Widnes Examiner. — 1898-12-02 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

CAPITAL " CHAT.  Quite a sensation has been canted by the statement in Sir Edward Bradford's report as Commisstoner of Police, to which I called attention the other day,that the murderer of Miss Camp is krtown to the authorities. Miss Camp, it may be remembered, was found dead in one of the railway carriages of a London and South-Western train. Her body was taken to a hospital, where is was a est.tamed on examination that death had been caused by violence. a hen, and no till then, according to Sir. R Bradford,was information sent to the police. Meanwhile the murde.er bad beer% seen drinking in a pablic-house, but owing to the delay in apprising the auth ()reties of the crime the latter missed an opportunity of taking him " red-handed," and were afterwards unable to obtain sufficient evidence to justify his arrest. One remarkable feature of this story is the cool matter-of-fact certainty with which the Commissioner of Police identities a particular man as the murderer. Another feature scarcely less significant is the reproach levelled at the officials both of the railway company and the hospital. The q,qleral manag-r of the railway company says he in: ervis to treat the insinuation with contempt. Neverih-!'es4,it is evident that the matter can scarcely be allowed to rest there. A deputation from Montrose has, I hear, had an interview with the representitive of the burghs, Mr. John Morley, at his town house, on the subject of his recent letter and his future relationship with the constituency. Arrangements have been made that Mr. Morley shall address two meetings of his constituents, one at Brechin and the other at Montrose, in the middle of January. mr. Morley has no intention of reigning his seat, although he has place,. himspif in the bands of his friends and will take their opinion es to whether bis literary work for th- n-xt three years ought to entail his temporary ret.ire-m,nt from Parliament. That his constituents will dismiss this view from Consideration and give him a free hand is a certainty. There is no foundation whatever for the report. which, by the way, seems to crop up pretty regularly at this se/von of the year. that Sir Reginald Palgrave is about to relinquish the post which he has held since 1886 of Clerk to the House of Commons. Although he has been a good deal disturbed lately by a dome-tic lornamvement, Sir R-ginald is in excel!ent health tor a man on the verge of seventy.and his energy is apparently ineiOauetible. Having devoted the be-t years of his life to the study of Parliamentary practice and Parliamentary traditions, he frankly confee,es that he would feel like a fish oat of water if he turned his beck upon the House of Commons altogether. When Parliament is not sitting his main occupations are keeping Lord Farnborough's monumental text book up to date and making archreological research for the purpose of throwing light upon doubtful incidents in political history. Having loe.ated the precise situation of the old Star Chamber, he is now busy endeavouring to settle a c ireroverted point connected with the execution of aeries I. I hear that the War Woe authorities are rigorously enforcing their right to prohibit the intrusion of artists or photographers in the neighbourhood of oor military fortifications. Their extreme circumspection is illustrated by an incident that has just come to my'knowledge. One of the pictorial magazines bad commtosiened a Volunteer officer to write a discreet article on "Home Defences," which it was proposed to publish with an embellishment of photogiaphic views. The pintwee, of course, were to be of a general character, dealing chiefly. with the exteriors of picturesque buildings and subjects of that kind. The War Office heard the proposal with great disfavour, and on permission to take the photographs being applied for, the request was curtly refused. lam informed that the detention of strangers of doubtful appearance has been an unusually frequent occurrence of late in the neighbourhood of military works. A curkue instance of the present unsettled state of opinion in the Church has just occurred in connection with St. Paul's Cathedral, which, within the last week or two, has been presented with a