PATEA BY-ELECTION.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 April 1921, Page 4

PATEA BY-ELECTION.

POLLING TAKES PLACE TO-DAY. GENERAL ELECTION FIGURES. Polling in the Patea by-election, rendered necessary by the death of Mr W. D. Powdrell, formerly member foi the electorate, will take place to-day The fight has been a keen one, and the decision of the voters will be awaited with interest throughout the Dominion; The candidates are:— Mr. Edwin Dixon (Reform). Mr. William Morrison (Liberal). Mr. \Lewis Mcllvride (Labor). This is Mr. Dixon’s first entry int< Parliamentary contests, though he hai had a good deal of local body expert ence. Mr. Mcllvride unsuccessfully conJ tested the Wanganui seat at the last general election, polling 1266 votes out of the total of 8243. In 1914 Mr. Morrison contested the Patea seat against Mr. G. V. Pearce, and was defeated by 118 votes, and at the last general election he secured 3021 votes, against 3276 recorded in favor of the successful candidate (the late Mr. W. D. Powdrell). THE 1919 POLL. Details of the voting in the Patea! electorate at the general election in 1919 are:—

Total votes polled 689 s Informal 154 At the 1914 election the result for Patea was: Pearce 3388, Morrison 3270. The number of votes recorded totalled 6658, which is less than that of the . 1919 poll. Mr. Mcllvride, who contested the Wanganui seat at the last general election, secured 12GG votes in a poll of 8243. The other candidates were: W A> Veitch 4340, and J. W. e Cuttie 2637.

THE PROSPECTS. LABOR VOTE THE KEY. (From Our Own Correspondent.) Hawera, Last Night. The campaign for this by-election has been amongst the hottest known in Dominion politics. We have had the leaders of the three parties taking a hand—the Prime Minister, Mr. Wilford, and Mr. Holland, besides their satellites. The candidates, too, have been going at full pressure, and it is a mer« cy to them, and to the sorely tried public, that to-morrow is election day. Who is going to win? That is the question being asked on all sides. If you accept what the partisans say the whole three will romp in easy winners; yes, even Mr. Holland’s standard bearer! To prophesy is always dangerous and unprofitable, but I will venture the opinion that Mr. Mcllvride will be away down on the list, as, of course, he deserves to be. He Is, all the same, the key of the position. If his party have made many converts from the Liberals then the seat will go to Mr. Dixon; if they have not, then the contest between Mr. Morrison and Mr. Dixon will be fairly close. Labor has worked as it never has done before in any country electorate, but the average man in the country might be slow, but he is not dull, and is nob likely to fall a victim to the blandishments of Messrs. Holland, McCombs, Parry and Co., whom he regards as no friends of the producer. Mr. Morrison and his friends have been putting in effective propaganda and perfecting their organisation. In the southern end he will score very heavily. Patea gave him 200 of a majority last time, which, however, was neutralised by the Hawera vote. If the latter is more evenly distributed on this occasion the Liberal candidate’s cliances will be distinctly good, and tonight’s meeting will materially assist his cause. This is Mr. Morrison’s third attempt to gain the seat, and this reveals a spiflt of determination and sportsmanship which may be in his favor.

Friends of the Government, however, are quietly confident of the result. They have had excellent reports from all parts of the district, and Mr. Massey’s recent visit has been of immense assistance. Mr. Dixon is no farmer, like Mr. Morrison, and does nbt therefore appeal to that class like his principal opponent, but his public services, his energy, decision, and high character are gen era Hy recognised by everyone, and the fact that he is the nominee of the dominant party pledged to support Mr. Massey, who is everywhere trusted, must count greatly in his favor. Besides this, Mr. Dixon has made many converts by his capital platform york. But, as I said at the outset, the issue will largely be determined by the Labor vote. The bigger it is the bigger will be the victory for Mr Dix«on. The smaller it is the greater will be Mr. Morrison’s chances. That is, at least, how it strikes the observer on the spot.

o1 3 1 £ - Hawera booths .... 1420 1190 251 14 Racecourse, Hawera i 2 45 5 1 Mokoia 63 37 o 4 Whakamara 46 8 0 0 Manutahl 71 37 7 0 Alton ....... 58 62 2 27 Harleyville 33 44 5 7 Kakaramea 52 • 54 0 3 Patea .... 210 413 77 6 Opaku 9 31 2 Whenuakura 51 57 1 3 Waverley 285 310 18 17Ngutuwera 33 20 3 a Ngamatapouri ..... 30 16 0 3 Mangawhio ........ 14 9 0 Omahina .... 14 8 1 2 Kohl 24 44 0 0 Wadtotara ........ 56 109 6 5 Makakaho ♦ 9 2 0 Maxwelltown _...• 60 9 O Kai Iwi .... 73 4 7. Paparangi 14 4 2 3 Westmere .......... 99 64 2 3 Brunswick .. 109 28 7 1 Rapanui ........... 30 17 0 1 Te Tuhi .. . 10 4 0 0 Raorikia 19 8 3 5 Mosstown 96 115 30 3 St. John's Hill .... 84 20 3 0 Sandy Hook (Aramoho) 53 21 9 0 Meremere 18 4 0 Orangimea 3 D 0 4 Nukuhau 11 9 1 Q Absent voters & declarations «... 83 79 11 17 ■ ..I . — —. Totals 3276 3021 458 144