Reflections From Raglan

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 157, 23 September 1927, Page 8

Reflections From Raglan

PECULIARITIES OF ELECTORATE

Is the Seat Safe for Reform?

THE five candidates in the field for the Raglan by-election are working under difficulties created by the peculiar characteristics of the territory covered by the electorate. Compressed, roughly, between the Waikato River and the sea, the Raglan electorate is a large strip of broken country, in which the urban communities are small and isolated.

VORTHWARD of the picturesque Waikato, which near Mercer bends abruptly to the west, the district at present embraces the populous pastoral country of Waiuku, Pukekohe, and Tuakau. , Under the latest electoral revision, much of this country is to be shorn off Raglan, which will be compensated by an accretion extending nearly as far east as Arapuni, between Hamilr',l ?!-' Hi Hi rv ill Hi Ic rr ill rll rii

ton and Te Awamutu. Had the Electoral Commission’s recommendations been adopted in full, Raglan would no longer have extended north of the Waikato. Tuakau* however, protested against its excision from the electorate, and as a result it will probably remain appended. WHY RAGLAN? Apart from the group of mining settlements, the Tuakau and Waiuku country is practically the only part of Raglan which has a clearly defined community of interest. It is a relatively thickly populated sector, and the groups of small farmers are influenced by common sympathies and aspirations. To the same sentiments the farmers of Onewhero also answer. Tuakau, reached by one of the few bridges across the Lower Waikato, is their natural outlet toward the railway. Why the electorate Is called Raglan must remain a mystery —a further example of the apparently irrational principles followed in the christening of many electorates in the Dominion. With its population of 300, Raglan Is at the far south end of the long strip of country. With Tuakau and Waiuku, at the northern extremity, it

has less in common than has the City of Auckland.

Apart from being a good 30 miles from Ngaruawahia, its nearest substantial neighbour in the electorate, Raglan is even without passable roads to more immediate hamlets. On the opposite shore of the lovely Raglan

Harbour is Te Akau. a remote spot. To reach it by motor, the man from Raglan would at present have to drive miles inland to Frankton, thence to Ngaruawahia, and so via Waingaro to Te Akau. INVASION OF NGARUAWAHIA As the headquarters of the electorate, for which the returning oflicer is Mr. F. R. Watters, town clerk at Ngaruawahia, that delightful little town is at present sheltering a host of celebrities. The Hon. A. D. McLeod has been staying at the Waipa Hotel for some days, and has sat in solemn conclave with Mr. Hebendon, organiser of the Reform Party. Mr. Poulton, secretary to the late Mr. Bollard, and Mr. V. H. Potter, M.P. for Roskill, who Is another of the Reform campaigners. Both the Reform and Liberal candidates have committee rooms in the town, and the battleground assumed a Liberal atmosphere with the arrival of Mr. W. A. Veitch, M.P. for Wanganui, this morning, and the whisper that Mr. H. Atmore is on the way. Messrs. R. Hocking and H. Milner, of Auckland, are with Mr. Parker (Liberal), and the Labour reinforcements Include Mr. P. Fraser, M.P., and Mr. W. J. Jordan, M.P. Next week heavier artillery will arrive in the form of the Prime Minister, the Hon. J. G. Coates, and the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. H. E. Holland. With the stage thus set for a conflict, to which the various political forces obviously attach the greatest importance, it is of interest to recall the results of past elections. Mr. Bollard’s majority at the last election was staggering, and may have surprised even the late Minister himself, for it was considerably more than his margin at the contest before. Actual figures In 1925 were:

Bollard (Reform) •• .. 4,070 Piggott (Labour) .. •• .. 1,614 Lye (Liberal) .. •• .. 065 Duxfield (Country) 222

Failing to poll a quarter of the total votes, both Messrs. Lye and Duxfield forfeited their deposits. In the face of the reverse suffered 1 , by the country candidate on that occasion, Mr. C. A. Magner can undoubtedly be commended for hoisting its standards now. A UNANIMOUS DISTRICT

Mr. Bollard’s exceptional majority in 1925 suggests that the seat is still safe for Reform. Only the most pronounced swing of public favour could rob the party of such a margin as 2,856. There is an impression, however, that the contest will be close, with Mr. Waring and Mr. Martin racing for the verdict. Ignoring Reform, Mr. Parker’s supporters assert that It is a Liberal-Labour fight.