Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-01-19
Unionists Are Making Steady
Gains but Not Enough to De-
feat the Government.
LABoRITES ARE BIG LOSERS.
Question OF Large Navy Seemingly
Has More Influence ON Voters
Than Tariff Reform.

London, Jan. 1S.-The Unionists had
decidedly the better of the elections
today. OF A seats contested, they won
2l of which IL were represented By
ministerlalists in the last parliament.
With the exception OF North England.
Scotland and the big manufacturing
towns the result of the polls shows a
steady trend toward the fiscal policy of
the Unionists. but. calculating returns
thus far announced, tho political ora
cles maintain that this Will not be
sufficient to overcome the big Liberal
majority obtained in 1906
OF course there are many side Issues.
such as the cry of a weakened navy.
which have Influenced the voters, par
ticularly at naval ports and In coun-
ties where landlords WELD great IN
nuence more Unionists gains may be
expected.
There will have TO be a big turn over.
however, before the government is put
out A conservative estimate nov
places the Liberal-I.abor majority over
the Unionlsts at between so and %.
This, with Il compact party. would be
a working majority. but with the unrc-
liable Laborites, backed up by the Irish
when IL suited them, the government
would have to go warily to avoid pit
falls.
The Iaborites, II is true, are not like
" TO be so strong in the new parlla-
mcnt as in the last. They have al
ready lost several seats, and sevenl OF
their members have won by narrow
majorities.
This loss OF ground by the working
mems party has been one of the sur
prises OF the election. After the issues
of 1906. they thought they had formed
the nucleus of what promised to be
powerful group. Suspicion that they
opposed a larger navy. nevertheless,
had it's effect for the number OF other
opponents of the governments belatcd
action In meeting Germanys building
program also suffered defeat.
CONSOLATION FOR LIBERALS
The only consolation today for the
Liberals was In their success In The
Bermondsey division of Southwark,
where the government candidate, H. J,
Glanville. rccaptured the scat, whicn
went over to the Unionlsts In the Dye
election last November. ]. Humphreys,
who WAS elected tonight. had but one
opportunity to pass the bar of the
house, that being on the day of his
introduction.
Fourteen OF the London boroughs re-
turned eight Liberals and six Union
lists, as compared with IL Liberals and
three Unionists in the last parliament.
The Unionist gains include Miles
End. a division of Tower Hamlets.
where H. L. w. Lawson. manager OF
the Daily Telegraph. was elected. and
one division OF Liverpool. Many of the
seats they won were Unionist before
the great Liberal victory OF 1908, and
are returning to the Conservative fold
While there we're not so many con-
tests today as OH Saturday and Mon
day, there were more prominent poll.
tIcans with fortunes at stake Two OF
j. f. B. Seelcy, under-sec-
retary for the colonies. and f. K
Gauston, -general-lost their
seats. The loss of Col. Seeley was es-
pecially severe for the government, as
he has been the spokesman In inc
house of commons for the colonial
office and was one of the younger men
In line for promotion.
Three members of the cabinet Win
ston Spencer Churchill, president of
the board OF trade: Sydney Charles
postmaster-general,a and wal
ter Runciman, president of the board |
Of education, retained their seats.
Mr. Churchill with his Labor COL
league, A. Wilkie. increased the major
ity usually given by Dundee. Sir w
S. Robson, The attorney-seneral. also
holds his old scat for South Shields.
T. P. O'Connor's grip on the Scotland
division of Liverpool was proved by
the Increase of 500 which he received
over his big majority of four years
ago.
On the othre side, among the promi-
nent men who go back to Westmin-
ster are the Right Hon. A. II. Lyttl-
ton. for St George. Hanover Square;
II. L. Lawson. son of Lord Burnham,
Who captured the Mile End seat, which
ne held before 1906, and which he once
as Il Liberal; ] X Foster. the
prominent writer on fiscal questions.
wbo-won against Silas Hooking, tho
novelist. In Coventry.
The surprises which the suffragettes
wcro expected to spring have not yet
They have been active
y canvassing against the government
md have made a strong stand against
Buxton today. but thus far they have
lot engaged in militant tactics.
The usual scenes occurred in the
streets tonight when the returns were
han on previous occasions gathered in
the squares watching the screens.
ASQUITH TO CONSTITUENTS.
Premier Asqulth, addressing his con-
stituents at East Fife. said that the
feature of the election so
Tar was that. with two or three excep-
lions, such gains as had been secured
by the Unionists had been In the small
towns of England. Tho great centers of
were nearly all solid for FREQ
rade. and whatever might happen, he
said, one thing was certain, that in the
new parliament tariff reform was a po-
itical impossibiIity. No craftsmanship,
nc added. however ingenious or audncl-
BUS. could attempt to construct q tariff
n defiance of the opinion of every one
Of the great centcrs of industry
Questioned on home rule, the premier
said that he could promise no legisIa-
ton OF any kind until they had settled
their conclusions with the house of
ords.
Augustine Birrcll. chief secretary for
ireland. at a Liberal demonstration at
Bridgewater. said he thought that he
knew enough OF the elections to be able
to say with confidence that the budget
was going through.
Lord Charles Bcresford. In an inter-
view, declared that as 1t was his belief
that the naval question was responsible
for the turnover OF votes. he would
demand an inquiry into the last four
years. administration of the admiralty.