Sri Aurobindo
Karmayogin
Political Writings and Speeches — 1909-1910
Karmayogin: A Weekly Review
Saturday 29th January 1910 — No.30
Facts and Opinions
The Elections at the time of writing seem to point to the return of a Liberal Ministry dependent first on Labour, then on Irish votes for its very existence. At the end of last week after being long in a slight minority, the combined Liberal-Labour Party exceeded the Conservatives by 14, but the Liberal vote, apart from the Labour representatives, was still well behind the Unionist numbers. The vicissitudes of this crisis have been utterly unlike those of any previous election. Instead of an even ebb and flow such as we find on former occasions, well-distributed all over the country, we see the United Kingdom ranged into two adverse parties on a great revolutionary issue, according to geographical, almost racial distribution. Wales, Scotland and the North are for the new age, the Centre and the South for the past. In the Southern, Midland and Eastern counties the Unionists have achieved a tremendous victory and we think there is hardly a constituency in which the Liberal majority has not been either materially, often hugely reduced or turned into a minority.
In the North, even in Yorkshire, still more in Westmoreland, the Unionists have achieved a few victories, but the verdict of the North as a whole has gone heavily against the Lords and for the Liberals.
Wales is still overwhelmingly Radical in spite of one or two Conservative gains.
In Scotland the Liberal Party has been amazingly successful and increased its majorities in many places, maintained them in most and balanced occasional losses by compensating victories.
The Celt everywhere has declared for revolution, as was to be expected from that ardent, mobile and imaginative race; the frank, adventurous Scandinavian blood of the North may account for its progressive sympathies; but the rest of England is the home of the conservative, slow-natured Anglo-Saxon always distrustful of new adventures and daring innovations.
The struggle seems to us to have been not so much one of opinions as of blood and instinct.
It is notable that the 
Conservative victories have been attained not so much by the reduction and transference of the Liberal vote as by a rush of Conservative electors to the polls who did not vote in previous elections.
The unparalleled heaviness of the polling shows how deeply the people have been stirred and feel the magnitude and importance of the issues.
Later edition of this work: The Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo: Set in 37 volumes.- Volume 8.- Karmayogin: Political writings and speeches. 1909-1910.- Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1997.- 471 p.