 Awatuna 8 28 BlaketoWn ;. 119 246 Bell Hill 11 57 Blue Spur 1 13 Boddytown ••••• 18 7 Bruce Bay .. • • 5 9 Camerons * 21 46 Dillnmns 9 38 Evans Creek H 5 Goldsborough 6 10 Grey, Columba No. 1 35 125 Grey, Columba No. 2 ... 22 109 Grey Harbour Office No. 1 60 75 Grey Court House 85 90 Grey Public School No. 1 188 117 Grey Public School No. 2 115 86 Grev United Pavilion ... 287 194 Grey Town Hall No. 1 163 244 Giey Town Hall No. 2 154 190 &*ey Town Hall No. 3 132 188 Grey Town Hall No. 4 I*B7 179 Grey Old People’s Home 43 07 Harihafi ........ 61 08

Here pa 20 0 Hokitika School 173 165 Hokitika Town Hall No, 1 248 147 Hokitika T. Hall No. 2 212 169 Hokitika St. Mary’s ... 65 . 211 Hokitika Hospital 21 43 Humphreys 16 5 Kahikatea 23 23 Kaiata .' 32 57 Kakapotahi 8 25 Ivainaka 6 12 Kanieri 93 tS7 Kanieri Forks 17 9 Karangarua 7 4 ICoiterangi 74 32 Kokiri 14 80 ICopara 6 5 Kotuku 29 65 Kumara 103 161 Kumara Junction 15 19 Jacksons H H Lower Kokatahi 74 80 Mahitahi 6 9 Mananui “ 10 29 Marsden 6 19 Matai * 12 0 Matainjii i. 71 42 Mo-ana 4 31 Nelson Creek 26 98 Ngahere 39 109 Nobles 13 10 Okarito 9 20 Oknru , 11 18 Orwell Creek 4 9 Otira 21 94 Paroa 27 89 Poerua-Inchbonnie 13 24 Pukekura 0 13 Rimu 20 53 Ross 160 '* 140 Rotomanu 33 20 Ruatapu 45 43 Ruru 21 50

South Beach 29 Stafford 9 10 Te Kinga 26 67 Teremakau Settlement ... 9 15 Tetaho 10 ~ Three Mile 45 42 Totara Flat 50 29 Wailio Gorge 50 33 Wainihinihi 10 36 Wait ah a 33 21 Wallis Siding H 2,1 Weheka 7 37 Westbrook 5 13 Woodstock 31 28 Totals 3888 4919 Majority for O’Brien 1031 ’Absentee Votes 295 Seamen’s Rights 2 Postal Votes