The contest in the Eccles Division of South-East Lanca- shire,
which is to be polled next Wednesday, will probably be a very close one. Mr. Roby, the Gladstonian candidate, is a man of great vigour, who has taken up the eight-hours cry for the miners ; while Mr. Egerton, the Conservative candidate, resists it. In 1885, the Conservative, Mr. Egerton, carried the Eccles Division by only 247 votes (out of nearly 9,000 votes given) ; and in 1886 he carried it by only 292 votes (out of a little over 8,000 votes given). But in neither election was the Gla.dstenian candidate so strong a candidate as Mr. Roby. On the other hand, the Conservatives have now found help amongst the miners themselves, who do not all of them like the prospect of a compulsory eight-hours day ; and then, again, the flight of Mr. Dillon and Mr. O'Brien from Ireland will not help their cause with the sturdy Lancashire electors. The result is very doubtful, but we do not despair of in- creasing the Unionist majority, instead of losing ground.
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