2 FEBRUARY 1878, Page 3

The Tory defeats in Scotland this week have been most

crush- ing. In Greenock the party ran Sir James Fergusson, perhaps the most popular Tory in the West of Scotland, and he was assisted by the Irish citizens, Mr. Parnell going down himself to secure their vote. The Liberals, moreover, were divided on ecclesias- tical politics, Mr. Donald Currie opposing Mr. Stewart. Never- theless, Sir James Fergusson polled only 2,124 votes, while Mr. Stewart received 2,183, and Mr. Currie 1,648, the total Liberal vote being nearly double that of the Tories. In Perth, again, vacant by the elevation of Mr. A. Kinnaird to the Peerage, Mr. Parker obtained 2,206 votes, while only 855 were given to Dr. Mackie, the Conservative, who, however, was not a good candidate. Finally, in Leith, Mr. Grant, a thorough-going Liberal, was returned by 4,929 votes, to 1,788 given to Mr. Welch-Tennant, one of those Tories, apparently, whose reliance is mainly on the residuum. Perthshire, vacant by the death of Sir W. Stirling-Maxwell, will be contested on Tuesday, and even there, Mr. Greville, the Liberal, is believed to have a fair chance against Colonel Drummond Moray, of Blair Drummond, the !atter professing himself delightfully ignorant of all Scotch -ecclesiastical questions.