THE LATE ELECTION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 3075, 21 December 1908, Page 5

THE LATE ELECTION.

PRESENTATION TO MR FITZGERALD. By Telegraph—Press Association. WELLINGTON, December 20. Mr J. E. Fitzgerald, who unsuccessfully contested the Wellington Suburbs seat at the General Election, was entertained by friends on Saturday night, and presented with an illuminated address and a purse of a hundred sovereigns. The presentation was made by the Hon. J. A. Millar.

SPEECH BY MR MASSEY.

THE OPPOSITION SUCCESSES,

By Telegraph—Press Association AUCKLAND, December 20.

"The Opposition have done very well in connection with the recsnfc elections, but I am not Satisfied, nor do I intend to be satisfied until we have doubled our present number of members," said the Leader of the Opposition (Mr W. F. Massey) at the gathering held at Devonport m honour of Mr E. W. Alison, late member for Waitemata.

Mr Massey went on to say that he did not wish to again stir up the bitterness of the elections, b'ut he was sorry to notice that some candidates thought that the proper way to get 1 into Parliament was not by means of their own merits, but by slander and misrepresentation of their opponents. However, he was glad to notice that those who had indulged in slander and misrepresentation had been left outside of the political enclosure. to the elections it had been tated that the ODDosition "as dead as lius Caesar," and that at the'elections it would be completely annihilated. This predicton, however, had not been fulfilled. The whole of the eleven members of the Opposition Party in the last Parliament who had sought re-election had been .re-elected, and in most cases with increased majorities. Further than that they had come back with 26 members as compared with 16 in the last Parliament. There were also a number of Independent members who he believed would rstain their independence. A number of members who bad been returned as Government supporters would also, he felt sure, act as Independent members, and refuse to be coerced as members had allowed themselves to be in past years. (A voice: What about Glover?) Well, Mr Glovor would no doubt be one of the Independent members of whom he had been speaking). Hear! Hear!). Whilst most of the Opposition members re-elected had been returned with greatly increased majorities most of tha reelected Government members had had their majorities reducer! as compared with three.years ago. (Hear! Hear). The ODpositioi Party whilst not getting all their members returned in what was known as the North Auck- I land districts had obtained an absolute majority of the votes in that district, whilst in the Taranaki district every seat had been won by the Opposition. As'to the line which the Opposition Party would take up in the new Parliament, the principles of the manifesto already put for- J ward by him would not be departed from in the slightest. There would be no attack on the freehold next session, or during the Parliament. The electors of Mataura had taken good care of that. It would be the duty of the Government, however, to give every reasonable encouragement to settlement, and the Opposition would endeavour to see that it was one. (Hear! Hear). "After the disastrous Jefeat of the Opposition Party at the polls in 1905," Mr Massey went on to say, "I made up my mind that it was my duty to re-establish the Party, and I have been working to that end during the last three years. 1 have been ably and loyally supported by every one of my colleagues in Parliament. I do not intend to be satisfied until the electors come to us and say 'Well done good and faithful servants, as you have been faithful in a few things we intend to make you rulers over many things.' " (Laughter and applause).