The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-01-19
Liberals Are. No( So Fortunate
 In British tIsc ions
GOVERNMENT LEAD sHAKY
Working Majority For Liberal Party in Parliament Is Now Estimated at Less Than One Hun
 dred Members.

day resulted Tn the return or the 1oiloW- ing:
 Unionists, 21
 Liberals, 1a
 Laborites. 3.
 Nationalists, 1.
 Unionists gain F.
 Liberal gain, 1.
 The standing of the parties at the con cluslon of today's polling was:
 Unionists. 120.
 Liberals, 9S.
 Laborites, 20.
 Nationalists, 26.
 Total gains: Unionists. 5l; liberals, g; laborites, 1.
 The unionists had decidedly the better of the elections held today. Of the A seats contested they won 21, of which F were represented by ministerialists in the last parliament. The only consolation for the liberals was in the success obtained in the Bermondsey division of Southwark where the government candidate, H. J. Glanville, recaptured the seat, which went over to the tnionists in the bye-election last November. J. Humphreys, who was elected then had but one opportunity to pass the bar of the house, that being on the day of his introduction.
 Three-cornered Contest.
 Several of the liberal losses, as on pre- ceding days, were caused by three-cor- nered contests. the intervention of la bor or socialist candidate precluding the success of the government supporters.
 Fourteen of the London boroughs re- turned eight liberals and. six unionists, as compared with Il liberals and three unionists in the last parliament.
 The unionist gains include a division of Tower Hamlets where H. L. w. Law son, manager of the Daily Telegraph, was elected
 While there were not so many contests today as on Saturday and Monday, there were more prominent politicians with for tunes at stake.
 Two of these, Col. J. E. B. zely, under secretary for the colonies, and R. K Gauston, paymaster general, lost their seats for the Abercrombie division of Liverpool and Southwark. west. respec- lively. The loss of Colonel Zely was es- pecially severe for the government, as he has been the spokesman in the house of commons for the colonial office, and was one of the younger men in line for pro- motion.
 Three members of the cabinet, Win ston Spencer Churchill, president of the board of trade; Sydney Charles Buxton. postmaster general, and Walter Runci- man, president of the board of educa- ton, retained their seats, MT. Churchill, with his labor colleague, w. Wilkie, in- creasing the majority usually given by Dundee substantially. Sir W. s. Rob- son, the attorney general, also holds his old seat for South Shields
 T. r. O'Connor's grip or the Scotland division of Liverpool was proved by the increase of 5o0 which he received over his big majority of four years ago.
 Prominent Man Reelected.
 On the other side. among the prominent men who so back to Westminster are the Rt. Hon. A. LyttletoH, for St. Georges Hanover Square; John $. Harmood-B Ban ner, for the Eveiton division of Liver pool; H. L. W. Lawson son of Lord Burnham, who captured the Mile End seat, which he held before 1906 and which he once occupied as a liberal J. K. Foster, the prominent writer on fis- cal questions, who won against Silas Hooking, tho novelist, in Coventry, which was previously represented by another literary man, A. F. W. Mason, who re- tired from parliament at the beginning of the year.
 With the exception of North England, Scotland and the big manufacturing towns the result at the polls shows a steady trend toward the fiscal policy of the unionists.
 There will have to be a big turnover. however. before the government is put out. A conservative estimate now places the liberal-labor majority over the union- ists at between 80 and 90. This, with a compact party. would be a working majority, but with the unreliable labor ties. backed up by the Irish when it suited them, the government would have to go warily to avoid pitfalls.
 The laborites have already lost sev- eral seats and several cf their .aen- bers have won only by q narrow ma jority. Suspicion that they opposed larger navy doubtless had it's effect.
 The surprises which the sufrrag gettes were expected to spring have not yet materialized and thus far they have net engaged in militant tactics.
 Usual Street Scenes.
 The usual scenes occurred in he streets tonight when the returns were coming in. Premier Asauith. addressing his con. stituents at East Fife, said that re- markable feature of he Alection SO far was that with two or three exceptions such gains as had been secured by inc nnionsts had been in the small towns of England. The great centers of industry were nearly all solid for free trade and whatever might happen, he said. enc thing was certain. that ir the new par lament tariff reform was a political impossibilty.
 Questioned on home rule, the premier said that he could promise no legislation of any kind until they had settled their conclusions with the house of lords.
 Augustine Blrrell. chief secretary for Ireland, at liberal demonstration at Bridgewater, said he thought that nc