AN UNSATISFACTORY ELECTION.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 295, 11 December 1914, Page 4

AN UNSATISFACTORY ELECTION.

A more unsatisfactory and indecisive result than that arrived at through yesterday's General Election could hardly be conceived. On both side's of the House the greatest disappointment must be felt, and though it was quite anticipated that the contest would be a reasonably close one, such a regrettable deadlock as we now have was not looked for, and is by no means welcome. So far as Tarana'ii is concerned the sitting .members are all returned, though Mr Pearce's majority is a very narrow o.ne. Neither of the other sitting members Wore troubled very seriously. fn the Stratford Electorate the> contest ha" l)oon a keen but clean one, and in heartily congratulating Mr J. B; Hine on his handsome victory, we have to equally sincerely congratulate Mr Hawkins on the spieiuiid fight he put up, and the sportsmanlike way in which he accepted defei t. Very many people in all parts of Taranaki, apart from aecual party politics, will l)e glad to again welcome Mr W. T, Jennings back to the House, and his defeat of Mr Wilson for Taumaranui was not unexpected. In Auckland City three Opposition candidates and one Labor nominee were returned, but most people will

,ho puzzled to understand why the good people of Grey Lynn continue to accept the uncertain Mr Payne, wheii they have.the choice of the services of a Mr- Murdoch McLean, or even a Mr George Fowlds. The Wellingj ton returns created some surprise, and though many supporters of the Party almost feared that the Hon. F. M. B. Fisher would be defeated, it was never expected that the majority gained by Mr R. Fletcher against him would be anything like so sweeping. The defeat is a,crushing one,but Mr Fisher is such a brilliant politician, and in many direetons so exceedingly capable, that we shall be more than surprised if he does not recover his place in the political arena before very long. Dr. Newman's defeat for Wellington East was certainly a surprise to us here, particularly as Wellington North district returned the Hon. A. L. Herd-! man by such a handsome majority. Mr Robert A. Wright had no difficulty ' in retraining a place in the House forj the Wellington Suburbs' seat, and Mr T. M. Wilford was again returned for the TTult by a substantial majority. !

Otaki on this occasion chose Mr W. H. Field, turning down the Labor candidate, who defeated him some three years ago. Hawke's Bay, following the past example of some other places, declined to accept the proffered services of Dr. McNab, while Masterton, despite the ardent wooing of ex-Minister A. \Y. Hogg, preferred to stick to the Government candidate, who unseated Mr Hogg three years ago. Mr Vernon Reed reached the top of the poll in the Bay of Islands contest, despite the fact that Mr Wilkinson insisted on also running on the Government ticket. In the Wairarapa. Sir W. C. Buchanan was defeated by a very narrow majority, and at Nelson the electors decided that they had had enough of the talkative Mr Atmore. Another notable instance of turning down one of the old hands is that of Motueka, where Mr R. P. Hudson, the Government candidate, succeeded in beating Mr R. McKenzie, the victory being a decidedly popular one. Sportsmen were much delighted to find Dr. Thacker had at last obtained a. place in the House, and on this occasion he had no difficulty in quite easily disposing of the two other candidates for the seat. Dunedin Central hangs in the balance, one vote being between Mr J. W. Mnnro and Mr C. E. Statham, with absent votes to come. Both leaders (the Hon. W. F. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward) were returned by a very large majority, and the balance of the seats went very much as anticipated. So far as may be gathered by a hurried analysis of the Licensing polls, it appears that there is a halt in the onward flow of the demands for Prohibition, and advocates of Continuance have, on the majority of the electorates, increased the percentage against No-License. To sum up the whole business briefly, the election appears to have been an utterly useless Avaste of time, money, and energy. Exactly what solution of the problem will suggest itself to the gentlemen at the head of the two predominant parties it is difficult to say, but about the only" possible and reasonable one seems to be some sort of coalition, so that theye may be at least a, chance of the country's business being transacted instead of a session or so wasted in useless wrangling in the struggle for Party ascendancy.