THE GENERAL ELECTION.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5362, 10 December 1928, Page 3

THE GENERAL ELECTION.

MT INDIVIDUAL HONOURS. I& SIDELIGHTS ON POLLING. Several members of the Labour Party have achieved the distinction of being returned with the greatest majorities of the elections. Mr D. G. W . Sullivan (Avon) had a majority of K>,’3B4 | s. and 'his Manukau colleague, Mr jF/’V J. Jordan, 3659. The leader of the fr**-party, Mr H. E. Holland, came third with 3617, and Mr P. Fraser (Wellingv " ton Central) occupied! fourth place in [’ , , the list with 3458. The United Party j*' leader, Sir Joseph Ward, was next in | ‘ order with 3278 majority, and then ia came two either members of the Labfl j our Party, Messrs W. Parry (Auckland gjjfcentral) and R. McKeen (Wellington B’MWuth), with 3024 and 2953 respective||3Fly. The leader of the other principal S party, Mr Coates, had the next plape jL with a 2475 majority. The smallest majorities, of course were in the Southern Maori, where a casting vote given, and Bay qf Iglandfe, where fe,' the majority was 2. The highest number of votes recorded in favour, of any one candidate was 7353, in the case of Mr Fraser p , (Wellington Central), Sir Joseph Ward being a close secqnd with 7309, -Mr T. M- WHford (Hutt) third with 7283, and Mr. W. J. Jordan (Manukau) fourth with 6567. The only other candidates to pass the six thousand % mark were Mt! IL T. Armstrong, v-’ ■ Christchurch East (6564), Mr Sulli-. van (6376), and Sir Charles Statham fei/Dunedin Central) 6022. is a third interesting feature spMjbout Mr Sullivan’s vojte: he had only S®/one )eas supporter than he had at the IK? 1925 election. His vote was 6376 instead of 6377. In Patea Mr H. G • Dickie gained ten friends, improving ri; L>his position from 4501 to 4511 votes. Ljfir REDUCED MAJORITIES. ’ The majorities gained by sqme of the most safely seated members in £’ the 1925 general election have been '' reduced at the recent poll, in some cases the drop being hot '&'• merely hundreds but thousands. The ia? hardest hit candidate in that respect R'liras the Chief Government Whip, Mr gi . X S. Dic.kson, who in 1925, in a contest in Parnell, polled mP»7, the record for that election. fe-.xThis time he had two opponents, and

his vote dropped tb 4793—a landslide of no less than 3704 votes —with the that he was unseated. The w j/joss .of the Rangitikei seat by Reform 11, was dqe to Mr W. S. Glenn losing 1219 i 'votes in a similar eontest to that of 1925, when he romped back to Parlia- . ment with a majority of 1963. This ;V- time he suffered defeat by 1234 votes. - Several other Reformers lost very .-heavily, but not sufficiently to be deprived of their seats. The Hon. W. Tj Downie Stewart and the Hon. J. A. 7?,; Young had their support reduced by Jb3os and 2301 vqtes respectively, Mr £ in a three-cornered contest gh’as compared! with' a direct fight in ■'jL|92s, and Mr Young in another trie ; MB>gular poll, a still larger loss was gjKthat of Mr. At Harris (Waitetnata), in a triangular field polled 4®83 as compared with 7101 at the rf ’ previous general election—a drop of votes. The member, for Tauranga almost as badly, losing 2102 ■F- votes, nearly aa many as he had! maif' jority three years ago? The Prime Minister limstelf lost 1117 votes to his K Labour opponent, in Wellington Bast Forsyth, who held his seat in the last. Parliament with 6ipi votes (gained in a straighb-bpt contest), '.' now finds himself defeated in a triv ahgular fight, having been deprived /?\Of 1630 votes; his Independent Rek' fqrm opponent secured 2645. INDIVIDUAL GAINS v The largest increase in the majority fcmjfia sitting member was ip the case HMMr. W. L. Martin (Raglan). He enthe House at a by-election last with 2241 votes tb his credit, papabout a third of the total votes cast; ( he has now been returned to the Hquse with a distinct majority of the votes of his ejectors, having increased p?, his tally to 4205. As the by-ejectibn he fought a five-cornered contest, and on this occasion he had two oppqnents. In the Hutt electorate Mr T. fei- M. Wilfbrd improved his position by 1203 votes, but his opponent on bojth occasions (Mr W. Nash) secured ah i,? even larger number, of the new voters 1.. futile district, having increased his by 1692. Other Outstanding in-j of largely increased majorfl ities occur, in Hununui, where (Mr G. Fqrbes consolidated his* position jgglfe a gpin of 1355, and in Buller, where leader of the Labour Party (Mr Holland) was accorded increased p&'reoinfldenca to the tape of 1284. The defeat bf the Minister, of JusSStice (the Hon. F. j. Rolleston) in phTimaru was brought about by the accretion to the Labour cause of 1893 E 4" votes, the Minister suffering a decline 11?, ttf 1960 vOfceb. The defeated Minister for Labour, the Hon. G. J. Anderson, Jost about 900 votes, while his United |P' opponent improved his party’s followjp- iiig in the district by 1775. The Mlin- ? Ijrter of Lands (the Hon. A. D. Mc,who was alsb defeated, actualdropped only 122 vcjtes, as comparwith last election, but the greater 111' percentage of the new votes in the electorate went to his opponent, enjfaing him to win.