NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THE election for the North-West Riding has turned out satis- factorily enough. Mr. Holden is returned, with a majority of 2,027 over his opponent, Mr. Gathorne Hardy. The numbers are,—for Mr. Holden, 9,892 ; for Mr. Gathorne Hardy, 7,865. No doubt, this shows a certain gain for the Conservatives and a certain loss for the Liberals, as compared with the general election in 1880, when the numbers were,—for Lord F. Caven- dish (the highest Liberal), 10,878 ; and for Mr. Powell, 7,140. But, in the first place, Mr. Holden is not nearly so popular as Lord F. Cavendish, one ground of prejudice being that he employs foreign labour in his French manufactory ; and in the second place, Lord Cranbrook's son is much more popular than Mr. Powell. Compare this bye-election with the general elec- tion of 1874, and it is much more favourable for the Liberals ; compare it with the bye-election of 1872 (in which the Tory candidate triumphed), and it is very much more favourable in- deed. In short, the election shows that, in spite of Mr. Lowther's clever electioneering speeches, there is no appreciable reaction in the North-West Riding against the popularity of the Government.
