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Leader (1850-1860), 11th April 1857, Edition 2 of 2, Page 14, THE HTJDDERSFIELDELECTION. Mb. "Wilxans,...

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      New Special Men. The New Parliament Abou...

      Liberal . rejcoiits in the House of Commons . Hut .-as they come into action , there will be opportunities for a . complete analysis of the fresh element thai has been infused into the legislative body .

      » . . . , ¦ ¦ ¦ . ¦ _ 350 Jfh^ L~No. 368...

      » . . . , ¦ ¦ ¦ . ¦ _ 350 JFH ^ l ~ No . 368 , SAgranMir

      Legal Suppression Qf.Tpttchcratt. In How...

      LEGAL SUPPRESSION QF . TPtTCHCRATT . In how many ; English counties will the vrayfarer observe on the threshold of the eot'tagedooi a hor 3 e-shoe nailed ? "Who is ignorant of the use of that ornament to the entrance of Lome ? . B ' or some reason which scientific philosophy has not yet discovered , it prevents the entrance of a witch . Remove the horseshoe , and the witch may enter . It follows that there must be witches to enter the doors of those cottages ; and we believe that the number of counties in which the precaution maybe observed is fifty-six . Since there are "witches , it follows that persons must he bewitched . In a very interesting paper published by the Times , the witches are described as obtaining their influence by the most direct process . They believe in the existence of an eternal spirit of evil ; they believe that'he has the power of working death and destruction , and that he can lend Ins power to others who will pay the price for it ; and we aslc , what respectable person will boldly stand forward at the present day" and deny that the country people are correct in this plain account P

      There are two circumstances which , confirm the general belief . It is found that witches do not enter the doors which are fortified with horse-shoes ; and that is strong negative evidence . It is also found that persons are bewitched , for the instances are perfectly notorious in all English counties . No doubt evil-dispoaed persons may spuriously pretend to be witches , only for the purpose of making a trade ; and it is possible that some genuine witches may also make money by their vocation . We believe that to this day they will for a proper price sell a wind to a sea-captain ;

      and captains do sometimes lay in a stock of that commodity , just as the mythological voyager did : for a knowledge of these profound truths has been common to all ages of mankind . Nor is there anything in this sale of a wind very different from the sale of a caul , which the limes does not scruple sometimes to advertise , —tlie usual price being from one guinea to three or more . The genuine witch , however , worlcs her incantations for the honour and dignity of the thing , —for the love of mischief .

      In the village of Hoekham resides a person whose initials are J . B . ; and his wife has been afflicted by a witch . There was no doubt about the fact , lie proceeded to a magistrate in the neighbourhood , and asked for an order to have the witch " proved . " The magistrate was not versed in that branch of jurisprudence ; and he expressed some doubt as to the existence of witches . Mr . B . silenced him with

      the precedent of the witc . li of Endor , and informed him how a witch ia proved . She is " swum , " - —rthat is , she ia immersed in . water , and if eho floats she is a witch , if she sinks ehe is no witch ; and Mr . B . ' s object was , to have this scientific test applied in a perfectly lawful manner . The . magistrate , ' indeed , seemed to assume—and it ia an instance of the rash temper we sometimes find on tho

      bench—that JMr . J & . had not really identified tho criminal that poraecuted his wife ; but that again was a mistake . The accuser stated tho mode in which the criminal had been identitied . Following tho advice of a wiso woman , he had taken some old horBCshco nnils , together with parings of hia wile ' s toe-naik and of her linger-muls , nnd hairs from the " noddle" of her neck ; had put thorn into a bottle , and put tho bottle iu a

      vessel on the fire to boil ; and the tune while that compound was " boiling , and burning , and what not , " was the time to see the witch . His wife went to bed ; got out of bed , as was her custom , to take some magnesia or a little drink , looked out of window ; and there , "in the moonlight , at a most unseasonable hour , " slie saw a neighbour , Mrs . C , " standing in an . agony sort of state . " Mrs . C——

      is a woman so infirm . that she cannot leave her own house ; and her having come all that distance proves that she is in possession of supernatural powers for certain purposes ^ the effects of winch Mrs . B . felt only too practically . The husband did not ask to have the . culprit condemned without a hearing ; he wished a fair trial , and that was the object of his applying for a magistrate ' s order .

      The order was refused , > on the assumption that the man ' s statements were absurd ; and that refusal happened in a court of law , where a Chinaman would be allowed to break a saucer as a proof of his statements ! "We say nothing of other assertions which are received as a matter of course . Now Ave regret that the magistrate did not adopt an entirely different line of action , and grant the order . It would be a grand thing to have the trial of a , witch . Theprosecution of Tdnkicliit by GiLA . Bii 3 ; swoBTir , in Staffordshire , is no case in point : Tunniclief was not prosecuted as a wizard , but as an impostor wko pretended

      to be a wizard , for the purpose of getting money out of CnAELESwoKTH ' s pocket on " false pretences , " and he was punished as an impostor . But ifc would be very interesting to take the trial upon the direct issueto place Mrs . C—— - in the dock on the positive charge of having bewitched Mrs . B . The day has gone by when we are to assume either the truth or the falsehood of « % y statement , aad it would be useful for the public to bring forward all the evidence which could be adduced to establish a charge of witchcraft . It is all very w ell to talk of the belief in witches as " nonsense "—an indiscretion

      which the . magistrate committed , and he seems lather proud of it . That of course would materially clear the ground for the professional adviser of Mr . By , who is evidently a very moderate , sensible , and practical man . If the charge had i 3 roceeded , we should have had out the facts currently accepted in the neighbourhood ; and it would be interesting to have them explicitly stated in a court of law . Half of these absurdities , as " E ., " tho correspondent

      of the Times , presumptuously calls them , continue' because they are not brought out into the light of discussion . As Mr . B . said , genteel folks seldom hear much of these things . But if the facts were brought , by formal depositions , before a court of justice , we should encourage the country people in unfolding to us the full weight of their opinion and knowledge on tho subject ; . We could imagine nothing more useful as a mode of ascertaining the state of knowledge and tho mental condition of tho county

      interested . It might also assist in ascertaining tho mental condition , the state of opinion , and tho development of reasoning amongst even a superior class , if we wore to have the evidence on the othor side . Wo should draw out arguments of counsel upon the existence of witches , for example , the authorities which can bo produced to support tho statements on that subject , and tho wellauthenticated oxorcise of supernatural powers . We might regret if Mrs . 0 . Avcre condemned ; for wo must rcniombor that it is not a

      century smco persons were actually accused of witchcraft ; and it ia not very long since they were punished for Iho cxeroiso of the diabolical arts . Tho hiw , therefore , duos . furnish precedent , both for tho conviction

      and the punishment of witches . The accused lady , however , might have escaped . In case we can scarcely imagine an inquiry more conducive to an exposition of the inte llectu al state of the country in its most numerous classes ; and the progress of education m ^ t have benefited by the proceedings in cour t Whatever the result of the trial might have been , some of the collateral questions submitted to the jury would have been peculiarly edifying . We can imagine the conversation of the twelve intelligent men in the bar parlour for months , if not years after that forensic debate .

      The Htjddersfieldelection. Mb. "Wilxans,...

      THE HTJDDERSFIELDELECTION . Mb . "Wilxans , Chairman of Mr . Cobdek's Committee at Htiddersfield , has published in the Times a letter , contradicting a statement which appeared in the Leader last week . "We remarked that Sir Joiin Ramsden , a moderate Ministerialist , had recently become possessed of a preponderating influence in Huddersfield , which , during the late election had been exerted in favour of Mr . Akboyd ! Mr . " WinDA-Ttfs informs us that he has not heard of a single instance in which , during the contest between Mr . Cobden and Mr . Akroyd , the influence of the landlord had been exercised , even in the slightest degree . Sir John "Ramsdek , he adds , had instructed his agents to abstain altogether from interference in the election .

      We are glad to receive this statement from Mr . " WiiiXJlns . , But he misunderstood us . We imputed no unfair conduct to Sir John Uamsd-EN . We spoke only of "influence , " and we have heard from persons almost as likely to be well-informed as the Chairman of Mr Coeden ' s Committee , that influence was eserted . We do not add "by Sir John

      Raitsden himself , " whose bare denial would suffice to settle the question . He is the principal landlord in Huddersfield , we believe ; he is a Ministerialist ; he was opposed to Mr . Cobden on . the Chinese debate ; his opinions and those of Mr . Akroyd are in many respects , coincident ; Mr . Akboyd is returned by a Yorkshire borough in preference to Hicha-RD Cobdtsn . Would it not be

      natural to infer , therefore , even were no evidence in existence , that the principles of a politician who is almost the proprietor of that borough should have a considerable effect ; on the result of the election ? Of course Mr , Akroyd was much indebted to the skilful tactics of his own agents . The interference of Mr . Wii / lans , however , was altogether justified ; but Ms defence of Sir John Bamsden was gratuitous . "We

      desired to assert the independence of the borough ; we hinted no disparagement of Sir John Kavmsden . The young baronet is an example to his class ; he devotes his abilities to the highest objects ; ho is aiming at statesmanship and oratory ; we shall be disappointed if he do not attain to speedy political distinction . Nevertheless , we think that certain Huddersfield electors remembered Byram Hall when they voted for Mr . Akboyd .

      The Persian Expedition, And Its Chief. J...

      THE PERSIAN EXPEDITION , AND ITS CHIEF . John Chinaman and tho stately Persian are the moral xllpha and Omega of Orientalism . Iu a goographical sense , wo might find it necessary for " Persian" to read " Turk . " But his geographical position has , for several centuries , brought tho l atter into close contact with the natives of tho West ; and repeated collisions have had tho natural effect of abrading and dc-angularlaing in him the inoro salient peculiarities that mark the genuino Asiatic . Kot so with tlio Chinese

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), April 11, 1857, page 14, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_11041857/page/14/