THE WELLINGTON NORTH BYELECTION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XL, Issue 1793, 23 February 1918, Page 2

THE WELLINGTON NORTH BYELECTION.

IF MR. HOLLAND IS RETURNED?

Speaking at Wellington on Thursday evening, the Prime Minister said he noticed that the chairman of Mr Bi’andon’s meeting inferred the possibility of Mr Holland being elected; and he’said, even if Mr Holland were elected, the parties in the House would he 73 to 7. “Just let me ask your attention to what that means. It means this; that the possibility of Mr Holland being elected was in the mind of the chairman, Mr Hadfield; that it occurred to him. Why? It occurred to him that it might be possible; that the votes for the National Government might be split, and thus there was a possibility of a third man slipping in between the two candidates supporting the National Government. The third man was an opponent of national service, a pacifist, a Red Fed., a Revolutionary Socialist, I will state plain truths; and I say it would be an everlasting disgrace if anything of the sort were to take place; and if. it does lake place it will he by the vote-splitting which I have referred to. (Loud applause.) And there is no question about it, it would be g slap in the face of the National Government. We would get over that, But what would our boys in the trenches think and say if (hey learned that a man opposed to the win-the-war policy were elected? They would think that New. Zealand was going back upon I hem. Well, New Zealand is not going back on them. (Applause.)