Current:

Leader (1850-1860), 2nd July 1853, Edition 1 of 1, Page 632

Page 632
Page 8
8 of 24

On this page

  • Text (6)
  • Transcript

    • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      Untitled Article

      a marquisate or dukedom , and the Hon . Charles Henry Egerton has instituted a suit against the infant son to obtain possession of the estates . Lord Cranworth decided in his favour , and against that decision an appeal has been made to the House of Lords . The case has excited great fnterest ^ and it has been argued , on both sides with great ability . On the part of Lord Alford it was contended that the judgment of the court below treated the proviso in the will referring to the acquisition of the title of Duke or Marquis of Bridgewater as a condition precedent , without the performance of which the estates could not vest ; whereas , in fact , the proviso was not a condition precedent , but a condition subsequent , and

      if so it was illegal and void , and the estates having vested by the tisunl course of law upon such limitations as were contained in the will , could not be diverted by the non-performance of a condition subsequent . It was also urged that the proviso in question was against public policy and void , because it held out an inducement to endeavour to obtain adignity by resorting to corrupt means ; and because the exercise by the sovereign of the prerogative of conferring dignities and the duties of the advisers of the crown in reference thereto were public trusts , and the provisoes would tend to embarrass the sovereign and her advisers in the performance of such trusts . That such provisoes tended unduly to influence Earl Brownlow , and Lord Alford when he should become Earl Brownlow , in the discharge of their

      duties as peers of the realm ; and those objections arose because it Avas not in the power of Lord Alford to comply with the proviso by his own act , for he could not create himself Duke or Marquis of Bridgewater , and therefore it came within those conditions which the law declared to be void by reason of the impossibility of performing them . The provisoes also involved restrictions as to the acceptance of dignities which it was contrary to law to attempt to impose . Great stress was laid upon the objectionable nature of a proviso which had a tendency to cause the person interested to use the large property left him for the purpose of

      corruption , in order to obtain the title required , and might cause an undue subserviency in the possessor , who might be a member of another house of parliament , to any ministry of the day in whose power it was to obtain the desired titles ; while it also assumed that the Sovereign and her advisers might be influenced by other motives than those of personal worth and service to the state in bestowing those honours and dignities which it was th . e especial province the Sovereign to award of its mere grace and favour to distinguished public services . On every ground of public policy such u proviso would be , and ought to bo void and illegal .

      On the other hand , it was argued that the proviso in question was not contrary to law , but perfectly valid ; and that because the crown could not and cannot do wrong , and might , had it so thought fir , have conferred the title of Duke or Marquia of Bridgewater on tho late Lord Alford , but not having thought fi t to do so , the result , according to the plain terms used by the testator , and in tho events which had happened , was the name as if Lord Alford had died without issue male , and that

      Under tho will of tho testator no one estate or interest whatever hud ever yet become vented in the appellant . Tho case is not \ et decided .

      Untitled Article

      A DINNER-PARTY OF LAWYERS . Thk Law Amendment Society dined at Greenwich on Wednesday . There was a great master of "E n ^ l ' mli men of law , and nn American judge , Mr . Justice Parker , one of tho judges of the Supreme Court of Xew York , wau present and warmly welcomed . In returning thanks for his health being drunk , he , stated the reformed judicature of Now York : " For a legal as well as nn equitable claim , all that is required is a plain statement of the facts of tho case . Thin tlio defendant answers , and Uuib , without any unnecessary

      pleadings , an issue ih rained in the moHt direct , convenient , and common sonHo manner . The parties then bring forward their witnesses , tho evidence is submitted to a jury , or decided by a tsinglo judge , at tho option of the parties , and Huita winch , under tho old system , would have taken not montliH hut years —( to Hay nothing of the delays , tho HlonpleHH nighty ' tho hopos doforrod , and anxieties which had boon ho forcibly described by the popular novelist in tho case of " . Tamdyce v . . 1 arndyeo" )—those mats , equitable as well aa legal , are now mitisfactorily nettled , Moiuctmtos in a fow hours . "

      . Lord Brougham advised strongly tho appointment of a Mini . stor of Justice , rotinonuiblo to Parliament mid tho public for tho superintendence of tho legiHlution of tho country . " I recently looked over tho speech which I delivered in 1829 . That speech contains nearly sixty different mattorH of law reform , and in tho intorval which has since elapsed , more than fifty of them havo boon dealt with in uoino shapo or otW by Parliament . There are other important topics to which I wish to direct your ntlontion , but I do not wish to miBH Uvo train , or to got into tho wrong train , and perhaps have my bonoa crushed tor the benefit of auifcring agricultural * , ( Loud laughter . ) I will , therefore , in

      conclusion , invite you to drink in solemn silence the memory of three of the greatest law reformers that this or any other country has ever produced . First , Sir Samuel BorniUy , in whose papers , not long ago published , will be seen the great , sweeping , and necesary amendments which he proposed , many of which have since been carried by other hands ; next , Sir Ja , mes Mackintosh , an able ' arid consistent law reformer , who , hvreference to the criminal law effected many of-those changes which were so dear to the heart of

      Sir Samuel Eomilly 5 and , lastly , Mr . Bentham , the greatest of all law reformers—the very father and ' author of all modern law reform . We know that " a generation arose which knew not Joseph "—and it was a disgrace to this country that a generation had arisen which knew not Bentham . I differ , as everybody must , from many of the reforms proposed by that most eminent individual , but I have no hesitation in repeating that ho was the very father an'l author of all modern law reform . " ¦

      After dashing off this , the last of several speeches during the evening , his lively lordship left the party and reached town in safety , no railway accident haying occurred on Wednesday-evening on the Greenwich line .

      Untitled Article

      A RUSSIAN ARTISTS WIDOW . A « USE has been mentioned in some of the papers which appears to us to cast a serious reflection on the representatives of a foreign nation ih this country . At the exhibition of Continental pictures in Lichfield House , in 1851 , attention was attracted by a picture of St . John preaching in the wilderness—a work with a good deal of imagination and fire . It was painted by M . Haberzettel , a Russian artist , at Rome . While there it gained the notice of the Pope , who offered a considerable sum of money for it ; but the painter thought that he ought to reserve it for his own sovereign . He went with it to St . Petersburg , but he had been preceded by stories representing his loyalty as only a mercenary desire to make a market of the Em peror , and when Nicholas saw the picture he passed it with _' . a sneer . M . Haberzettel came to England with some money in his pocket , and while that lasted he was not unrecognised even by his countrymen . It melted away , however , and at last he was reduced to great poverty . He ^ continued working at his art , and he was engaged in preparing a lithograph of his la . rge picture , the drawing itself being highly finished and of considerable size . He worked steadily until at last excessive poverty benumbed his energies . He obtained a small advance—10 Z . —on the strength of this drawing , and this piece of modest good luck seemed to prove fatal . He returned home to his wife , lay down to repose for a few moments , uttered an exclamation- — aud was a corpse !

      And thus his widow finds herself alone ; no longer young , and now aged and enfeebled by this calamity . Her bereavement , her absolute destitution , are known in that mansion where all of her husband's country might expect to find some reasonable succour as a mat . tor of course ; of course her condition was known to other Russians ; but with one exception , we believe , her modest claims for help in an alien land liave received no response . Her sole aid luts come from a

      brother artist , not a Russian , whose generouis heart puts a larger construction upon bi » datie * than M . Habcrzettel ' s own countrymen appear to recognise Evidently a modicum of help for thfc poor Ia 4 y would in itself bring more , could she but be enabled Uj procure professional aid in putting Wm lajst UmiAunt to her husband's drawing , and So fitting it l traui « fr » I

      Untitled Article

      WORKMEN AND WAfiKti . I n Barii « U-v , the weavers , after a very abort " ulr ' ilut , " Iwvv Bucewded in obtaining an advance . The H \ ve ] iny aAYwn , the Kinsley ooW ' iern { ' 2 / 1 . per loa / 1 ) , th « Hhefncld nfjoerrjak / r /* ( except in a few nlop-ishor / ts ) , the painter * < jfti } u : tiU : bi , and the cabinct-niakcm of > ewca « tle-on-Tyn « ( I * , per weak ) , have n \ &i succeeded in advancing their wages . ( We ntuu > the amount of advance wherever we hare tho information , but th ( 5 vague manner of provincial reports prevent * « uch statistics in many ca » e « . ) Btrikew in preparation still appear for record . Tho VorlcHhire miners complain that while coal himlatel y risen H )< 1 . per ton , their wages have remained unimproved . In Uramly , 200 fihoRmakcrH liavo " struck . " Tho Kidderminster carpet-weavers demand a penny per yard advance on Hrtissols carpets ; tho masters concede weekl y payments and a limit of twelve hours dail y work , but refuse the rise in wages . Seven liundred of the men havo struck . At the Kingswood colliorioH , near Bristol , tho inon have struck in resistanco < o a proposed reduction of wages . Tlio agricultural labourers round Ipswich ask an advance from l )« w per week to 2 $ . per day , and have boon taking counsel together in a quiot ' and propor way . [ Tho Liverpool lettercarriers most reasonably domand that , instead of being allowed to bog Ohrintmas boxes , thoy bo paid fair wagos . j In somo places tho working mon demand amelioration ' s in tho munnor of their industry and payment , and show signs of a bettor spirit , of organization . In Glasgow , tlio nhoi'inalwors objoct to tho present custom of lounging about tlio employer ' s shop for work , and to tho disrespectful do . moanour of the shopkeepers towards thorn . The handloom weavers of the oanae place advise a regular corre » pond < mce

      between all the wearers of the district , for the protection of their own and their masters' interest . . 3 ^ Southampton ; the demand of the painters is regular and respectably ; the mayor has granted them the town » hall , and theis meetings are well organized . . . , Tho general facts indicative of the condition ^ of the operatives are for the most part very gratifying . In GIas- > gow , the workers in several factories have been taking holiday excursions , the'employers kindly and wisely according the-leisure , and paying the expenses of the men . In Birmingham , in all the Midlanddistricts , and in Sheffield especially , the general hardware trade is very active . " It is counted an absolute favour to obtain the completion of an order within a few weeks after it is prbmised . " The Nottingham builders have advertised for hands

      " nearly all over the kingdom , " and cannot get them . In the north of Ireland , the rise in wages has been managed in a most creditable way—without " strikes , " the men have concessions from willing employers . The demand for weavers is still active . ( We notice some errors on the part of the operatives . In G-lpssop Dale they persist in processions , against the caution of the magistrates . Thia is wrong . The same movers publish very absurd and inflammatory placards . ) In the Marylebane workhousethere is only one able-bodied pauper , and a short time since the surveyor complained to the parochial authorities that he could not procure in the stone yard a sufficient number of men to perform the parish , work , such as repairing the

      streets , roads , &c . The material prosperity thus evidenced opensthe way for the promotion of other good things indicated in the following facts > A school of design is being built at Wolverhampton . Woolwich is to be thorougbly sewered at a cost of 8000 ? . The children in the Leeds Industrial School have been just reported as " clean , orderly , and in good health . " " Drawing" has been instituted as a permanent portion of the instruction at the Leeds Mechanics' Institution . The Hallamshire MechanicsMnstitution is increasing in number of students , and has organized pleasure trips for its members . Irish pauperism ia so rapidly on the decrease that in next October the number receiving relief is expected to be but 80 , 000 against 160 , 000 at the beginning of the year .

      Untitled Article

      PERJURY . THiTlate electoral corruption brought forth its natural fruit in perjury . Stephen Mount testified before the Chatham Committee that , he overheard Sir Frederick Smith and Bradshaw , an ofd voter , making a corrupt bargain— -Sir Frederick promising to get Bradshaw , into Greenwich ; Hospital , if Bradshaw would give Sir Frederick his vote . Mount also swore that he saw Sir Frederick Smith giving Bradshaw money . Sir Frederick and Bradshaw having denied this , the House of Commons ordered Mount to be prosecuted for perjury . In defending the prisoner , Mr . James put the case on the right footing . " If the House of Commons are sincere in their desire to put down bribery , it is not this poor labourer who ought to be made a

      defendant . The two persons who are the accusers on this occasion , ought to bo the accused ; and the jury instead of inquiring into the misdoings of Stephen Mount , ought rather to bo considering those of Sir F . Smith and Mr . Bradshaw ; the Attorney-General would bo better employed in prosecuting" these persons for bribery , than the poor man seated below him for perjury . Beyond all question Bradshaw was bribed . Upon his own statement , so anxious was he to barter hi » vote for a place , that he went to Admiral Stirling with , bis vote . On the othor hand , no motive whatever i » imputed to Mount for imagining tho statement which he made to the committee . Ho was no partisan — -had not aveu a vote , " But Mount whs convicted and tKmteu&jd Ut wx month * imprisonment .

      ' A twjr < t * s # rfou « punishment has been awarded to MaxUtrn , wmvUAaA of perjury before the Southampton *? V 4 iw wwwjttw . He stated that Mr . Andrews , yitiyt t t / f tU / uDt&mytou , hud promised a man named OaJJJy , Witt , ltli would vote for Sir Alexander Cock-\ tunt , ltd ¥ < mi \ t \ \ om nothing by it . Tho falsehood of titi » ha * \ h-asu [ rrovml , ami M astern has been sentenced tv iinprfoontnt'iit for two years .

      Untitled Article

      "SERVED HIM RIGHT . " Tun Edinburgh Guardian tolls a good story of a" Curious Impertinent , " and the bare justico promptly awarded ;—" A pretty village on tho neighbouring const , froquentod by summer visitors , was lately tho scene of rather an amusing incident . Taking advantage of a lovely mimmor day , two young ladies betook themselves to a sheltered spot a little way up tho coast , whore they hoped to indulge in an unmolested bathe . After tho uhuh ! preliminary proceedings , they had just accomplished tho first fowdips , when , to their consternation and disgust , thoy observed a young gentleman of an inquiring turn of mind seated on a noighbounng rock , and intoiiHely enjoying tho ncono . Tho impertinence wan aggravated by tho fact that , a powerful opcrag ass was mado the instrument of a moro minuto inspection , ol their aquatic evolutions . Tho blushing but indignant maidens romainod in tho water as long us was consistent ; with comfort and security , in tho hopo that tlio stranger would withdraw and leave thorn to , ut least , thoir necessary toilot , when , to thoir horror , ho was observed to doHcond calmly from his elevation , divost himuolf of bin apparol , and proceed to bathe in close proximity . But hehad strangely miscalculated tho results , for tho spirit of tho maidens was at Jast aroused , and they nocrotly determined on a bold revengo . With an appearance of insulted modeBfry they timidl y withdrew from tho men , and , con .

      Untitled Article

      a 9 e , THE LEADE& [ SiTfatPAr ;

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), July 2, 1853, page 632, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1993/page/8/