A LEAD OF NINETY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1002, 17 December 1910, Page 5

A LEAD OF NINETY.

GOVERNMENT STILL GAINS. MR. ASQUITH SAYS LIBERALS HAVE CLEAR MANDATE. INCOMPLETE RETURNS.

The figures supplied by the Press Association message last night are so much at variance with thoso given yesterday as to make comparison dangerous until somo correction or explanation is forthcoming. The details are as follow:— Government. Unionist, England (465) 203 228 Wales (30) 24 2 Scotland (72) 47 8 Ireland (103) 53 19 327 257 The Government supporters in Ireland are made up as follow:— Redmondites 46 O'Brienites 7 53 A CORRECTION. Later. A Press Association message to hand early this morning states that the figures for Ireland should be: Redmondites 66 O'Brienites .7 . 73 This means an increase of twenty in the Government total, and gives a Ministerial majority of 90, as against 79 yesterday. The discrepancies in the Government figures for Wales, however, remain unexplained. These were given as 29 yesterday, and are to-day reduced to Yesterday's figures, as pointed out at the timo showed a total of 31 members returned for Wales, whereas there are only 30 seats to be filled. In Thursday's issue the Liberal total for Wales was given as 25, one mpre than to«day. The correction in the Irish figures was received after our editorial page had gone to press.

KIRKCUDBRIGHTSHIRE. Major G. \M'Miking (L.) 2,817 Mr. M'Noill (U.) 2,625 Liberal majority 192 [January result: Unionist majority, 41. Scat Unionist 1892 to 1900. Liberal in 1906.] KENT, N.W.-DARTFORD. Mr. J. Rowlands (L.) 9,152 'Mr. W. F, Mitchell (U.) 8,918 . Liberal majority 234 [January result: Unionist, majority, 817. Seat Conservative from 1892 to 1900; Liberal.in, 1906.]. EDINBURGHSHIRE. . *The Master of Elibank (tho o Hon. • A. W. Murray); Patronage Secretary to tho Treasury (L.) 8,837 Mr. Hope (U.) ;. 5,680 Liberal majority 3,157 [January result: Liberal majority, 3635. Scat Liberal since 1892.] CAMBRIDGESHIRE.—WISBECK. •Hon. Neil Primrose (L.j 5,401 Mr. Cecil (U.) 4,857 Liberal majority 544 [January result: Liberal majority, 200. Soat Liberal in 1892, Conservative in 1895, and Liberal in 1900 and 1906.] SOMERSET.—SOUTH. *Sir Edward Strachey (L.) 4,754 Hon. Aubrey Herbert (U.) 4,317Liberal: ■majority -va 467 [January result: Liberal majority, 511. Seat Liberal since 1892.] DEVONSHIRE, W.—TAVISTOCK. Mr. J. W. Spear (U.) 6,409 *Mr. H. C. F. Luttrell (L.) 6,019 Unionist majority 390 [January result: Liberal majority, 227. Seat Liberal in 1892 and 1895, Unionist in 1900, and Liberal in 1906.] CHESHIRE-HYDE. 4 Mr. F. Neilson (L.) ... 5,562 Mr. Tom Smith (Unionist workingman candidate) 5,268 Liberal majority 294 [January result: Liberal majority over Unionist candidate,- 15; over Labour candidate, 2075. Seat Conservative 1892 to 1900, and Liberal in 1906.] •Sitting members. NOT INCONCLUSIVE. PRIME MINISTER ON THE . RESULT. (Rec. December 16, 9.50 p.m.) London, December 16. Mr. Asquith, in a speech at Refford, ridiculed tho suggestion that the elections had proved inconclusive. "Are we to resign," asked the Prime Minister, "when our constituents have givon us a majority of over a hundred? If so, who is to carry on the King's Government?" Mr. Asquith added that Mr. Balfour had said it was a shocking thing for the Government to be at tho mercy of the Irish. Tho Liberals were perfectly capable of taking care of their own reputation, and were not going to be coorced into any action which their consciences did not approve.

A COMPROMISE SUGGESTED. SIR E. CLARKE ON THE RESULT. London, Cecembcr 15. Sir Edward Clarke, K.C., who was Solicitor-General in Conservative Governments from 1886 to 1892, speaking in London, said tho result of a balanced election must bo a conference of parties with a view to settlement of the constitutional question.' It was intolerable that tho issue should be adjourned election after election, and ultimately decided in tho pa-ssion of a wholly alien contest.

Both, tho autocracy of tho Houso of Commons (represented by the Parliament Bill) and the autocracy of the House of Lords (represented by tho Veto) must. go, declared tho , speaker. Tho best linen on both sidoß must find a solution more in harmony with the country's traditions.