THE COUNTRY PARTY

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 317, 30 March 1928, Page 13

THE COUNTRY PARTY

ELECTION ACTIVITIES NO CANDIDATES SELECTED Although substantial vote-split-ting will assuredly play a big part in this year’s general election fight, with many parties in the field, no indication has been given as to the extent to which the Country Party will compete in the struggle for Parliamentary seats. Minister of Lands, the Hon. A. D. McLeod, believes that there is only one point of difference between the Country Party and the Reform Government —that of preference or free trade —and he* is endeavouring to reconcile the adherents of the Country Party to the Government’s viewpoint in favour of reasonable preference. This issue is one of the cardinal features of the Country Party’s avowed platform, however, and stalwarts of the organisation are inclined to hope —however vainly—for a capitulation of the Government toward their views. It is announced that the party will contest some of the seats, but no indication has been given as to how many candidates will be selected, nor what ‘districts they will be asked to contest. A suggesting-! has been made that Mr. W. Grounds, chairman of the New Zealand Dairy Produce Control Board, would stand for the Bay of Islands seat in opposition to the sitting Government member, Mr. Allen Bell, but there is no confirmation of this. The conspicuous non-success of the Country Party at last election, and at the Raglan by-election, is not encouraging to the organisers.