LOCAL OPTION POLL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 279, 19 November 1908, Page 3

LOCAL OPTION POLL.

REDUCTION CARRIED. Xn the followiug reduction was car ried:— Franklin 1782 1809 2418 Taieri 1843 2397 2707 Auckland City 8035 950010,253 Chalmers—Reduction, carried by 12. Israeli 280(i 3394 34UJ (Reduction carried; no-license doubt - ful pending scrutiny). NO-LICENSE CARRIED. 11l the following no-license was carried: — Oli.i'tiHuri—Nc-Hicense carried by 77. i There are 25 absentee papers t«■ conic in. I ilutt 2377 2842 35S"i Wellington South ... 2235 3443 4032 Eden 2207 3821 40U Wellington Suburbs ...2437 4149 Masterton—No-license (practically wried. With the small return to come there is a lead of 23. DOUBTFUL. Mantkau 2243 3194 344J Waitcniatn—Continuance appears to be carried by 17. The polling at Stratford was:—For, eontmuance 2139, reduction 1402, nolicense 2340. : Thtr? is sonic confusion in DuneJi.i | K..-.T . ... mi. 1.. ,„,,.1.1K.,.. „„„,. ..1!7...<',.„

Tlitr? is sonic confusion in DuneJi.i Souvi cwwg to muddling over en'cc'.ve voiii'g. but it looks as if reduction is earned Li this constituency. Tk» Dunedin Star's special correspoi'.iliiit at Milton says that the cmiV. give; a majority of one for continuance in lira..- but there are eighty perniiis yet to come in.

'lht temperance party is considering vliollkt Dunedin City poll cannot be voided on the ground of alleged offenc :s by tho liquor .party. AUCKLAND CITY. " AN INTERESTING SITUATION. By Telegraph;— Press Association. Auckland, Last Night. Some days must elapse before the official returns in connection with the local option, poll in the various Auckland districts are- available. The delay is due to several causes, including the scrutiny and check count that are necessary under the Act, to say nothing of the absent votes. An interesting situation has arisen in connection with the licensing poll in Auckland City. As announced last night, reduction was carried by 277 votes. The figures upon which the result was arrived at, however, were not complete, as they took no account of the rotes of seamen and absent voters. The totals of the same were not available until to-day. The position is that 543 vothg rights were issued to seamen and 89 to absent voters in the three city electorates. Up till to-night the returning officers had Teceived the returns of 33S seamen and 60 absent voters, a total of 398. Of this aggregate 14 seamen's votes in City East are the only ones that were included in Tuesday's count. Consequently the total still to be counted is 384. At first sight it would appear the majority for reduction having been only 27, and the votes to be counted amounting to 384, that if all the latter should be cast for continuance the vote will be reversed. The . new figures would, however, merely give a majority for reduction of 85 instead of 277. If the 384 votes still to be ■ counted all go for continuance, the increased total for that proposal (8419) will not equal half the valid votes re- . corded (18,951), and consequently con- ■ tinuance will not be carried. The votes • for reduction, however (9560), exceed ihe half of 18,951 by 85, and thus reduc- • Won will be carried only in the event ■ of practically the whole of the rights issued to seamen and absent voters ojing used, and all the votes being formal ■ and cast in favor of continuance, can there be any result hut reduction in Auckland City, . DUNEDUN SOUTH. / Dunedin, Last Night. , The corrected returns for Dunedin '. South local option poll show the follow- , ing result:—Voters, 7316; continuance . 3221, reduction 3700, no-license 4018. . Reduction was carried by 42 votes. NO-LICENSE CARRIED IN BRUCE. . Dunedin, Last Night. The latest returns from Bruce areVoters 4890; continuance 1808, reduction 2434, no-license 2968. No-license was carried by 30 votes. Twenty permits hgve yet to come, but they cannot affect the result. NO-LICENSE POSSIBLE IN PARNELL Auckland, Last Night. The final returns from the Parnell electorate are not yet available. No further figures will be ready until Monday. The returns are as follows:—Continuance 2644, reduction 3394, no-license 3024. The fact that the number of votes recorded is still unknown makes it impossible to do more than surmise that reduction is probable and no-license possible. Ten seamen's voting rights have to be included. NO-LICENSE CARRIED IN EDEN. Auckland, Last Night. The total number of valid votes in the Wen electorate having been supplied and the full returns being in, the result of the poll (subject to the customary check count and scrutiny) can bedefinitely stated as boing that no-licc.ise is carried by a majority of 197 votes. In addition to the hotels affected by this decision of the electors, the Avondale Jockey Club will be unable after June 30 to have liquor on sale at th-ii: racecourse on racing days. CONTINUANCE IN WAITEMATA. Auckland, Last Night. The final returns for Waitemata are: Continuance 2450, reduction 2943, nolicense 3328. The valid votes are not totalled, but they are estimated at 5923. If that figure is correct, reduction :s lost by 19, no-license by 226, and no proposal is carried.

WELLINGTON SUBURBS INCREASES ITS NO-LICENSE VOTE.

Wsllingtono, Last Night. The counting of 39 seamen's rights and absent voters' papers in Wellington Suburbs' licensing po 11 has increased the no-license majority to 33.

NO-LICENSE POSSIBLE IN MANAKAU. Auckland, Last Xiglit. Manakau is another district in the case of which the number of votes recorded is unknown. It is therefore quite impossible to give, the actual result on the figures, which arc—Continuance 2234, reduction 3220, no-license 3559. It would appear likely, however. that reduction is a probability and nolicense a possibility. The last batch of returns to hand iaclude the votes of residents on Pakatoa Island, where the Salvation Army's inebriates' home is established. These electors cast 30 votes for continuance, 9 for reduction, and 12 for no license. lIAWKES BAY. Napier, Last Night. The full returns give the following result:—Continuance 3040, reduction 1407. no-license 2470; total number of votes, 5027, PRESBYTERIAN ASSEMBLY'S RESOLUTION. Diincdin, Last Night. At a mooting of the Presbyterian Assembly to-day the following resolution was agreed to:—"That this Assembly records its gratitude to God for the bucccss attending the local option polls yesterday. It heartily congratulate those electorates which hare carried tio-license for the first time and those In which reduction has been carried, and rejoices that wherever previously in force no-license Jiad been maintained. The Ass'emblv would add a special word of congratulation to the no-license people of Dunedin for the magnificent result of their fight, and the Assembly I looks forward to a complete victory at | the next local option poll. The Assembly further renews its determination to wage increasing war against the evils of the liquor traffic, and in view of thr evils wrought by this scourge on our race, this Assembly would hail with acclamations of joy and thanksgiving the j utter extermination of tlie. traffic in intoxicating liquors as a beverage by ] the power of Christian conscience, pub. He opinion and the strong arm of the civil law.'' INTERVIEW WITH MR. F. W. I^ITT. Wcllinplo.i, Wednesday. The No-License party are very jubilant over the result of the local option polls. With Nn-Lioen=o carried in several new districts, and the same issue reaffirmed by larselv im-rea-ed votes in those whore nrov-inus )I( ,|l s ] in ,\ ,-rmicd it, they feel well pleased with Hie present position of their movement and very hopeful as to its future. The Rev. F. W. Isitt. general secretary of the New Zealand Alliance, was interviewed at a late hour last night, when it was Relieved that No-License had been tarried in several new electorates in Eden

Wellington South, Wellington Suburbs, llutt, Wairarapa, .probably Jlasterton, and .Ohineniuri. This meant, lie said, the closing of the bars in nearly a hundred hotels, the figures for those near at hand being as follow:—Wellington i Suburbs, live hotels; Hutt, fifteen; Wellington South, four; Wairarapa, scvcn- \ teen; Mastertcm. sixteen. Reduction W Dtincdin made it possible to close nine. It will be remembered that in 11)112 Dnnedin carried reduction, and at that time thirteen hotels were deprived of theiv licenses. Since the last election the boundaries of Ashburton and Oamrtru J have been altered. Part of the fieraldine I electorate was thrown into Ashburton, ' and part of the Waikouaiti electorate j into Oaiuaru. Each of these new por- ' tions contained hotels, and a\ according to the Act, they now pass under the No-License vote, eleven hotels in the old Geraldine and Waikouaiti electorates lose their licenses. Though there were few figures available to show how the Xo-Licun.se vote had increased in other electorates i n the colony, it was evident that it had largely increased, and it was especially interesting to note that these parts of adjacent electorates which had i been thrown into Ashburton and ' Oamaru had 7iot altered the position in either of them, though the voters had had an excellent opportunity of observing the result of the Xo-License experiment.