NEWS OF THE WEEK.
TIP to yesterday afternoon, we had the returns of 314 Members elected to the new Parliament,—of whom 156 were Conservatives, 22 were Liberal Unionists (if Sir Edward Watkin is to be called a Liberal Unionist), and 121 were Gladstonians; 10 were Anti-Parnellites, and 4 were Parnellites; while 1 (Greenock) is doubtful. The Unionists carried a seat in Dublin, the three other Dublin seats falling to the Par- nellites ; while their leader, Mr. John Redmond, was returned for Waterford. In the counties, the Unionists lost a seat in Cambridgeshire (the Chesterton Division), and also in Wiltshire (the Cricklade Division), where Mr. Story Maskelyne was un- fortunately defeated by a considerable majority ; but in Fife- shire Mr. Asquith's majority was decreased, in Aberdeenshire Dr. Farquharson's majority was diminished from 2,197 in 1886 to only 80, in Northumberland Sir Edward Grey's majority was greatly decreased ; while in Suffolk Mr. Quilter, the Liberal Unionist candidate, carried his seat by an immense majority,- 3,016. The seat had not been contested since 1885, when he carried it as a Liberal by only 1,452. Though we have lost two county seats, the majorities by which the Unionist county candidates have been returned are so large, and often so much larger than in 1886, as to augur ill for any material Glad- stonian gains in the counties.
Previous page
