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Leader (1850-1860), 8th February 1851, Edition Town of 1, Page 121, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      negroes hare been imported into ifrscil during ifte ^ past year and that tine seandirtous traffic is stiir continued to a great extent . A wiy considerable portion of this trade is carried " on Mi American buut vessels , and under the proteotion of the "dag of the country . In spite of every effort made by the American Mtaist&r at Rio , the flag of the United States is still us # d by the illegal traders in human flesh . It has been found impossible to enforce the Brazilian statutes on the subject / the authorities charged with their execution , connivinat the trafficand

      almost without exception , g , silently acquiescing in the violation of the laws they bad sworn to support . Although many of the most enlightened ' statesmen of the empire consider the slave trade as hostile to the interests of the country , a greater number defend it as essential to the prosperity of Brazil , and even contend that the condition of the African is meliorated' when he becomes a Brazilian slave . Under these circumstances the influence of the American flag is scarcely felt , except in support of the slave dealer . The evil has become so serious as to demand the

      intervention of Congress . . " The correspondence on the subject with the American Minister to Brazil has been referred by the Senate to the Committee on Commerce . A resolution was presented by Mr . Clay instructing that committee to inquire into the expediency of adopting more efficient measures to prevent American vessels and seamen from engaging in the African slave trade . "

      Untitled Article

      PROTESTANTISM AND POPERY . The two Houses of Convocation met in the Jerusalem Chamber of Westminster Abbey on Wednesday . The Lord Archbishop having taken his seat , and the usual preliminaries having been gone through , the Bishop of Chichester preaemed a petition from the clergy and laity of the province pf Canterbury , setting fqrt . h the grievous injuries esp eriejnced £ y th , e church through the ^ q ^ tiTmedsuspen ^ ionp fher synqdal action , whereby she foci bpen pr ^ Yentedippm ^ ercisipg her proper authority Iqr the maintenance qf jsound doctrine , the exercise of discipline , and the development of her internal resources , $ nd expressing a hope

      that by their representations and entreaties her Majesty might be moved to restore to the church the freedom of her synodal action as in ancient time . The petition v ^ as read . by the registrar , and qrdered tp lip on tfte tattle * . In the JLower Ilqflse a similar petition was received , and an or (| ej fqr recouping it was made . Trie House was about to prpceecT ^ to other business , wbjen the members were formally summoned to the Upper House , and on being admitted into the chamber the Archbishop of Canterbury directed Mr . Francis Hart Dyke to read a precept proroguing the convocation to August 28 . The proceedings immediately terminated .

      A curious and very characteristic letter from F . M . the Duke of Wellington , in reply to Mr . Thompson , and some Protestant inhabitants of Dublin , is published by the Irish papers . Mr . Thompson and his friends had fished up a passage from one of the Duke ' s speeches on the Emancipation Bill , to the effect that if " disappointed in his hope of tranquillity , after a trial had been g iven to the measure , ' he should call for powers necessary to the occasion . This they construe into a conditional promise to repeal the Emancipation Act , and now claim its fulfilment . The Duke rebukes them at great length for their misconstruction ; and

      further—Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington , having thus disposed of the imputed engagements , proceeds to request that Mr . Thompson will , in answer to the application of the Protestant inhabitants of Dublin , inform them that although in the service of her Majesty , in the capacity of Comnmnder-iu-Chief of her Majesty ' s Land forces , he ia not called to her Majesty ' s Council ; that itt the capacity of Commander-in- Chief it . ia n , o part of his duty to receive , take into consideration , and submit to Parliament , the proposition of measures to relieve the inconveniences and evils of which her Majesty ' s subjects in Irela _ nd may complain , as resulting from the operation of any . law .

      At the . meeting of Conservative members at Lord Stanley ' s r esidence , on Tuesday , he stated that he would oppose any legi s lation , which would deal with the ' Church of Engl a nd as distinct from that pf Ireland , tie only acknowledged the one church aa the Established CLurch— -the United Church of England and Ireland , tie woulfl also qppofte a . ny proposal of a concoxdnt with the Pppe . A county meeting was lield at Cumbridgc , on Saturday , to protest against the aggression of the Pope . The Earl of Hard wicke , in proposing the first resolution , ehargod the " Whig Government with haying done their best to give power arid precedence

      % o the Roman Cathol ic hierarchy both in ^ ho colonies f , nd , in Ireland . Resolutions condemning the Papal HggrQsaioa and the Itpu ^ aniet party in the Church of li ^ l and were unanun , qualy adopted . Tho Cork Examiner exultingly proclaims that " tho deed in done , and in the face of the open day too , and in the presence of some 6000 liege subjects of Queen Victoria . " Tho plain English of thin meann that on Sunday lust the " Bishop" of ltoss was consecrated " by virtue , and in command , of the bull of bin Holiness Pope Pius IX ., successor of St . Potcr , and visible h «> ud of that one , holy , and apostolic church , of which the Catholic Churojv of Ireland is one of tho oldest arid most honoured branches . " \ We underatand that the Archbishop of Canterbury has

      invited sH the'Enriish . prelates to a conference at Lambeth next j ^ his ) week , relative to the Papal * aggression . —Leeds Mercury . 3 ? he Limerick Reporter contains an absurd rumour , «< grounded on letters received from London , from wellinformed and highly-respectable sources , which confidently assert that the Duchess of Kent , mother qf the Queen , has become a Roman Catholic . It need scarcely be added thpi the immediate relatives of her Royal Highness of the Ijouse of Leiningen are all members of the C * &olic faitfi . "

      Untitled Article

      A NEW RELIGION . The last accounts we have seen respecting a new religion are in the French papers . A trial took place in Paris , last week , at the Court of Assizes , of fourteen persons , who were accused of " holding illegal meetings not of a political nature . " These persons are described as the disciples of a new religion of a rather disreputable character : — " The new sect has existed for some years in France under the name of Beguins , and the members were in the habit of holding periodical reunions in the Rue d'Odillon , in Paris , till some months ago , when the meetings were brought under the notice of the police as being illegal and excessively immoral . The accused were

      almost all natives of thevillage of St . Jean , Bonnefonds , in the department of the Loire , where the sect seems to have had its origin , and most of them declared that they had been Beguins since their birth . For a long time the Beguins had " had the reputation of being inoffensive people , both as respects morality and general conduct ; but " there appears to have been some sad baokslidings ever since they placed themselves under the direction of their present chief , a person of the name of Di gonnet , for whom they have a variety of appellations , which , according ; to them , can be < addressed to him indifferently ! They call him ' Le bon Dieu , ' the good friend ; Elie , ' « John the Baptist , ' and ' the Holy Ghost . ' Th | s man is a beggar by profession , who , besides confinement in the

      having undergone seven years bagne , is at the present moment a prisoner in the gaol of Aurillac on a charge of mendicancy and swindling . The vices of the ' God Digonnet' as he is called , and ' the credulity and faith of his blinded followers , are quite inexp ^ cable . Though now sixty-seven years of age , he lived on terms of the strictest intimacy with all the females of his sect , flattering each that she was to become the mother of the Messiah . It appears from the evidence produced in the case , that the titles of Dig onnet' to the faith of the Beguins were—First , that they expected a prophet ; secondly , that they recognized this prophet in the person of Digonnet , and by the accomplishment of the double prediction made by him , of the disease among the potatoes and the " advent of the

      Republic . These are the only proofs of his divine mission , or rather of his divinity ; for the Sectarians declare that they believe in his divinity from the bottom of their hearts . Yet notorious acts of the greatest infamy are alleged against this god of the Beguins . It appears certain ( though the legal proof failed in bringing home the criminal portion of this charge to the accused ) that he has introduced new practices into the form of the religion , in conformity to his own character and conduct . It was alleged on the trial , and not denied , that , in the nightly meetings of the sect , on a given signal , the lights were extinguished , and that all cried with a loud voice , 'Down with light ! Down with modesty ! ' ( u bas la lumiere—a bas la pudeur ) . One of the doctrines of the sect ia abstinence from

      marriage ; but by the side of this precept is placed , it is saia , the most unbridled dissoluteness , which is in fact the charge which brought them before the assizes . It is al « o said that they were in the habit of going into the woods at night , and marching in procession in a state of complete nudity , a practice which has been brought home to a vast number of sects of the same kind . The evidence produced befprp the jury was very defective , nn , ( l failed in proving the worst part of the case ; but enough was proved to sb , ow that with some trqulrip , th , e whole of the charges might have bperi made goqd ugainst the prisoners . Digonnet himself waa not put on his trial , being already in prisqn on a rnore serious charge , anjl n , ot having been present at the meeting where his fourteen diqciplea were seised . The caqe w » a brought to light by one of the woinen belonging to the ? ect , who had been deprived of her two children icl ionistHfthe of being

      ( g «) by Her co-re ^ g , or purpqse initiated" in the mysteries of thejr faith . This woman , bjiiQH witness to t |» e abandoned practices qf the other females qf the sept , became alarmed fpr tl ^ e fatp of her children . ' She pnijeavoured to recover them , but failed ; and finding no other iuean , 8 of doing ho , ahp dcnqimqcd the apct to the authqritjes , and gave 8 uch information as ted } o their arreat and ( rial- It was proved on the trial that ippcn ' Uy cjne wqrnan having announced hcraclf to be in fhc f | imi | y way by the God Digonnet , the wholp spot congregated in the expectation pf th , e advent of the MesH ^ i ; but , to the woful disappointment of all , and to the no small confusion of tl ^ p nqu himself , the expected Mcsajah turnpd o , ut tp be a girl . Owing tf > defective cyi () p « ice , the only thing that could be proved agiiinat the Beguiu , ? was that qf having held illegal tynd uiiiiut ( ionzed mp . <; t ^ nK 8 ; and , haying been found guilty of this nut ' iirnte ^ o ( fen , ce , % \ iey > verc condcrnncd to a fine of 26 f-

      Untitled Article

      TRIAL AND SENTENCE OF THE SLOANKH . Tlio trial of Mr . and Mrs . Slouno for ill-treating their servant , Juno Wilbrod , took place at the Central Criminal Court , on Wednesday . Tho court wua exceedingly crowded during the whole of tho tlay . At ten o ' clock the learned judges , Mr . Juuticu Colerid ge and Mr . JuH ' Ucp Cr < jaHwe ]| l , tpok t ^ eir tjgatfl ' on tUP

      tench , and the defendants , George Sloane and his wife , Theresa Sloane , were placed at the bar . ± le did not appearto exhibit much emotion , but his wife was very much affected , and she appeared hardly able to stand . She wore a thick veil over her face , and her features could not be discerned without difficulty . A chair wa * placed for her , and she remained seated during the proceedings . They both pleaded not guilty to the first two counts of the indictment , and guilty to all the others . Mr . Chambers , in ODeniner the case for the

      prosecution , said the counts to which the prisoners had pleaded not guilty were framed upon'what the law considered to be the duty pf masters and mistresses towards their servants , when they were of tender years , namely , the duty of providing food and nourishment , and allowing them a proper opportunity to take such food and refreshment . After alluding to the facts of the case , with which our readers are already acquainted , he was about to call his witnesses , when he was addressed by Mr . Justice Coleridge , who said that the two first counts in the indictment could not be supported .

      Mr . Justice Cresswell expressed the same opinion . A short conversation then took place , at the close of which Mr . Chambers said , if the charge could not be supported , it would be idle and improper for him to occupy any part of their time . Mr . Justice Coleridge then addressed the jury , and said that the defendants were charged with a specific offence by an indictment which contained a great number of counts , to all of which they had pleaded guilty , except the first two ; and upon those counts to which they had pleaded guilty they would , in due course , receive the judgment of the court . He mentioned this in order that they should not be under the misapprehension that the defendants would , by a verdict of not guilty as to those two particular counts , escape altogether from punishof

      ment . The counts upon which the court were opinion the defendants could nqt be legally convicted were in effect these ' : —They charged that a girl of tender years , named Jane Wilbred , being in the service of the defendants , that they neglected to perform the duty which devolved upon tnem , of providing her with proper food and nourishment . Now , it appeared quite clear that this girl was permitted to go out , and that she had plenty of opportunities of making complaints and of obtaining assistance , and it was her duty to have made such complaint ; and , as she had not done so , the prisoners could notbehpld responsible for that which might have been avoided . It therefore appeared to the court that the two first counts in the indictment could , not be supported ; and under his direction , therefore , they would acquit the defendants upon them .

      The jury accordingly found tho defendants not guilty upon the counts referred to . They were then rernoved from the bar , and at a later period of the day were brought up for judgment . Mr . Justice Coleridge addressed them in the following terms : — " George Sloane and Theresa Sloane , you have pleaded guilty to several counts of an indictment which charged you with having , in various ways , and upon various occasions , assaulted and ill-treated a girl , named Jane Wilbred , who was a servant in your employ . We have read with great care the depositions that were taken in your presence , before the magistrate , and we did not think it advisable to grant the application made by your counsel that you should be permitted to put in affidavits

      in answer to them and in mitigation , partly from the circumstance mentioned by him , namely , your poverty , and a desire , therefore , to avoid putting you to an unnecessary expense , and partly because there are certain facts and certain statements in those depositions which seem to speak for themselves and to defy contradiction . It sepms that this young person—almost a child—an or phan , with no natural protector , came into your service , and it would seem that she was selected partly from tincircumstance of her being an orp han , and having apparently a better constitution than Home of the other girls , and , therefore , more likely to do you good service in the capacity in which you engaged her . For some time it appears that there was no reason lor complaint

      on her part , but at length your course o ( - wards her upppnrH to have entirely changed . Taking into consideration , however , the age of the girl and her opportunities of obtaining redress , the court does not consider that you are legally responsible upon that portipn qf thp indictment , and your punishment will not be increased on account of it , but , at the same time , there is ye , ry littlp doubt that your conduct towards this poor girl has been moat cruel ^ ' withholding from her proper Christian food . I Hay this because you know that the indictment not only charges you with withholding proper food , but also with forcing upon her matter at which nature revolts , and which 1 will not ohVnd the ears of the court by further alluding to , it will be HiifHcient to Bay that you are charged with having forced upon her that which whh nauseous , unwholesome , < lingusting , and

      unnatural . One would have thought that the munition of that poor girl when she came ; into your service , would have demanded especial protection atyour hands , and that Wh . ile she conducted herself well you would have uhuuinpd the position of her natural guuniiaiiM . It . in impossible not to takp into ponttiriermion the portion of the parties charged with hucIi an onvn < : <\ One of you , a gentleman devoted to the wtudy and practice of the law , who munt be taken to be thoroughly well veined in a matter ho simple aH tluH , and who miiHt have known what was his duty . Tho other , I regret to say , a female and a wife—one who , it might have been thought , would have been the h'rHt to proteot a young helpleHH girl who waH placed in her power , but who , 1 regret to Hay , appcuru b , y the deppHllionH to havo taken an equal , if not a greater part in all the indignities that were practised .

      Untitled Article

      ftfr& KN . ] 84 * **«* # *? m

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 8, 1851, page 121, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1869/page/5/