In the fourth table have been placed all those constituencies which, in 1880, contained between 12,500 and 17,500 registered electors. These may be called large constituencies, being such as would return three members apiece. And in the fifth table have been placed those constituencies which, in 1880, contained over 17,500 registered electors. These may be called very large constituencies, being such as would either return four members apiece, or be subdivided. Let us then at once proceed to

TABLE I.

CONSTITUENCIES HAVING ELECTORATES OF UNDER 1,500 IN 1880, AND CONTESTED BY LIBERALS AND TORIES IN BOTH 1868 AND 1880.

It has

With regard to the very small constituencies whose names appear in the above table, one or two remarks may fitly be made. often been alleged that the preservation of these boroughs is one of the articles of the Tory creed, because it is in them that Tory

influence is strongest. Be this as it may, it is at all events well to know that, as a mere matter of fact, the two rival parties are nearly equally balanced, and that while the Tory percentage of the total voters decreased from 51.5 in 1868 to 51-2 in 1880, the Liberal percentage of the total voters increased from 48.5 in 1868 to 48.8 in 1880. No doubt in 1868 the Tories were represented by 24, while the Liberals had only 13, members; and in 1880 the Tories had 20 members, while the number of Liberal members had risen to 17. But on each of these occasions the preponderance of Tory over Liberal members was due, not to the strength of the Tory support, but to the nature of our present system of representation. On some future occasion it is very likely that while the proportion of Tory to Liberal voters may remain about the same, the number of Liberal members may greatly exceed the number of Tory members. For, indeed, at each general election, had the two parties been represented in accordance with their relative strength, the Tories would have had 19, and the Liberals 18, members, the fluctuation and apparent increase of Liberal strength as shown by their reducing their minority of 11 to a minority of only 3 members being simply due to the characteristics inherent in our system of election, and not to any corresponding increase of strength among the electorate. And thus, assuming for the sake of argument that constituencies ought to be disfranchised when they sink below a certain number of electors, the Tory party has no especial need to dread the operation of such a

measure.

Pursuing this question of very small constituencies a little further, however, and also for the sake of completeness and convenience of reference, we may take note that the following twenty-two constituencies-Bodmin, Bridgnorth, Bridport, Calne, Cirencester, Dorchester, Eye, Frome, Huntingdon, Launceston, Liskeard, Malton, Marlborough, Newport, Radnor Boroughs, Richmond, St. Ives, Shaftesbury, Stamford, Tavistock, Tiverton and Wilton-also had electorates of under 1,500 in 1880, but were not contested by Liberals and Tories in both 1868 and 1880. On each occasion they returned 16 Liberals and 7 Tories.

Hence, contrary to the popular idea that Tories obtain so much support in the very small constituencies, we find that while in 1868 the Liberals had 29, and in 1880 they had 33, members as their share of those returned by the 58 smallest constituencies in England, in 1868 the Tories had 31, and in 1880 they had only 27, members. So that really the Liberals have the most to lose by a rigorous and fair application of the rule that constituencies should be disfranchised when they contain less than a certain minimum, and become what is called insignificant in numbers.

Let us now turn to

TABLE II.

CONSTITUENCIES HAVING ELECTORATES OF BETWEEN 1,500 AND 7,500 IN 1880, AND CONTESTED BY LIBERALS AND TORIES IN BOTH 1868 AND 1880.

In this case the Tory percentage of the total voters decreased from 48.3 in 1868 to 46-6 in 1880, while the Liberal percentage of the total voters increased from 51.7 in 1868 to 53.4 in 1880. But, in consequence of the working of our system of representation, the proportion of Tory to Liberal members remained substantially unaltered, although both in 1868 and in 1880 the Liberals obtained many more members than they were fairly entitled to. For while in 1868 they had 86, and in 1880 they had 88, members, under a system of proportionate representation they would in 1868 have had only 66, and in 1880 they would have had only 68, members. The Tories, on the other hand, would have had 61, instead of only 41, members in 1868; while in 1880 they would have had 59, instead of only 39, members. Thus we see that it is not in small constituencies that the Tories obtain a larger share of support than their rivals.

The following fifty-two constituencies - Anglesea, Beaumaris, Bedfordshire, Brecknockshire, Bury, Cambridge (University), Cardigan Burghs, Carmarthen District, Carnarvon Boroughs, Cheshire (E.), Cornwall (W.), Cumberland (W.), Darlington, Denbighshire, Essex (W.), Flint District, Flintshire, Grantham, Grimsby, Hampshire (N.), Huntingdonshire, Hythe, Kendal, Leicestershire (N.), Lincoln, London University, Merionethshire, Montgomery District, Montgomeryshire, Morpeth, Norfolk (N.), Norfolk (W.), Northamptonshire (N.), Northamptonshire (S.), Northumberland (N.), Nottinghamshire (N.), Nottinghamshire (S.), Oxfordshire, Oxford (University), Pembrokeshire, Radnorshire, Rutlandshire, Sandwich, Shoreham, Suffolk (W.), Sussex (W.), Tamworth, Wenlock, Westmoreland, Wiltshire (S.), Worcestershire (W.) and Wycombe—also

had electorates of between 1,500 and 7,500 in 1880, but were not contested by Liberals and Tories in both 1868 and 1880. In 1868 they returned 33 Liberals and 51 Tories, and in 1880, 40 Liberals and 44 Tories.

Thus we see that, taking the whole of the small constituencies into account, while in 1868 the Liberals had 119, and in 1880 they had 128, members as their share of those returned by the 128 small constituencies in England, in 1868 the Tories had only 92, and in 1880 they had only 83, members. So that in this case again it is not the Tories who have any reason to be afraid of a close scrutiny into constituencies which, as regards mere numbers, are over-represented. Let us now turn to

TABLE III.

CONSTITUENCIES HAVING ELECTORATES OF BETWEEN 7,500 AND 12,500 IN 1880, AND CONTESTED BY LIBERALS AND TORIES IN BOTH 1868 AND 1880.

In this case, while the Tory percentage of the total voters decreased from 51.1 in 1868 to 47-8 in 1880, the Liberal percentage of the total voters increased from 48.9 in 1868 to 52.2 in 1880. Thus we see that in the moderate-sized constituencies the Tories have fallen back from the position they held in 1868 of slightly outnumbering

3,580

2,973

22222

3,346 1

2,765

3,250 2

3,922

3,154

1

3,314

4,296

2 4,406

3,643 2

3,414

2

4,104

1,502

3,029