THE SOUTH DORSET ELECTION.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPSIOTAT011."] Srn,-•-In the Spectator of May 16th, Sir Henry Peto explains away, with some satisfaction, the significance of the South Dorset election, on the ground that it was not fought out on the Irish Question, that question, as he alleges, having been " kept in the background." The directions I gave on entering upon the contest were, that the various speakers (other than Irishmen) should not occupy more than from one-quarter to one-third of their time with the Irish Question, and I followed the same line myself. The reason is, that we con- sidered the question had been fairly threshed out in the constituency, owing to the fact that for the last two years every speech from every Liberal platform in South Dorset has been devoted exclusively to the Irish Question. That my view was correct is shown by the result, and this achieved in spite of the Irish Question being made the staple food at all the Conservative meetings during the contest. The few uncon- vinced Unionists we came across proved to be more Tory than Unionist in sentiment. The Liberal Unionists certainly did not shine as a whole in the contest, for, on the one hand, Colonel Dutton caused two now celebrated apologies to be made to myself, and on the other hand, the Liberal Unionist organisation issued a pamphlet which described Mr. Gladstone as having no regard for morality, and as " waiting to see how the cat would jump" before he severed himself from Mr. Parnell. I regret that Sir Henry Peto should have troubled him- self to cull elegant extracts from a speech by Mr. Broadhurst, for if this test were to be applied to the contest, quite the most elegant, not to say the most startling, extracts would come from the lips of the elected Member.--I am, Sir, &c., E. R. PEARCE EDOCUMBE. Somerleigh Court, Dorchester, May 18th.
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