OCCASIONAL NOTES.
The Conservatives have not made a very decided gain by the elevation of Sir William Jolliffe to the peerage. Whatever advantage they may obtain by the presence of Lord Hylton in the Upper House, it is clear that there will not be a commensurate gain in the House of Commons by the election of Mr. Wm. Nicholson, of Basing Park, who will, we believe, be elected without opposition. Mr. Nicholson does not pledge himself to support Lord Derby’s Government, but his address rather justifies the inference that he will as frequently be found in the Opposition as in the Government lobby. He states that his political opinions ‟both from conviction and hereditary feeling are liberal,” but, recognising the circumstances under which Lord Derby has acceded to office, he is not disposed to enter upon any active opposition to his Government. He is ‟prepared to give Lord Derby a fair opportunity of declaring his policy, and to put a generous construction upon the measures of his administration.” This, of course, may be very satisfactory to the Tories, but whether Mr. Nicholson be still true to his political opinions and ‟hereditary feelings” or not, we are inclined to think that the promise is sufficiently vague and undefined to be easily kept or easily broken. It is not difficult, however, to understand why Petersfield, which has the reputation of being a thoroughly Liberal borough, is not disposed to assert its predilections in a more decided way. Probably the personal esteem in which Sir William Jolliffe was held enabled him to retain a a seat which could not, we believe, have been obtained by a Conservative who had no local influence to assist him in the attainment of that position. And Mr. Nicholson has also the advantage which residence in the neighbourhood gave to Sir William Jolliffe. Any ‟illustrious stranger,” however, would be sure to meet with defeat if he opposed Mr. Nicholson, more especially as Lord Hylton has, we believe, no inclination to sanction a contest. He would not, therefore, be very ready to throw the weight of his influence into the scale in favour of a stranger, and a contest would probably excite much angry feeling without affecting the result which appears to be inevitable.