THE ELECTIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 161, 14 December 1914, Page 4

THE ELECTIONS.

DR NEWMAN RETURNED LABOUR LEADS IN DUNEDIN CENTRAL. By Telegraph.—Per Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. Very littlo additional electoral information is to hand. In Wellington East, Dr A. K. Newman now has a lead of 81), and as there are only 22 votes outstanding, his position is unassailable. I The position in Dunedin Central is in- ! jteresting. Mr Munro (Opposition) has a ' lead of nine votes over Mr Statham, and 5 there are nine votes to come in—seven absent voters' permits and two seamen's I rights. I ' The Wairarapa and Patea counts are not yet complete. NORTHERN MAORI ELECTORATE. - . GOVERNMENT CANDIDATE LEADING. Auckland, December 12. . With five returns to come in the Northern Maori electorate, the results are:—Tau Henare 885, Te Paa 050, Puliipi fiofi, Kawiti 039, Papakakura 351, Te Wake 205, Ngawaka 103, Hoori 160. WESTERN MAORI SEAT. Taumarunui, December 12. The final results for the Western Maori electorate are not expected before Tuesday or Wednesday. THE AGGREGATE VOTES FOR BOTH PARTIES. A LIBERAL-LABOUR MAJORITY OF s NEARLY 30,000. Subject to corrections, and to the addition of the votes of absentees and expeditionaries, the following will give an idea of the relative strength of the reJ speetlve parties in the country:— j NORTH ISLAND. G. O. L. Auckland .. 70,542 57,389 8,957 Hawke/s Bay 13,208, 10,104 Taranaki .. 13,063 10,338 Wellington .. 37,590 26,800 17,152 Totals .. 134,409 110,697 20,109 SOUTH ISLAND. G. 0. L. Nelson .. .. 10,212 11,884 369 Westland .. 5,146 3,080 3,727 Canterbury . 35,530 46,810 10,571 Otago .. .. 26,517 15,123 10,147 Southland .. 14,975 10,704 Totals .. 92,380 03,007 24,814 Grand Totals 220,795 204,294 50,923 OPINION OF MR MYERS.Auckland, December 11. Mr A. M. Myers, member for Auckland East, in a statement to-day, safd: "Recognising that the maintenance of law and order is the first essential of government and progress, I am satisfied that Sir Joseph Ward would not accept the responsibility of forming a Government unless he was assured of absolute support to give him the necessary sup- ■ port to .carry on a progressive and i prudent ppliey." PROHIBITION POLL, 1911. LOST BY 10,420 VOTES. ; ANALYSIS OF FIGURES. The referendum on the proposal to abolish all liquor from the Dominion was first submitted to the electors at the licensing polls of 1911. A total of 465,004 valid votes were recorded on the ' issue. The aggregate vote for national i prohibition was 259,043, or 55.83 per ; cent., the vote against prohibition being • 205,661. Sixty per cent, of the valid votes was 270,363, so that the prohibition vote i. fell short by 19,420 votes,of the total required to carry the proposal by the three-fifths majority. The deficiency might have been converted into the re--1 quired majority had 19,420 persons who > voted for national continuance recorded , their, votes instead for prohibition. Prei suniing that the vote against prohibition i had been 205,061, as it aotually was, the I proposal would not have been carried un- ' less the prohibition vote had been 308,-< ; 442, and to secure that result 48,549 peri sons, who actually did not vote, would , have required to vote for prohibition, i The aggregate vote for prohibition in • the 12 no-license districts was 41,857, [ against 30,463, showing a total of 57.87 • per cent, in favour of prohibition. In ; the licensed districts, the voting was > 218,086 in favour of prohibition and ; 175,198 aaginst prohibtion, or 55.45 per [ cent, for prohibition. A comparison of i the voting on the national and local option polls shows that the vote for nai tional prohibition was greater by 25,287 than the aggregate vote for local no- , lience, while the vote against national prohibition was loss by 31,364 than for local continuance.