Two by-elections have been held since our last issue. The
result of the polling in the Stalybridge division was de- clared shortly before 10 p.m. on Saturday last, the figures being: Mr. J. F. Cheetham (L.), 4,029; Mr. Travis-Clegg (C.), 3,078. Compared with the figures at the election in 1900, the Liberal vote has been increased by 789, while the Conservative vote has been diminished by 243, and a Conservative majority of 81 is replaced by a Liberal majority of 951. It is true that Mr. Cheetham was a very strong local candidate, but Mr. Travis-Clegg, who stood as a Free-trade Retaliator, contrived to secure Mr. Balfour's blessing as well as the support of the Tariff Reform League. And yet, in spite of the fact that Stalybridge had for twenty years consistently returned a Conservative, he was handsomely beaten. We have never exaggerated the importance of by-elections, but the signifi- cance of this contest cannot be overlooked. Lancashire has evidently no use for political candidates who (as was said of Mr. Balfour) "pronounce themselves vegetarians, but with a strong partiality for mutton chops." The result of the elec- tion in the Mile End division, announced on Thursday night, is hardly less disastrous to the Protectionist cause. Mr. Harry Lawson, the Protectionist candidate, contrived, it is true, to hold the seat for the Unionists, but the Conservative majority of 1,160 in 1900 sank to the narrow margin of 78, his opponent, Mr. Straus, polling 2,060 votes, to Mr. Lawson's 2,138. The election was largely fought on the alien question, but as the number of alien voters in Mile End is negligible, the result can fairly be claimed as a virtual triumph for Free- trade.
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