The Forest of Dean, in Gloucestershire, returned on Satur- day
a Home-ruler, as in 1886. The Home-rule majority was slightly increased, but not increased in proportion to the total number of votes polled. Indeed, the Unionist vote had increased more in proportion than the Home-rule vote. Mr. Samuelson, the Home-rule Member who was elected, polled 4,286 votes, against 2,736 given to Mr. Wyndham, the Con- servative. At the General Election in 1886, Mr. Blake, the Home-rule Member, polled 3,822, so that the Home-rulers had increased their vote by 464 votes, or by about 12 per cent. At the last election, Mr. Lucas, the Unionist, polled 2,415 votes, so that the Unionists had increased their poll by 321 votes, or by more
than 13 per cent., showing a slightly greater per-tentage of increase than that of the Home-rule vote. As the party which is secure of a victory generally makes less effort than the party which can only win, if winning is possible, by a very great effort, we may say that the result in Gloucestershire is practically unaltered since the General Election of last year.
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