Attempts will, of course, be made to minimize the victory,
but in truth it is the writing on the wall. The leading Liberul who, according to the Times, exclaimed on hearing the result of the poll, "After Leith—anything !" was in no way exaggerating. It must be remembered that never since the Reform Bill of 1832 has anyone but a Liberal sat for the Leith Burghs. The triangular fight does not in this case vitiate the comparison. The fact that in January, 1910, with a Labour man in the field, the Liberal majority was 2,608, and that this has been changed into a minority of 16, cannot be explained away. We are glad to note that the first thought of Mr. Currie, the victorious Unionist, was for Ulster. His victory, he declared, would bring relief to Ulster in her sore dis- tress. It should certainly greatly help on the policy of Exclusion. We must not, however, shoot before we are out of the wood, but still maintain a supreme concentration of effort upon avoiding civil war by Exclusion. That is the line along which we must win if we only persist.
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