Elections were held on Tuesday in the Dulwich division of
Camberwell and in Lewisham to fill the vacancies created by the deaths of Sir J. Blundell Maple and Mr. John Penn. In Dulwich Dr. Rutberfoord Harris, the Conservative and Pro- tectionist candidate, was returned by a majority of 1,437 votes over Mr. Masterman, the Free-trade Liberal candidate. In Lewisham Major Coates, the " progressive Balfonrite," polled 2,012 more votes than his Free-trade Liberal opponent, Mr. Cleland. The results, though leaving the balance of parties undisturbed—both seats having been held uninterruptedly by Unionists since 1885—cannot be regarded as a proof that Mr. Chamberlain is going to " sweep the country," as his adherents allege. We have dealt with the two elections else- where, and will only say here that the Free-traders have no cause to be depressed by the result. It has been calculated that if the Dulwich " turnover " of votes were repeated throughout the country, the result would be a loss of 133 seats to the Government, and in London alone of 21 seats.
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