The Potteries Examiner : — 1876-11-04 (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England)

MURDEE AND SUICIDE AT DIDEBURT.—A meloncholy affair—the murder of a child by the mother and the suicide of the latter—took place at Didsbnry on Saturday evening. A married woman named Hall. brook, the wife of a gardener residing in Albert-street. Withington, had been drinking rather heavily during the past week, and on Saturday morning it is said she quarrelled with her husband. The latter then went to transact some business in Manchester; and soon afterwards the deceased left her home with her two children. She was seen with them at Didshury in the afternoon, and left the elder child with a relative at Barlow Moor. About six in the evening a man named Boos, while walking along one side of the river Mersey at Didsbury, met the deceased, carrying heryoungest child, aged five years. She asked to be told the way to Northenden, and Ross gave her necessary directions. He then turned away; but hearing at the same moment a heavy splash is the water he looked round again, and found that the woman and her child had disappeared from the bank. He saw, however, by the fading light something floating in the river; and he at once ran into Didsbnry for isssistanee. Police-constable Denison, carrying grappling irons, promptly returned with him, and the river was dragged for three hours without any hotly being found. On Sunday morning, however, policeconstables Denison and Balfe obtained a boat, by means of which they carried the drags into the centre of the river, the result being that between eleven and twelve o'clock they found the bodies of both the mother and child within 200 yards of the place where Ross met them.  THE OPTIMISM OF THE Puntars.—The Archbishop of Canterbury has been delivering what may be described as a series of charges upon various aspects of Church questions. One is almost saved the necessity of remarking upon them in detail, in consequence of the uniform tone by which thcy have been pervaded. That tone is one of entire satisfaction with everything as it is. Does anybody want to know what the Archbishop thinks of Church affairs P He has only to look around him—survey the condition of the Church and all its re. lationships. As it is, so it should be. "Whatever is, is right." Whether the Archbishop believes in theological Perfectionism we do not know; but it is evident that he believes in ecclesiastical Perfectionism. There it is before our eyes—the Established Church! This is • condition of mind, but a dangerous one. It is as the contentment of a captain whose ship is running on the breakers ; or, as it has been described, it is the state of a man "up in a balloon." The Archbishop cries, "Peace, peace !" when there is no peace. He dwells on unity when there is nothing but division; he vaunts of progress when there is retrogression; he is satisfied when all other men see cause for nothing but dissatisfaction. The Archbishop must live in a world of his own, knowing, apparently, very little of what goes on outside of it. To such men as Archbishop Tait a day of awakening is always sure to come. It will be astonishing and painful; but we daresay that, with his mental constitution, he will even then bring himself to prophesying smooth things. Perhaps we may then be able to. agree with him. Agreement now would be founded in what would be little better than wilful igno. ranee or blindness.—The Liberator.