WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 December 1919, Page 9

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

MINISTERS ASSAILED. Mr. Maasoy's seat, of course, is safe, and from tin's forward will be able *o devote, most of bis time to campaigning work, but several of his colleagues ■vre engaged in keen fights, and will be tied pretty closely to their constituencies till the struggle is over. Sir James Allen, in Bruce, is meeting an active young personally popular, witn io political sins to count against him; 'be Hon. W. Nosworthy, in Ashburton, is -inposcd by his neighbour, Mr. W. •). Dickie, also a farmer,, whose former con-' -iituency has been extinguished; the Hon. J. B. Hine, in Stratford, is being tackled by one of the best-equipped rejruits the Liberals have discovered for a !ong time; and the Hon. W. H. Hemes. m Tauranga, is meeting a live Labor candidate who may give him some trouble. The Hon. J. G. Coates, in Kaipara, probably will have little difficulty in holding Ms seat against a Labour candidate, and 'lie Hon. G. H. Guthrie, in Oroua, as yet ■6 without an opponent.

LIBERAL PROSPECTS. I 1 Most of the prominent Liberals ap- j pear to hold fairly strong hands. Judg- ] ing from the accounts of fair Joseph j, Ward's Southland tour which are being published here, the Leader of the Opposition has a safe seat in Awarua; the Hon. W. D. S. Mac Donald is a certainty in Bay of Plenty and will probably be iipared the worry of a contest; Mr. T. K. Sidey is meeting one of the strongest of the Labour candidates in Dunedin South, but his mana in the constituency has not departed; the Hon. G. W. Russell is "the old dog for the hard road" in the Avon and should pull through even against a younger and equally capable candidate of the Labor persuasion; the Hon. A. M. Myers did such good service in Parliament and in the Cabinet during the war. period that it is impossible to think of his being" exchanged by Auckland East l>y either of the alternatives , that; are offering; Mr. George Forbes, Mr L. M. Uiit, the Hon. David Buddo and the rest of Canterbury Liberal stalwarts all seem safe enough, and, except in Asliburtoir, no material change is expected . in the representations of the wheat pro- , vince.

THE FINAL RESULT. Never before has the result of an election in this eountry been so difficult to predict. .During the last live year.?, thousands of boys and girls, who had given scarcely a thought to politics and J parties when the war began, have reached manhood and womanhood, and have taken their place on the rolls. They have been brought up, as it were, under the party truce, and are now realising for the first time the sharp differences between the elements they see in the conflict. How these young people are going to cast their votes no one can tell, but probably the great majority of them will take on the colour of the environment ;n which they have grown up and support Reform, Liberal or Labouc, as their parents and friends did before them. Arguing this way, the quidnuncs are predicting a veiy even diversion of representation between the two old parties, and the final decision remaining with Labor. Perhaps at the moment there can be no better guess.