22 MARCH 1884, Page 2

The Cambridgeshire election has, of course, gone for the Con-

servatives. The late Speaker was always a minority Member,. and the late Speaker had a support in the county which no suc- cessor could hope to obtain. Mr. Thornhill, the Conservative candidate, secured 3,915 votes ; while Mr. Coote, the Liberal candidate, secured only 2,812,—majority for the Conservative, 1,103. There has been no contest in Cambridgeshire since 1868, when Lord G. Manners obtained 3,998 votes, or 83 more than Mr. Thornhill ; while Mr. Brand secured 3,300 votes, or 488 more votes than Mr. Coote. Considering that the election in 1868 was a general election, and that Mr. Brand was the most popu- lar Liberal in the county, the results of the present bye-election do not show any material loss of Liberal ground, but as- suredly they do not show any gain. The Liberals have not as yet succeeded in getting any political hold of the farmers, who are, moreover, we suspect, extremely indignant at the proposal to enfranchise their own labourers.