The Home Secretary Henry Matthews was due to be questioned about the conduct of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Charles Warren. Responding to the barrage of attacks in the press against his force Warren had written an article for Murray's Magazine entitled 'The Police of the Metropolis.'
On the 8th November 1888 it was reported in the press that:-
The Home Secretary's attention will be called to the article published in a monthly magazine over the signature of Sir Charles Warren. Mr. Matthews will be asked whether it is in accordance with the usage and discipline of the Civil Service that a salaried official should be permitted publicly to discuss matters relating to his department, and disparaging the conduct of ex-Ministers of the Crown.
Matthews had issued a Memorandum reprimanding his Police Commissioner. Warren immediately tendered his resignation. His timing could not have been worse for the next day, after an absence of almost 6 weeks, Jack the Ripper was about to strike again.
On the evening of 8th November 1888 a laundress by the name of Maria Harvey paid a visit to the room of her friend, Mary Kelly, at 13 Miller's Court.
At 7pm Mary's estranged lover Joseph Barnet arrived and Maria Harvey left the two to talk, leaving behind a black crepe bonnet, an overcoat, two dirty cotton shirts, a boys shirt, and a girls white petticoat.
According to Barnet's later police testimony he stayed with Mary for around an hour whereupon another woman arrived and he decided to leave. As he left he apologised to Mary Kelly for the fact that he "had had no work and was very sorry that he was unable to give her any money." Those were his last words to his lover.
The woman who arrived was probably Lizzie Albrook, a 20 year old girl who may have been working as a prostitues. She was good friends with Mary Kelly and statements she later gave to several journalist apparently provide a poignant glimpse of Mary Kelly’s state of mind on what would be the last night of her life.
According to Lizzie, one of the last things that her friend said to her was 'Whatever you do don't you do wrong and turn out as I have.' Mary went on to tell Lizzie that she was "heartily sick of the life she was leading and wished she had money enough to go back to Ireland where her people lived."
Lizzie claimed that she was convinced that Mary wouldn't have gone out that night if she had not needed to in order to "keep herself from starvation."
Evidently Mary Kelly had earned some money as she was seen later by one of her neighbours Mary Anne Cox who lived at 5 Miller's Court. Cox was returning to her room at around 11.45pm when she saw "Mary Jane" (the name by which she apparently knew Kelly) walking ahead of her.
She was accompanied by a man who was carrying a quart can of beer. As Mrs Cox turned into the Court Mary and the man were entering Kelly’s room. Mrs Cox called out “good night Mary Jane,” but Kelly, who was “very drunk,” could scarcely answer, although she did manage to say “good night.”
Within a few hours Mary Kelly would be dead and the London would once again be plunged into a state of terror by the return of jack the Ripper.
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