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148 THE LEADER. [No, 308, Saturday.
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THE LAWS OF PROPERTY AS THEY AFFECT WOME...
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To the Honourable the House of Commons, ...
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Transcript
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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.
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Imperial Parliament. Monday, February Il...
vided for the abolition of church rates except for the repair of the parish church as a national institution . The present bill proposed , with regard to the fol " ™ "J ; tion of parishes , to enlarge the powers of Sir Robert Peel's Act , by enabling tie Ecclesiastical Commissioners to form separate districts , whether there were churches or not in the district , so that they could assign districts to existing churches . The bill also proposed to extend the principle of vesting the patronage ot endowments in the hands of parties contributing towards the endowment . As the bill then stood , he intended that the patronage should be vested in any person who built a church and endowed it with not less than £ 40 a year , or who , not having contributed who
to the erection , gave an endowment of £ 150 , built a parsonage-house and gave an endowment ot £ 100 a year . He further proposed that when the patronage of extensive parishes having large incomes from tithes was vested in ecclesias ' ical corporations , sole or aggregate , this court should have power to divide them into districts and apportion the revenues . The further progress of the bill was opposed by Mr . Hadfield , who , speaking from a nonconformist point of view , objected to the enormous powers conferred on the Ecclesiastical Commissioners , to the measure taking power to apply crown lands , and to the extension of the system of pew-rents , which it was proposed to vest absolutely in the hands of the incumbents . He therefore moved to defer the second .
reading for six months . —Tie bill was supported by Sir Qjsoroe Grjey ( who thought that as Lord Blandford had consented to refer the details to a select committee , the measure should not be opposed ) , by Mr . trpDELi ., -Sir James Ferguson , Mr . Ajpsley PellatT ; , and Mr . Gladstone ; , with a few objections ; and , Mr-. TT / VDjgiELD having withdrawn his amendment , the bill was read a second time , and ordered to be referred to a select committee . POUCE ( COUNTIES AND BOBOUGHS ) BILIi . On the motion of Mr . Hadpield , backed by the recqmraendation of Mr . Henley , Sir Francis Baring , Mr . RoBE 3 l' PaimSir , and Sir Joshua Walbisley , the second reading of this bill was deferred for a fortnight . Thursday , February 1 ith . THE FERMOY PEERAGE .
In the House \ ot Lords , a discussion arose with respect to a point of law involved in the recent creation of an Irish peerage , the Barony of Fermoy ; tne iu & vl of Derby contending that the Government , in creatrng that peerage , had given a new interpretation , to the Act of Union , which provides that no Irish peer shall be created till three of those existing shall have become extinct . —Eaxl URANvir-Xi ! explained that the r > eerat » e had been
created -under the advice of the law officers of the Crown , and sarcastically remarked that there was | QtaiethiEig peculiar in the state of the elections of Irish peers , for , however well qualified a peer miglit be to sit in that House , he had no chance of obtainujg his seat unless he had the support of the Earl of i > erby .--A hint having been thrown out , that an advocate should be appointed to watch the case on feenalr ot the House , the subject dropped .
T > K T > UNSEAWORTHY VESSELS . -me jitarl of Ellenboeough presented a petition from seamen , compla ining of being compelled by law to serve m "uriaeaworthy vessels . The Earl crave several , instances of seamen being sent to prison as deserter , because they refused to sail , according to SS «! S *? BhX * , nown to be "" seaworthy . The petition also complained of the employment of a gieat number of foreigners , who are but imperfectly thSo « r ^ the English language , an ? wlu > are * wf » Uab A t 0 ^ taiwderetand orders . — Lord laidb 2 S , ° + 1 Al f i T Said that the case had been of whom t « ^^ fficers of the Crown > * * ™* protect on ( i \ * °£ " « lveady provides sufficient could a ? ^ P ° * difficulties would arise if seamen ihS + W y *" , leav <) a Bhipupou merely Baym 6 tuatttiey consider it unseaworthy .
£ AW REFORM . n £ i °° ^ £ # notico fchat on that day fort-? n !?" ldmove for leavo *<> hv ' ^ a bill to repeal certain statutes which , to use the language of Lord Bacon , arc , « Bleeping and not in uso , but snare * tor tjie unwary .
CHIME AN PROMOTIONS . Mr . La yaw gave notioe that he would propose his motion on tbi » subject that day fortnight , and make r W W ^ g Addition thereto : " That , this Howso has ? f £ KT ecl Wltl » regret those officere whoso conduct iu 2 ? yWSi ^ «« PWftmontB hne been shown by tho rtf + V ¦ ¦ S : * . ° c 1 wnnuflBionof Inquiry into tho supplies ¦ SiSr B 5 lfcl 8 h ^ my in tho Crimea to have occasioned S ^ ? ? . ^ ' ? sufferings and looses in that i " fi * » l naVo , I'etooived honours anrl Tflwnivlq nnA 1 ™™
WwWig &^ y ™ " - " ^ Wo ^ Wa . ' , fcfcfo' ATJSTOtA MAN HAXU 9 .
Australia and England ; half of the expense to be borne by the Australian colonies and half by this country . The vessels ane to call at King George's Sound , Melbourne , and Sydney , with a branch service to Adelaide , Van Diemen ' s Lar d , and New Zealand . BRITISH SHIP 3 IN RUSSIAN PORTS , Mr . Joseph Ewart inquired " whether it will be lawful to despatch British ships with cargoes to Russian ports during the armistice which is about to be concluded ; and , in that case , would articles contraband of war , & c , be exempt from such permission ?"—Lord Palmerston stated that he -would strongly recommend persons engaged in such bus iness to wait until the terms of the armistice are seen .
THE BRITISH FLEET ? IN THE CHINA SEAS . Sir Charles Wood , in answer to Mr . Henry Baxllie , stated that he did not think it desirable to lay upon the table the despatches of Admiral Stirling relative to the proceedings of the British fleet in the China seas . CONSOLIDATION Ol" THE STATUTE I * A"W . Sir Fitzroy Kelly asked leave to bring in two bills—one to consolidate the statute law relating to offences against the person ; and the other to consolidate the statute law relating to bills of exchange and promissory notes . These bills , it was proposed , should belong to a series , having for its object the consolidation of the entire statute law of England . He proposed , not to codify ( which he thought impracticable ) , but simply to consolidate , the statute-book . The 3 aw
is noyp comprised in about thirty-five or forty large folio volumes ; and judges and attorneys , who may wish to ascertain the written law on a given subject , must either rely on a text-book , or go through the Whole forty volumes , containing one thousand pages each , and , in all , about twenty thousand acts . Later enactments Over-ride earlier enactments ; and , the earlier acts being sometimes better known than the later , offenders have been condemned to punishments positively against the existing law . This monstrous condit ion of things had occupied the attention of lawyers from the time of Lord Bacon down to the existing Statute Law Commission , of which he had recently become a member , and which , acting on the suggestion of the Lord Chancellor , proposed to consolidate the statute law . That was the plan he had embodied in the two bills before the House . His
intention was , with the aid of the Comniissibners and of the House , to go through the whole statutes , beginning at Magna Charta or thereabouts ; and to ask the House to repeal eveiy law and section of a law relating to a particular subject , and to enact all the necessary provisions in a single act of Parliament —a process which would reduce the forty volumes of statute law to about a seventh or an eighth of their present bulk , and cut . down the twenty thousand acts to some two or three hundred His present intention was confined to England ; but , when the English law should be settled , he should be ready to assist in effecting a similar reform of the laws of Scotland and Ireland . By the close of next session .
the English statute law might be consolidated ; and the coat -would probably be from £ 50 to £ 100 for eaoh consolidated bill . With respect to new laws and-amendments of laws , Sit * Fitzroy thought same officer should be authorised by both Houses of Parliament to watch over and superintend such matters . —The motion waa seconded by Lord Stanley , who agreed with Sir Fitzroy Kelly iu thinking consolidation far better at the outset than codification , and who attributed the imperfect success of law reform to a want of popular interest in the subject . The Attorney-General gave Sir Fitzroy Kelly credit for his good intention ( though he did not know whether he was acting independently , or only as the
organ of the Statute Law Commission ); but , while entirely agreeing that the condition of our statute book in a scandal to- the Legislature , he did not approve of the plan' proposed , and believed that , instead of taking two years for completion , it would take two cexiiiuico . jSTpvoH > Uo 1 o »» , u more comprehensive plan was needed , A complete outline of the law of England should bo mapped out and subdivided under different heada , and the whole should be simultaneously dealt with . Ho would not , however , opposo the motion . —Sir Fitzhoy Kelly , in answer to the Attorney-General ' s observation , explained that he was not the organ of the Statute Law Oornmisaion . —Mr .
Stoart wortley , Mr . Baines , and Mr . M'Mahon supported the motion , — Mr . John Phillimore approved of codification iu profon-onco to consolidation . — Mr . Lookr King thought the plan proposed inefficient for the end in y iow . — Tho Solicitor - Qkniskal said tho BuggoeUona of the Statute Law CaiHiuiaeion had too groat a reference to laying down tho law in fragments , instead of founding it upon a i > hUosophical analysis of subjects , Ho saw no insuperable difficulty iu codifying the law . Sir Fithrox KcriLY liaving made a whort reply , loavo was given to bring iu tho bills , « u » well as a bill to conBolidato the atatuto lawa rolatiug to bills of exchange and . promissory notes .
Tiiia hush ju » aisa . Sir John Shelley moved for returns calculated to show the manner In which tho Irish Judges had
performed their duties . The object of his motion and of the speech with which he accompanied it was to show that three of those judges are incapacitated by the in firmities of age from performing their duties their ages being respectively eighty-two , eighty-four , and eighty-five . The oldest of the three ( Baion Pennefather ) ia labouring under partial blindness . Mr Kennedy having moved the om ission of words the effect of which was to make the return apply to all judges , Mr . Napier , with great warmth , defended the ludges , and denounced the motion , to whic h he said the Government was accessory . Judge Torrens was as fresh in the face as Lord Palmerston . Was age a crime ? Was the House prepared to follow up its
motion by an address to the Crown ? If so , let Lord Lyndhurst be asked to make the motion in the House of Lords . It could not be shown that in any case justice had failed on account of the alleged infirmities of the judges : the present attack , therefore , was moat cruel . —Sir George Gr : ey repudiated the insinuation of Mr . Napier , that the government had entered into a compact with Sir Johm Shelley . The infirmities of the judges , it appeared , bad been exaggerated , and they generally attended to their duties satisfactorily ; but he thought the motion should be agreed to . —Mr ! Disraeli spoke in favour of tlie judges ; attacked the Govern ment for its " sprritless and unworthy
course ; " and reminded the House that neither aye nor blindness necessarily incapacitate a judge for discharging his duties ., and that a blind man wrote the greatest poem of modern times , and a blind general captured Constantinople , ah achieviuent which tho Czar failed to accomplish . —Sir Frederick Thesiger expressed similar views with regard to tlie blindness of judges , in opposition to the Attokney-General , who held a different opinion . —The motion was opposed by Mr . Stuart Wortley ( who held , nevertheless , that blindness is a disqualification ) , by Mr . George , Sir Robert Ferguson , and Mr . Jojin PhijLLImore . —Mr . Henry Bru « e spoke in favour of
the motion ; and Lord Palmerston indignantly repelled the imputation made by Mr . 2 ^ aj > iei " against the Government . While agreeing with tbc Attorney-General that blindness incapacitates a jn ^ ge , and while recommending the withdrawal of the motion , as more respecful towards the ve »< srable persons in question , the Premier said tb »* , if pressed to a division , he must support it - -Sir John Shelley briefly replied , and tip House divided on Mr . Kennedy ' s amendment , which "was negatived by 134 to 120 . The division on the motion itself showed : — Fox * . 132 ; against , 121 , Majority in favour , 11 .
148 The Leader. [No, 308, Saturday.
148 THE LEADER . [ No , 308 , Saturday .
The Laws Of Property As They Affect Wome...
THE LAWS OF PROPERTY AS THEY AFFECT WOMEN " . A Petition for which , the Signatures of Woincn are requested . Sheets of this Petition we lying for Sir / nature at Messrs Chapman and Hall , 193 , Piccadilly ; Messrs . frtiith and Elder , 65 , Comhill ; Mudie'n Library , New Oxford-street ; Messrs . W . and E . Cash , PuUukcrs , JBishopgate-street , and Mr . G . Fo . vs , Paternoster-row .
To The Honourable The House Of Commons, ...
To the Honourable the House of Commons , in Parliament assembled , The Petition of the Undersigned Women of Gh'eat Britain , Married and Single ,
Humbly Sheweth , —That the manifold evils occasioned by the present law , by which the property and earnings of the wife are thrown into tho abs olute power of the husband , become daily more apparent . That the sufferings thereupon ensuing , extend over all classes of Booiety . That it might ouco have ieen deemed for the middle and upper rauka a comparatively theoretical question , but is so no longer , amcu married women of education nro entering on every side the fields of literature and art , in ordor to incronso the family income by such exertions . in theso
Tiint it is usual when a daughter marries ranks , to naako , if possible bouio distinct poouni . 'C provision for her and her children , and to secure tu | money thus set asido by a cumbrous machinery < t Trusteeship , proving that few pareutB are willijv , entirely to entrust tho welfare of thoir offspring to tho irresponsible power of tho husband , to tho cluuicw ot hia cliaraotor , hi « wisdom , find his success in iv profession . That another device for the protection of womon , who can afford to appeal , exists iu tho action of tno Courts of Equity , which attempt within oortiim m » u ? tini
to rodrees the deficiencies of tho Law ; but » truBteos may provo diahonest or unwise in tho iniuiagomont of the funds entrusted to thoir oaio , nuu Courts of Equity may fail au adjusting difforwwoB which concern tho most iutimato and delicate relation of lifo ;— -that legal dovicoB , patched upon a law which in radically -unjust , oivn only work oluiwB » iy » ami that here , as in many othor dopartinunw « n justice , a oloaranoo of tho ground ia tho chiui Unnfe necessary . That , uiuco this i » ft truth , which luw gradually oomo to be rooognlBed in * og » nl io F " tootivo roatriotionfl upon trudo , to titles ol F'M ' ' }^ in land , and to tho legal machinery for convoying Buoh property fromv ono owner to another , & o ., ««
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 16, 1856, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_16021856/page/4/
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