ELECTORAL STATISTICS
According to the electoral returns presented to Parliament last year, the numbers hereafter qualified to vote in this county under the franchises just adopted by the House of Commons will be as follows:—
| Present Electors | Increase from Occupants at rateable value of £12, and under £50 | Total | |
| North Hants | 4,240 | 1,567 | 5,807 |
| South Hants | 5,813 | 2,172 | 7,985 |
| Isle of Wight | 2,505 | 896 | 3,401 |
There will be some further increase from the reduction of the copyhold franchise to £5, but probably not more than sufficient to balance the double entries and female occupants in the above returns. The total number of male occupiers in the boroughs at the date of those returns was as follows:—
| Andover | 935 |
| Christchurch | 1,081 |
| Lymington | 870 |
| Newport | 1,420 |
| Petersfield | 1,040 |
| Portsmouth | 15,234 |
| Southampton | 7,276 |
| Winchester | 1,845 |
These will be supplemented by the £10 lodger electors, and that will probably increase the gross total of electors in the larger towns some 10 per cent.; in the smaller, or, as they will hereafter be, the one-member boroughs, the increase will be less.