Sympathy has rightly been expressed with the Man- chester Guardian,
as it is no part of the policy of that paper to conduct criminal investigations. It so happened that the murdered woman had belonged to Manchester, and a reporter was sent in the ordinary way to report on an affair likely to be of interest to Manchester people. What the reporter said certainly exceeded what was permissible, and it was printed by an error of judgment which is very rare in the Manchester Guardian. We must quote certain words from the Lord Chief Justice's judg- ment about criminal investigation by newspapers, as they are important and ought to be remembered :— " That practice is nearly becoming prevalent, and it is quite obvious that there are those who think that publications of this kind are not only legitimate but even commendable. In the hope that this day's proceedings will show that in the opinion of this Court that view is wrong, the Court has merely imposed a fine, but if the practice should be repeated the Court will not again be disposed to adopt that merciful alternative."
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