Mr. Bruce Must Lose

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 796, 17 October 1929, Page 9

Mr. Bruce Must Lose

IN A HOPELESS POSITION Unprecedented Defeat OTHER MINISTERS ARE IN DANGER (United P.A. — Eg Telegraph — Copyright) Received 10.20 a.m. MELBOURNE. Today. WHEN counting finished last night for the Flinders electorate, the Prime Minister. Mr. Stanley Bruce, was in a hopeless position. The figures were: E. J. Holloway Labour . 29.804 votes: S. M. Bruce (Nationalist), 29,698 votes; J. Birch (Liberal). 2,242 votes. There was a majority on the primary votes of 115 for Mr. Holloway, but on the allocation of 2.070 of Mr. Birch’s preferences, 1,158 went to the Labour man and 912 to the Prime Minister.

, Mr. Bruce will be the first Prime Minister in the history of the Commonwealth to suffer defeat in his own electorate, while holding' office. Mr. J. H. Scullin will broadcast the new Labour Ministry from Canberra at S p.m. on Wednesday. Mr. W. G. Gibson, Postmaster-Gen-eral, and Sir Neville Howse, Minister of-Health and Repatriation, are both in precarious positions, but Sir Littelton Groom, Speaker in the last Parliament, has now been defeated. Mr. H. S. Gullett, Minister of Customs, has retrieved his position, but at most can only win the Henty (Victoria) seat by a mere handful of votes. Mr. C. L. A. Abbott, Minister of Home and Territories, is having a neck-and-neck battle for the Gywdir (New South Wales) seat ■with Mr. L. L. Cunningham (Labour), and he will

probably just lose the contest when the absentee votes are all counted. There are about 10 other seats in doubt. The indications are that Laboiw should win about half of them. COALFIELDS DEADLOCK THEODORE MEETS OWNERS’ REPRESENTATIVES SYDNEY, Wednesday. Mr. E. G. Theodore. Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, today met representatives of the coalowners, and discussed the coalfields deadlock. The outcome of the conversation was not divulged. A mass meeting of the striking timber workers was held in Sydney. At its conclusion, the men were ordered back to work. The employers, however, have assured their volunteer employees of their positions, and there is practically no work available for the former emploj'ees.