19 MAY 1906, Page 3

The result of the polling in the Dulwich division of

Camber- well for the election of a Member in place of Dr. Rutherfoord Harris was announced on Tuesday night. Mr. Bonar Law, the Tariff Reform candidate, defeated Mr. Williamson, the Liberal, by 6,709 votes to 5,430, a majority of 1,279. At the recent General Election the seat was retained by Dr. Harris by the narrow margin of 357, so that Mr. Bonar Law's return is treated as a Protectionist triumph, though the majority is less than that by which the seat was held in 1903. The present result is largely due to a decline in the Liberal vote, caused possibly by dissatisfaction with the Government's educa- tion policy. In any case, there is not a particle of evidence that the result has been brought about by any revulsion of feeling in regard to Free-trade. We cannot profess to welcome Mr. Bonar Law's return, since he has been from the first the mainstay of the Chamberlainite policy; but it is at least satisfactory to have in the House of Commons an exponent of whose ability and enthusiasm there can be no question.