As was expected, the American Presidential election ended on November
6th in a decided victory for Mr. McKinley. Of the forty-five States he secured twenty- seven, and in the Electoral College he has 292 votes to 155. His "plurality at the polls" is estimated at nearly a million ; and although this is probably an exaggeration, it may be true, for the total vote is said to have been the largest ever given in the world,—that is, fifteen millions. At all events, the American people as a nation have re-elected Mr. McKinley, and must be held in doing so to have endorsed his policy. That is to say, they have approved the war with Spain, the annexation of Puerto Rico and the Philippines as dependencies, and the policy recently pursued in China. They have also approved a general attitude of friendliness towards Great Britain, the adherence to a gold -standard, and the use of troops to maintain order during a strike. They have decided, in fact, for the old economic order, rejecting the Radical ideas entertained by Mr. Bryan as to currency, land mortgages, and the protection accorded by law to capitalist combinations. It is understood that Mr. McKinley will retain his present Cabinet, and will, in fact, regard himself as holding office for an unbroken term.
