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Leader (1850-1860), 28th March 1857, Edition 2 of 2, Page 2, POLICE SERMONS ON THE MARRIAGE LAW. WmLE...

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      ¦ ¦ • ¦ . ¦ ¦ • ¦. ¦ ¦ ' ——-?—— ¦ . ¦" ¦...

      citizens of the United Stales . They arc foreigners , therefore . There have been formerly foreigners in tlie Union , who -were not citizens of tlie United States , —they were the German " rcdemptioners /' who were sold before their own . faces without Icnowiug it , "because they could not speak the language . Tliere is a difference between those men and the Negro , in the fact that theNegroes can speak the language , and that they are already marked by their colour with a peculiar badge . Thus tfoey better know thei * ' position ; and can les * escape it . And the decision of the Supreme Court , which

      deprives them of any counteractive to the power of their owners , calls forth new dangers in the slavery question . Contemporaneously with this event , also , is the seizure and fining of two Negroes— -British subjects—for being at large in Norfolk , Tirgiiiia , without authoritative leave . We do not at all anticipate that that last incident will give rise to difficulties . A similar case took place at Charleston ; and while this country suspended action upon rt at the instance of the Federal Government , the State Government , we believe , ultimately took up the subject , and placed it on a better footing .

      The reception given by the New York' Chamber of Commerce to Lord Napier shows how anxious the Americans are to maintain a real understanding with the people of this country . But all these circumstances prove libw important it is to lave at the head of our own affairs a -Minister that accords with the opinions and interests of this constitutional and commercial country , and acts in a manner thai ; we can . all comprehend .

      To turn from the West to the Easternmost part of Europe , we have a very cuiious occurrence—the issue of a notification by the Turkish Government of conditions on / which European foreigners shall lie allowed to colonize the provinces of tlie Ottoman Empire , more especially Roumelia . The conditions are advantageous . The emigrant will require a capital of nearly 60 / . ; but . with that lie will have many of the advantages of a new country with the opportunity of an . old . What a seed to sow in that Mussulman-Christian Empire !

      The interruption of diplomatic relations between Austria svnd Sardinia raises the question how we stand with reference to those two States . The letter of the French Eiwoy at TcLome to Count Walewski , whether of old or new date , throws light npon tlie subj cct . We seem to be implicated in some arrangements ot managements in Europe not very consistent with straightforwardness , with the progress of constitiitional government , or with English interests .

      A new idea— " the Scandinavian Idea , "—has attained sufficient proportions to ahum the Danish Government . It is a project for uniting all the sections of the Scandinavian race under one monarchy . And Jlierc again something is going forward to alter the relations of the Baltic States "with each other , if not their internal institutions . Meanwhile , the two sections of the Bourbon family—Valois and Orxkans—have split again , to the exjn-ess regret of Henry V . They cannot agree , it its said , about the flag- which they will use

      • when they get sub the monarchy again . We may laugh at the follies of foreign nations , "but they might tell us to look at home . Hero we find a miserable becv-shop keeper in Staffordshire penally condemned for obtaining mouey under false pretences—the man having screwed thirty pounds out of a farmer on the pretence that lie would euro tlxe man ' s family and ilocka of witchcraft . Witches abound in Staffordshire and Warwickshire ; thero wcro several in court at the trial . Thus wo see tliat ^ persons whose property gives them right to the tranchiac ri

      a , —a ght denied to men that eould turn such superstitions inside out . —are amongst the easiest dupes of the witches . Nor is tho joke limited to humble * men or mere rustics and fanners . Hero is tho Judicial Committee of the Privy Council sitting in crave ' judgment upon tho question , whether or not thero sludi bo cancllcstioka and crosses in certain churches , laco or frhiee upon tho droppry of those churches : both sides attaching the gravest importance either to tho presence of % lfjce ^ of to its Protestant prohibitjtQn

      and the Privy Council is invoked to decide that questioa-of buttons . The fun becomes tragic when we see the rising importance of the IFraud interest . It is becoming quite powerful , and even where fraud has not established itself , commerce is acquiring the new aspect very extensively . This week we have had exposures of the London and Eastern Bank , which carried on banking transactions with India , and had a paid-up capital of 250 , 000 / .. In three years since its establishment it has lent to its own Directors

      and Majwiger 290 , 0004 Then there is theJLondou and Bfcrss Bank , w & ese barking operations appear to Iiavc been limited to a preliminary expenditure of 14 , 422 / ., and there the shareholders stop—and very prudent are they too . Sometimes shareholders go on to make dividends j . a very hazardous process in "these days . Then there is the Australian Agricultural Company , with apaid-up capitalof 380 , 000 / . and 700 , 000 acres of valuable land , yet , without

      immediate resources—the shareholders suddenly discovering the activity with which they have collectively distanced the constable . Then there is-the North of Europe Steam Company , with a capital of 500 000 £ , declaring a dividend of 8 per cent , on a realized loss of 50 , 000 / . ; the proceedings having been duly certified by an eminent accountant , and the Managing Directors having expatiated on the nourishing condition of the enterprise .

      The Board of Trade returns show an immense increase of our exports on the first two months of the present year ; although tlie exports last year were unprecedented in the aggregate . The wealth of the country , therefore , goes on increasing , and some persons we know are making enormous fortunes . There is a vast amount of disposable wealth , and it is thrown about so carelessly that gentlemen may get hold of it ,, even when they are in Whitecross-street , to set up Banks withal .- ¦ ] ? or it turns out , on the final examination of Mr . Esdaile , Governor of the Hoyal British Bank , that John Menzies , Esq ., was actually in Whitecross-street when the Bank was first commenced , and he was first appointed to the Secretaryship . And our readers will remember that Mr . Menzies was rather

      among the victims than the "victors . Yet the disclosures in the Court of Bankruptcy respecting that model bank continue with increasing interest , and the public is looking with great curiosity to the examination of Mr . Apsley Tjsi-latt . M . P .

      290 The Leader. [No. 366, Saturday

      290 THE LEADER . [ No . 366 , Saturday

      Police Sermons On The Marriage Law. Wmle...

      POLICE SERMONS ON THE MARRIAGE LAW . WmLE legislators potter and compromise on the great question of a reform of the existing laws affecting marriage and the position of women , and while the constituencies are in tho din of that contest which will probably end in an equal amount of pottering and compromising with respect to this and other questions , the police-courts from day to day furnish us with evidence of the necessity that exists for placing the relationship of husband and wife on some footing -which shall not leave the latter in the position of a mere slave to the brutal tyranny or fantastical caprice of the former . The Hon . JMix Drawley , 3 VI . P . for the Scilly Islands , may protest before high Heaven—and the House of Commonsthat , if the indissoluble bond of wedlock bo made dissoluble at any lower tariff than that now fixed by law , morality will straightway give up the ghost . The same worthy gentleman ' s undo , the Bishop , may assure the House of Peers that a grand convulsion of the universe has been expressly arranged for , if Parliament should attempt to put asunder those whom the parish priest hath joined—unless in accordance with the aforesaid highly respectable scale of prices , determined "by tho wisdom of our ancestors . In vain ! Mrs . Smith goes before the Westminster magistrate with a broken head , the complement of twenty years of ill-usage from her husband ; Mrs . Barney O'Shallaghan— -with one eye out and the other shut up—appeals to tho Clerkenwell dispenser of police law against the violenco of her lord and master ; and the M . P . and the Bishop are shattered to pieces by the rude , stern facts .

      A ease of more than usual portinence was heard at Worship-street towards tho close of lust week . John Sweeney is a working man ( not that working men are tho only persons guilty of theso outrages ) , and it would appear that he entertains objections to religion . He enforces his inflflA ^ y in much the sumo manner as that in wlii ^ Mpigious bigots enforce tlioiv faith—by physical violenco , and a prohibition of the right of discussing such matters . l ? or hi s wi # j was ono mprninjr talking religion , to her

      children , who w € re speaking of the end of the Z ^ M S yi ! * u talkl " °° d words to the "V' 'instated to tbeamgistrate ; and the daughter was ^ ing ehe put her trust in God , when the ' husland " who seems to put trust in nothing but his n « ' strong « n » , leaped off the bed on which hew » w smnotfhi . wife " for talking to the children " ^ struck her on th ^ top of the head , and knocked her down . He then kicked her all over the bodv * , i dragged her about by the hair of the head T > o ^? a boy between fourteen and fifteen , interfered VJli was tuwmn-across the room against the wall so tw Mb nose was ' broken . The daughter was aW £ . riousy injured ; and the .. frightened children " at length ' got the-aid . of-a policeman , who . came in tiirj .. o . save - life , and to hear the father threatening to " lump his son s inside out . " ° °

      Well , John Sweeney has got six . months * -hard labour in the House of Correction , and when S comes out he will have to find good bail for another term of like duration . But what then ? The time vi'l speedily arrive when John Sweeney will be at -liberty again to enforce his own . notions of religious freedom after his own fashion , because Mrs . Sweeney c-mnrt come -up to the price required for setthV \ sido Heaven's ordinances . And the Hon . Pdix Lrnvlev will again edify his Scilly constituents , and his uncle the Bishop will once more comfort the ¦ Hi > u « e ot Peers , by standing up for the sacred character of that compact whose only solvent is gold .

      The case is not unmatched , as our readers well know . A day or two after , a similar chi-r ^ e wa > heard at Clerkenwell , ending- in the same sentence " and other cases have been brought forward darir ^ the week . But mere -punishment ' will be simply nugatory while the Plonourables and the Bishops have it all their own way .

      The Knig-Htsbridge Church .Case. The Jud...

      THE KNIG-HTSBRIDGE CHURCH . CASE . The judgment of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on the appeals of Liddell v . Westerton , and Liddell v . BeaL , from the Court of Arches , was delivered last Saturday . The Lord Chancellor , Lord '¦ ¦ Wensleydale , the Chancellor of the Ducliy of Cornwall , Sir John Patteson , Sir W . H . Maule , the Archbishop of " Canterbury , and the Uishop of London , -were present . The judgment stated that their lordships have come to the conclusion that crosses , as distinguished , from crucifixes , have been in use , as ornaments of cliurclies , from the earliest periods of Christianity ; that ' when used as mere emblems of the Christian . faith , and not as objects of superstitious reverence , they may still lawfully

      be erected maTchitectural decorations of cUwrches - / that the w ooden cross erected , on the chancel screen of St . Barnabas is to be considered as a mere architectural ornament ; and that , as to this emblem , they must advise her Majesty to reverse the judgment complained of . Another question is , ¦ whether the stone structure at St . Barnabas is a communion table -within the meaning of the Canons and the Rubric ; and their JordsJiijis arc clearly of opinion that-it is not . With respect to the wooden cross attached to the communion table at St . Paul ' s , their lordships are clearly of opinion tluit It is not consistent either with the spirit or with the letter ol

      the regulations ; and they recommend that upon those points the decree complained of should be aflirmed . As to the credence tables , their lordships advise a . reversal of tho sentence complained of . Next , as to the embroidered clotlis , it is said that the Canon orders a covering of silk , or of some other proper material , but that it does not mention , and therefore by-Implication excludes , more than one covering . Their lordships arc unable to aflopt this construction . An order that a table shall always be covered with a cloth surely does not imply that it shall always be covered -with the same cloth , ov with a cloth of the same colour or texture . In this case

      their lordships do not seo any sufficient reason for interference , and they therefore advise the reversal of the sentence as to the cloths used for tlte covering of 1 he Lord ' a table during the time of divine service , both with respect to St . Paul ' s and to ' St . Barnabas . The laat question is with respect to tho embroidered linen and lace used on the communion table at the time of tho ministration of the Holy Communion . The Rubric and the Canons prescribe the use of a fair white linen cloth , and both tlie loanicil Judges in tlie Court below have been of opinion that embroidery and lace arc not consistent with the meaning of that expression having regard to the nature of the table upon which the cloth is to be used . Although tlieii

      lordships are not disposed in any enso to restrict within narrower limits than tho law has imposed the discretion which , within those limits , is justly allowed to congregations , tho directions of the Rubric must be complied with ; and , upon the whole , their lordships do nut dissent from tho construction of tho Rubric adopted by Hie present decree upon this point . They therefore advise her Majesty to afUrm it . As tho judgment hi those wises , have been materially altered , and such alterationsoiitflit to have bocn mado at tho hearing in tho Arches Court , 8 o much of the sentence of that Court on ciu-h Citse «¦¦ awards coats against tho appellants must b « reversed ; and in those proceedings , as well as in tho present nppoals , ench party must bear his own costs . As tho various points were disposed of , there ivas u slight attempt at applause ; but this was at once checked . i

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), March 28, 1857, page 2, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_28031857/page/2/