UNITED PARTY WIN MANY SEATS.

Shannon News, 16 November 1928, Page 4

UNITED PARTY WIN MANY SEATS.

, LABOUR MAKES ADVANCE. SURPRISING RESULTS OF 1928 ELECTION. » FULL DETAILS OF POLLING. The general election of 1928 polling for which took place yesterday, resulted in one of the most sensational poli- ■ tical landslides in the history of New Zealand. Anti-Government forees cap- ' . tured 49 out of the 76'European seats and two of the four Maori constituencies, almost exactly reversing the decision of three years ago. So far as can be seen at present the state of parties is as follows — Reform 27 United f 7 Labour 20 Independent - * Country' Party 2 Three of the Independents (Messrs Hogan, Poison and Atmore).and one of the Country Party (Mr Wilkinson) are outspoken opponents of the Government. A fourth Independent is Sii Charles Statham, the Speaker, and the second Country Party member is Mr Rushworth, whose leanings are not well-known so far. Thus the probable grouping of the new House will be as -.-lows:—-■ Reform: - • 27 United 31 Labour 20 Independents ■ • .2 The position is, of course, full of uncertainty, but it is apparent that no one party could carry on the administration without the help of another. Time will be necessary for the political situation to clarify and crystallize; for the. present the outstanding feature is that the Reform Government will not be able to carry on. A period of doubt and instability must ensue that, if long protracted, will not be in the best interests of the country. THE CASUALTIES. Three Ministers (Hons. C. J. Hawken, A. D. McLeod, and' F. R. Rolleston) have gone down in the fight. Reformers who have been ( defeated are; _Allen Bell (Bay o| Islands), W. Jones (Marsden), J. S. Dickson (Parnell), V. H. Rotter (Eden formerly Roskill), R. W. Smith (Waimarino), W. S. Glenn (Rangitikei) J. G. Eliott (Oroua), Hon. A. D. McLeod (Wairarapa), T. Forsyth (Wellington East), Sir John Luke (Wellington North) W. J. Girling (Wairau), R. P. Hudson (Motueka), H. S. S. Kyle (Riccarton), Hon. F. J. Rolleston (Timaru) E. P. Lee (Oamaru),,, H. -L. Tapley (Dunedin North), J.’ R. Hamilton (Awarua), D. S. Reid. (Waikato),. F. F. Hockly (Rotorua), J. C. Rolleston (Waitomo), J. Mason,' ' (Napier) G. E. Bellringer (Taranaki), E. .Walter (Stratford), Hon. 0. JY. Hawiten (Egmont). The only United member defeated is T. E. Y.Seddoh (Westland) United also loses Dunedin South to Labour, previously held by T. K. Si'v dey. " Labour members who have gone down are:—J. A. Lee (Auckland East), F. N. Bartram (Grey Lynn). It is : interesting to note that the Labour gains from the losses to the United. Party are two each way, so that the whole net loss is at the expense pf the Government. SEVEN SEATS STILL IN BALANCE ABSENTEE VOTERS TO DECIDE. / .. AUCKLAND, This Day. The Grey Lynn result is doubtful. Fletcher (U.) has a lead of 107 on the first count,, but there a\e 675 absent and other votes to be bqtanted. . HAWERA, This Day. The final result in the Patea electorate is still doubtful. Dickie has a lead of 100, but there are still 550 absentee and other votes to be taken into account. WHANGAREI, This Day. In Bay of Islands the totals are:— Rushworth (C.) 3754, Bell (R.) 3673, Hornblow (I.) 297. Absent votes number 297. ASHBURTON, This Day. In Mid-Canterbury the absentee and postal votes total 650. Mr Jones (R.) at present has a lead of 69 over his United opponent. CAMBRIDGE, This Day. There are 515 absent voters arid 48 postal votes yet to count in the Waikato seat and they may affect the result. .Mr Lye’s (U.) present majority is 39. CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. Ip Riccarton there are 504 absentee votes and 65 postal votes still to come. The present position is McLachlan (U.) 4262, Kyle (R.) 4251, Thompson (Lab.) 1587. DUNEDIN, This Day. Dunedin South promises to provide food for speculation. Mr Hall (Labour) has only a majority of twenty over the United candidate and there are 718 absentee and other votes to come. LABOUR HOLDS THE KEY. “NO THOUGHT OF COMPROMISE” CHRISTCHURCH, Thic Day. Declaring that Labour is in the key position in the new Parliament, the Rev. J. K. Archer, National President, says it is quite obvious that Labour will entertain no thought of coalition or compromise. .“That is but an expression of my personal opinion because naturally I have not consulted the members of the executive.. We shall not, however, adopt a dog-in-the-man-ger attitude and refuse to support any proposition that is brought down for the good of the people generally.”