COALITION CANDIDATES

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 57, 29 October 1931, Page 3

COALITION CANDIDATES

("Post" Special Commissioner)

OFFICIAL NOMINEES ALL SITTING SUPPORTERS OF GOVERNMENT RECEIVE ENDORSEMENT MR- W. J. POLSON INCLUDED

WELLINGTON, Wednesday. All sitting members of the Coalition Government, together with Mr. W. j. Polson (Independent, Stratford), are to receive offieial endorsement of their candidature in the interests of the Coalition at the coming general electionIt is understood that to preserve Party identities, all offieial Coalition nominees, with the exception of Independent supporters, will be described as eithex* 0 United Coalitionists or Reform Coalitionists. Some doubts had been raised as to the candidate status of sitting members of the Coalition and when the point was referred this afternoon to Mr. Forbes and Mr. Coates, both the leaders said that they thought their original statements had made the position perfectly clear, namely, that in every case the sitting supporters of the Coalition would be the offieial candidates at the poll. That was the arrangement and it would he carried out. In reply to a question as to the status of members such as Mr Atmore, who had voted against the Government, Mr. Forbes said that members who voted against the Coalition could hardly be regarded as supporters of it. There had been a "breakaway" by other members — about half a dozen of them — over the abolition of the graduated land tax, but isolated cases such as these did not indicate a want of confidence in the Coalition Government. Mr. Forbes made it clear that sitting supporters of the Coalition had received the offieial endorsement of that candidature. According to lobby reports, the task of adjusting candidatures to avoid vote-splitting and to carry out the terms of the Coalition understanding is meeting with much greater success than was anticipated.