Widnes Examiner. — 1893-10-07 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

JOHN- HAR WOOD is not qualified or conditioned in any way. It is well known that not a few predictions as to thecourso of events on the Canal have been falsified in one way or another, and,of course,it may be so in regard to this latest attempt to forestall the future. But on the other hand, it can hardly be doubted that the' Directors, warned by previous miscarriages and aware as they are of the extreme inconvenience which might be caused by a premature announcement, have allowed an ample margin for ' such unexpected delays as may occur. The opinions which are held as to the advanced state of the Canal are, as far as this locality is concerned, supported by a report which we give this week of the work in the neighbourhood of Warrington. Owing to the miles of railway embankments that were to be erected, and the numerous bridges that were to be built, the section of the Canal in this district was one of the most complicated and expensive throughout the whole I length-. Yet we now find that this extensive programme of engineering works is rapidly approaching completion, so far at all events as it is necessary to complete it before vessels ca lt venture to pass along. What remains to be done, will, to all appearances, be easily compassed by the end of the year. While upon the subject it may fairly be asked, what about the Warrington docks ? When the canal in its present form was I projected, and for a considerable time afterwards; ' glowing accounts were given of these docks and of the benefits they would confer upon the town. 'Their dimensions were calculated to a foot, and,. we all knew the number of sea-going vessels they would accommodate. That was about the time the first sod of the canal was cut ; in three months time the Canal will be open, and, yet, where are the docks ? Is Warrington again to be " left" The prospect, so far as it has been revealed, ismot one upon which those who are supposed to have the destinies of the town more immediately in their hands can be very heartily congratulated.  WARR/NM:ON has been quite proliChurch "Affair." fic of late of incidents which, in their way, should be of interest to political and social reformers. A few months ago the relations that obtained between one 0 the large local firms of brewers and their tenants, as revealed in a court of law, evoked some severe language from one of Her Majesty's judges. To say the least that case did not strengthen the cause of the brewers when they take up the favourite cry of "confiscation." There is now what is known as "The Church Affair at Orford," which, in its way, is equally instructive. As every one knows,. when anything is said about tha disestablishment of the Church, or the slightest suggestion is made of touching the fat endowments which are enjoyed by the more fortunate portion of the clergy,. there is at once an outcry of " robbery " and 'spoliation,' and some very uncomplimentary things are said of the would-be meddlers with no interests of the clergy. Yet this affair at Orford shows once again how little is the regard that is paid to the welfare of the humbler clergy by the. governing powers within the Church. From what has been made public we gather that the Rev. Mr. PHILLIPS was appointed to the chaplaincy of Orford about nine years ago, and from that time to, within tha last two or three weeks he has laboured I assiduously in the district. That he has gained the approbation and the esteem of what may be called the "rank and file" of the parishioners is proved by the testimonials of which he has been the recipient. It is just possible, of course, that he may not have met with equal favour in the eyes of one or two local " magnates," but then,are we not constantly told that the Established Church is pre-eminently the Church of the poor? Apart from some such explanation as this, there appears to be no reason for throwing a hardworking and deserving clergyman out of his living for the mere sake of a "re-arrangement," which, we believe, is not desired by the bulk of the residents in Orford, and which for any practical purpose might just as well have been made some years hence as at the present time. Churchmen can hardly complain, if, with such examples as these before them, ordinary people fail to see the enormity of interfering with the privileges of the bishops and the upper clergy.  SUICIDE C'F A Sr.