The result of the Forfarshire election was not known till
Monday, when it turned out that Mr. Ramsay, the Unionist, was returned by a majority of 288. The poll was a very heavy one, and there voted for Mr. Ramsay 5,145 electors, while for Mr. Henry Robson, the Gladstonian, the poll was 4,857. This was a great victory for the Unionists, for in July, 1892, Mr. Rigby (before he became Solicitor-General) received 4,943 votes, against 4,077 given to Mr. S. W. Barclay, the Liberal Unionist. In other words, a Gladstonian majority of 866 was transformed into a Unionist majority of 288. Moreover, while the poll for Mr. Robson fell off by 86 votes from the poll given to Mr. Rigby two years and four months ago, the poll for the Unionist last Saturday increased by 1,068 on that given for the Unionist candidate in July, 1892. More- over, the total poll was considerably higher than in any pre- viously recorded Forfarshire election. Between 1832 and 1886, when Mr. Gladstone announced his Home-rule policy, Forfarshire had always been Liberal. In 1886 Mr. Barclay refused to follow Mr. Gladstone, and was nevertheless re- turned as a Unionist; but Mr. Rigby, who "nursed" the constituency, succeeded in carrying Forfarshire for Mr. Gladstone in 1892; now, after its short acquaintance with the Gladstonian policy, it has returned to Unionism. We have discussed the interpretation of this great change in another column.
