LICENSE OR NO-LICENSE?

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9172, 21 August 1908, Page 5

LICENSE OR NO-LICENSE?

ALTERATION OF ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES. WHAT IT MIGHT MEAN TO EITHER CAUSE. Now that the general election is drawing rapidly closer, and the License and No-License parties respectively are conducting a vigorous campaign on behalf of their causes, it might be interesting to the electors to learn how the defining of new electoral boundaries has effected the position of the opposing parties. As is well known there has been a very radical change made in various parts of the electorate, which has meant that on one hand new districts have been added, and on the other hand somewhat populous sections have been lost to the 1 electoral district. The following table shows the polling booths which were last election in the Maste.'ton electorate, but are now attached to the Wairarapa electorate, with the votes recorded by the electors at the local option poll:

The position is made even clearer by dealing in percentages. The total of votes recorded in tpe pollingbooths lost to the district was 722, out of which 525 were cast in favour of either reduction or no-license. This means that 27.28 per cent, voted against No-License. In the newly added booths the total of votes recorded was 512, and the 185 electors who refrained from "striking out the top line" represented a percentage of 36.13. The loss to the No-License party therefore amounts to 3.85 per cent, on some 500 votes.

c C3 3 C o C CO .2 g K 2 Langdale Junction Femridge Te Nui Whakataki Miki Mild Bideford Grassendale Castlepoint Kaituna Mount Bruce 30 15 55 17 19 32 10 4 8 7 21 39 41 37 39 70 6 12 30 (51 35 62 8 11 1 7 5 21 0 19 Total 197 186 339 The following table shows the polling booths excised from the Pahiatua electorate, and now forming part of the Masterton electorate, with the result of the local option poll: — u . o c n w rj O •- g 6 o) o « R Haunui Mangatnaire Konini Tatie Kaitawa Momona 10 29 81 12 44 9 0 6 15 22 63 103 13 32 25 37 1 l.Q Total 185 117 210 The following table gives a g<n eral view of the position, cs it shows the concrete loss of votes to the Masterton electorate through the boundary alterations: — 8 . « 2 .2,5 5 -+J o Votes lost Votes gained *-* •u c o O 197 185 3 iJ « ■ 186 339 117 210 Balance votes lost 12 69 129