ELECTION NOTES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 2514, 5 December 1922, Page 2

ELECTION NOTES.

Report s from Mont on, Bainesse, Taikorea and Koputaroa, are to lmnd of meetings held at those places by Mr Linldater, the Reform candidate. In each case large audiences were present aud the candidate very warmly received and listened to attentively throughout his spech. lie ably defended the Government against many of the charges which are being levelled against it by opponents and pointed i-ut the necessity of a sane steady government being in office to guide the country along its path. His own views for the future welfare of the country were heartily applauded and at all meetings unanimous votes of thanks and of confidence were carried.

An examination of the names of the candidates nominated for the generajl election reveals a rather curious state of-affairs. Tliero is a Beil and a Bellringer, a Horn and a Horiiblow, two Lees and two Lyes.

I NELL ENDING VOTERS. following are the provisions of the law relating to distribution of handbills likely to influence voters at an election nr licensing poll: — Section 157 (b) of the Legislature Act, 1908, provides that every person is liable to a tine not exceeding £29 who at any election ‘‘prints i>r distributes or delivers l<> tinv person on the day of the poll, or at any time during the three days immediately preceding the poll, anything being or purporting to he in imitation of any ballot paper to be used at the poll and having thereon the names of the candidates, together with any direction or indication as to how any person should vide, or in any way containing such direction or indication, or having thereon any matter likely to influence anv vote.

Sections 3-1 and 35 (h) of the Licensing Ad. 1998. as regard- licensing' polls, provide tor penalties of varying amounts on every per--iin who “prints or distributes or delivers to any person on the day of the poll, or at any time during three days immediately preceding the poll anything being or purporting to be, ill imitation of any voting paper to bo used at the poll, or huving thereon the issue to he decided at the poll, together with any directions or indications as to how any person should vote, or in any way containing any -noli direction or indication."

“Mr Holland called his policy revolutionary socialism, though he qualified it by saying that he did not mean force: the Labour Party pro-po.-eil tlie nationalisation or sociali--a tion of the means of production, distribution and exchange,” said the Prime .Minister at Darfield on Thursday. Mr Massey went on to say that personally he thought such a policv was absolute nonsense, but that wa- what Labour was aiming at. and if it had a majority in the House, it might do a tremendous amount of harm before it was pulled up. The prospect of such a state of affairs affected him personally, for this country had done good work in getting through the adverse i on ii i t ions consequent upon the aftermath of war. Our prospects were now good and we were paying our way, but a danger of the Labour Parly obtaining the balance of power undoubtedly existed, for a combination between that party and the Liberals had been proposed.

"Ever since the seamen showed their disapproval of an award of the Arbitration Court three weeks ago by cea-ing work, the grave inconvenience to the public, the flouting of iho Court, the idea of policy underlying it, and the attitude of the leaders to this extraordinary procedure have seriously exercised the public juiinl. Yet on this crucial and I'undainental matter about which everybody else is talking and they themselves- have a special knowledge and responsibility, the Labour leader- have not a word to say, and the silence of their candidate- indicate- that they are anxious that the rest: of the team should also boycott the subject. "Why this secrecy ofi the part of those who are always in-i-ting that even the most delicate negotiations of international diplomacy should he conducted in public ? Here there is no question of negotiations, but a broad issue of policy which goes to the very foundation of the party’s attitude to the Arbitration Court, to direct action, and to the supremacy nf law." —Wellington Post.

It i- not only the duty but it is to the advantage of every man and woman that they should take an interest in the government of the country and particularly in the class of member they send to Parliament. For this reason it is essential that they should carefully consider the grave problems of the day freed from party or sectional bias. * Speaking broadly, the alternative.-, before the country are on the one hand sound, progressive government recognising the rights ol the individual, and on the other, socialistic communism aiming at the abolition of individual property anti rights, and controlling every activity. The Reform and Liberal Parties -land for the first, and the so-call-ed “Labour" Party for the latter.

Do not make any mistake about this aspect of the present elections, and do not allow artilic-ial party divisions, -pecious manifestos, and other electioneering devices to cloud the real issues at stake.

The Great War ha* been followed In world-wide difficulties —these can be solved by good government and sound statesmanship; no quack remedies will meet the case. At the coming elections you are ottered two alternative remedies. The Reform and Liberal Parties propose to build up and strengthen, in the interests of all, the shattered fabric of our institutions by constructive measures while the Red Party advocates the tearing down —in one act —of the whole special and political structure which has taken centuries to build, and to substitute in its place a nebulous .mac-hine-made abomination, which past and present history lias proved to bo disastrous to everyone outside a few self-interested leaders. The country needs stability and an opportunity to work out its own salvation, with all classes co-opera-ting in the national interest. The Red parly offers class-warfare, which means ruin to all.

A Liberal candidate in Wellington careless of the toes he might tread upon, asserted the other night that the Labour Party advocated confiscation, “ and as soon as a working man secured a home for himself he was called a capitalist." Thereupon (says the Post) a supporter of Air Holland should have violently contradicted the speaker, for the otlicinlly-iiiKtrui-ted Labourites arc not talking confiscation — .just now. What actually happened was that out of a group of Labour electors came the interjection: “And quite right, too!” 'So now the bricklayer or factory hand, as he plods his homeward way to the cottage that, by thrift, he has made his own, knows what his Labour friends mean when they speak, as they often do, of the blood-bucking capi-lali-t. Me himself is the man.

THE NOMINATIONS ANALYSED. There are 107 nominations for the representation of the 7G European constituencies in the next Parliament, one member lias been returned unopposed, there are two candidates for each 38 seats, three for 29. four for seven, and five for one. The official endorsement of the Reform Party has been given to 71 candidates, 43 in the North Island and 28 in the South, while there are eight Reform supporters in the North and two in the South who are going to poll without the party coupon. So far as identification i* possible, 55 candidate- are supporters of Mr Wilford’s banner, contesting 33 Northern and 20 Southern -eats. The Labour Party has nominee.- for 26 -eats in the North island and for 18 in the Smith. Fifteen Independents appear in the lists, some of whom have given pledges of support to either Mr Massey or Mr Wilford, while others dissociate themselves from any of the parties. Two described as Independent Labour complete the total.

IX THIS ELECTORATE. Opinions are freely expressed as to the ehanees of tin* (candidates for this electorate at Thursday’s poll. Each party is buoyed up with optimism, but it is impossible to guugc the biff silent vote until the numbers ffo up. Labour supporters however, claim that their candidate will win through by reason of a better platform recital of his party's policy in comparison with the public utterances of, ills opponents. That ,of course, is a superficial judgment. Such an assumption might be justified if backed by originality of thought but iu this the Labour (candidate compares unfavourably with his less fluent but more practical opponents. The total number of votes cast in this electorate in. 1914 was 5,408. The votes cast for each candidate were: Feild (Reform) 3,024, Robertson (Labour) 2,384; majority for Field, 040. In 1910 the total votes recorded were 5,179. The votes cast for each candidate wererXewman (Reloriu) 3,02.1, llillier (Labour) 2,15S: majority for Newman 803. The boundaries of this electorate have been changed since 1919 and the following districts have been added : Koputaroa, Levin and Maugahao. These represent about 1,200 voters. The figures for Levin at last election were: Field (Reform) 757, .McKenzie (Labour) 454; Koputaroa: Field (Reform) 44, McKenzie (Labour) 39. At Mangahao there are about 250 electors and Labour expects to poll 75 per cent, of them. Those districts eliminated from this electorate this year are: — Turukina (Newman 123, llillier 03), Makiriri S. (Newman 68, Hillier 31), and Wangaheu. (Newman 28, Hillier 26). Levin gave the Reform candidate a clear majority of 184 over the other candidates at last election. A number of the 1919 Levin voters, however, are now iu the Otaki electorate and it is anticipated that the Levin vote will be about 900 this year. If Levin remains loyal to Reform at this election its majority should more than counterbalance the anticipated Labour vote at Mangahao. The Labour majority in Foxlou over Reform in 1914 was 174 and it fell to 84 in 1919. Assuming that somewhere about the same number of votes are polled on Thursday in this electorate as were polled in 1919 and that the Liberal candidate draws equally upon Reform and Labour for support. Labour ha? still a big shortage to make up. There is nothing' to indi-

cate a set back to Reform during the past three years —which would popularise Labour. The change in candidates cannot prejudice Reform.

Mr Whibley, Labour candidate, spoke at Rongotea last night and apparently was not in congenial company. Although, he received a fair hearing, lie was subjected to a severe gruelling at question time, particularly in his endeavour to explain the Labour land policy. The meeting carried a vote of no-con-fidence in the Labour Party and candidate.

A splend d reception was accorded Air Linklater when he addressed a large and very attentive audience at Koputa roa on Monday night. The speaker traversed the policies of . his party, which stood for good, sound, stable government. He then dealt with the re-actionary policies of the Labour Party, which were stumping the country laying all sorts of charges against the Government. The present Government, Air Linklater pointed out the best friends of the worker, for whom they had raised wages, built houses, increased pensions, raised the interest for deposits in P.O. Savings Banks, the workers bank, and bad passed between 50 and 60 . Acts of direct benefit to the worker. At the conclusion a hearty vote of thanks and confidence in Mr Linklater was carried by acclamation. Mr Broadbelt occupied the chair. Mr Linklater will meet his supporters in the Masonic Hall to-mor-row night at 8 o’clock.