14 FEBRUARY 1874, Page 2

Mr. Locke King, the doughty foe of primogeniture, has lost

his seat for East Surrey after holding it for twenty-seven years, and has lost it by a considerable majority, his return showing 1,300 votes fewer than the Conservative, Mr. Grantham, who stood second on the poll. In East Worcestershire, also, Mr. Lyttelton has been thrown out by a majority of 854, and a seat lost to the Liberals. On the other hand, the North-West Riding has returned to its Liberal allegiance, Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr. Wilson having distanced Mr. Powell and Mr. Fison by much larger majorities than that which Mr. Powell obtained over Mr. Holden in February, 1872, and that, too, after a much more com- plete poll. This is nearly the only point of light in the county returns. The North-West Riding has always been regarded as a constituency that anticipates the set of opinion just in the course of formation, and as it rejected the Liberal candidate in 1872, and has accepted-both now by good majorities, we may perhaps hope that the tide, heavily as it has set against us, is about to turn.