The Labour Party won a seat in the by-election at
Bothwell, a typical Lanarkshire mining constituency. Mr. Robertson, the Chairman of the Scottish Miners' Union, was returned by a majority of 7,168 over Mr. Moffat, a coal-owner, who was the Coalition Liberal candidate. Last December Mr. Robertson was defeated by the late Mr. D. H. McDonald, a Coalition Unionist, whose success, by a majority of 332 votes, was one of the greatest-surprises of the General Election in Scotland. Mr. Robertson on Tuesday construed his victory as a demand for nationalization of the mines and for better housing. That a mining population should ask for State ownership is • not our. prising, inasmuch as they have been led to believe that it would mean still-higher wages.and a still shorter -working-day for them. It is equally comprehensible to those who know Lanarkshire mining towns that there should be a demand for better housing. But we Must add that the lack of decent dwellings is in no small part due to the Scottish miner's traditional indifference to domestic amenities, and to his unwillingness to pay an economic rent for a new house.
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