The Yorkshire boroughs exhibit a curious contrast to the Lanca-
shire boroughs in their votes, probably because the Irish labourers play a less important part there in the competition for work,— while Catholicism is less feared, therefore less hated. Sheffield, Huddersfield, Halifax, Leeds, Bradford, Dewsbury, Wakefield, Pontefract, Knaresborough, Ripon,—in fact, the whole group of boroughs in the three divisions of the West Riding,—have not lost us a seat amongst them, and have only returned two Conservatives (Mr. Waterhouse at Pontefract, and the minority member, Mr. Wheelhouse, at Leeds) ; indeed, the boroughs have been so hopeless that the only contests in the bigger boroughs, Leeds and Sheffield excepted, were between nominal Liberals of different shades. At Leeds there would have been no hope but for a minority member, and more Liberal concert would have gained all three seats ; at Sheffield Mr. Price would never have ventured to try his chance, but for the division of the constituency between Mr. Roebuck and Mr. Mundella ; and the Liberals were so enor- mously strong, that they had a margin of some thousands of votes after defeating both the avowed Conservative and the spurious Liberal. Manufacturing Yorkshire, unlike manufacturing Lanca- shire, feels no sort of hesitation upon the Irish Church, or for that matter, on the comparative merits of Mr. Disraeli and Mr. Gladstone.
