WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 7 December 1931, Page 2

WELLINGTON TOPICS

GENERAL ELECTION. THE COUNTRY’S DECISION. Special Correspondent. WELLINGTON, December 3. At the general election yesterday,” the “Dominion” tells the public this morning, “the ‘electors returned the Coalition Government by a large majority and with a clear mandate to face the difficulties confronting the nation and to take careful and considered action as the changing situation may necessitate. ‘lt was- a victory for national co-opera-tion and an emphatic rejection of sectionalism and the dangerous doctrines of Socialism.” All this is very Itrue, as far ns it goes, and very impressive, There can be no advantage, however, .in disguising the fact that at the polls yesterday the Labour Party made a distinct advance, not perhaps toward th'e goal of which they have dreamed the possession of the Treasury Benches, but towards impressing a careless public with their progress and achievements. The fact that they secured seven of -the ten seats in Auckland yesterday j five of the six seats in Wellington ; five of the ■six seats in Christchurch filld two of the five seat? ill Dunedin demonstrates afresh till? perilous absurdity of handing over to Labour the political control of all -the Dominion’s larger cities. LABOUR’S HOPES. In .the early part of last- night’s proceedings the huge crowds surrounding the newspaper offices, consisting mainly of eager Labour voters and their friends, were much elated by the early and regular display of progress reports. For the first half hour after'the dosing of the booths there was not- -a great deal of noise, but when the bigger city returns were displayed the shouting and cheering were continuous. The biggest return of the whole display came from Pet-one, where ‘Mr *v. Nash, the successor to Sir Thomas Wilford in- the possession of the Hutt -seat, and one of 'the' most capable members of the new H-pus-e, as he was of the -old, polled no fewer than 8,641 votes, the largest count in parliamentary elections for many a long . day. Eight other -successful Labour candidates polled over 6,000 votes, while, this mark was reached by only ithre9 Reformers and by only one United. The lowest poll of a successful Labour candidate was 4135, of a successful Unified candidate 2930 and of a successful Reform candidate 2359. Of the candidates returned by fewer than half the votes polled in their respective .constituencies five were Uniteds, four Reformers and four Labourites. MINORITY MEMBERS: . - Cross cutting yesterday iii contests where more than two citritlidateS Were engaged was much less prevalent than it was three years ago, when minority members constituted just one half of the European members of the House. On this occasion there were only two or three instances of this kind of thing that reaLy mattered. Tile most flagrant one was that ill Wellington North, when Sir John Luke, in spite of . all the entreaties of both Reformers and Uniteds insisted .upon entering the contest after Mr Troup, a Coalition -Reformer, who had thrown down the gauntlet to Mr Chapman, the Labour candidate for the •seat. Against a divided house and in his own district Mr Chapman had an leasy task. As a set off against this failure.of the parties arrangements, the (Hon. A. D. McLeod, who allowed the Wairarapa seat to slip out of his hands three years ago, took upon himself to challenge Colon'el McDonald, who had been his successor in the constituency, and emerged from a -sharp contest with flying colours. With the exception of a few instances of this kind the general election was without striking developments. |