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M EXTRAORDINARY SCENE i iraDMm '- ' li N...
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EXTRAORDINARY SCENE AT THE PUSEF , .,ITE...
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IssECT-KniEB. —M. TJogere, professor, at...
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V -^i^^iraDMm^BBBBIOHIL '- '.v--'' li. B...
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&ato Inmitgettce
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COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH. THE QUEEN (EX PA...
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COURT OF EXCHEQUER, BREACH OF . PROMISE—...
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,;. • CARDINAL WISEMAN'S MANIFESTO. ; Aj...
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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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M Extraordinary Scene I Iradmm '- ' Li N...
No ^ MgB ^ , M l ^ _ ^ _ THE NOR ^ ERN JS ^ TAR ; ^; - — :: .. . ¦ ¦ 7 ZT ~ T ~ ^ i ^—————^——¦* ¦ — ' ^ ^ ——»^—¦—«——a—^— .
Extraordinary Scene At The Pusef , .,Ite...
EXTRAORDINARY SCENE AT THE PUSEF , ., ITE CHURCH ^ OP ST ; - BARNABAS ' PIMUCO . " - , - TeVTOAnRTIIVAR . TiSf'IP . xrc in « iPtro nircnirl
Ascene of an extraordinary character , calculated to create great alarmand excitement , took p lace on Sunday , during morning service , at the recentlyerected Protestant Church of St Barnabas , Pimlico , at . which principles and practices having an affinity CO Romanism prevail . ' In consequence of some attempt to interrupt divine service on the previous Sunday , and there being some apprehension tbat the congregation might be disturbed , or a breach of tho peace committed , Sergeant Loom , a very intelligent officer of the B division , and two or three constables under him ; the whole being in plain clothes , were placed in the church previous to the commencement of the morning service . The sittings being all filled ,
the church doors were closed , and in a few minutes afterwards , a ' well-dressed man was seen to leave by one of the side doors in Church-street , between which and the street there is a small court-yard or space opening into the thoroughfare by a door in a stone wall , the latter of which the person who quitted the edifice left open . There is every reason to believe that the scene that almost immediately followed ¦ was premeditated . ^ The stranger had scarcely left the buildingfive minutes ; when a loud shouting and yelling , with the clamour of many voices , was heard by those within the sacred edifice , and Sergeant Loom and his men rushed out by the door the stranger had taken , and by dint of great personal activity , favoured by the position of the entrance
succeeded in preventing au attack upon the church until the arrival of a large party of the police . Upon the sergeant first issuing from the church with his men he found that some half dozen of amob of nearly 200 had entered the door before spoken of into the Space between that and the church , when , by a most determined effort , they succeeded in closing the outer door , and thus separating those who had -entered from the main body , amidst the cries of •* ' We'll have no popery- ^ owtf witti the churchbreak the door open , ' and suctfi ^ . eiclamations . "The few persons who lad enfered ^ as '' . described re ; - treated over the stone wall npbhnndinglhe rest of -the parry cut 06 ? , and the crowd increased momeritarily until the arrival of Inspector Cumming , of the
£ division , who was upon the ground within a few minutes with a small party of men ; immediately followed " by Mr . Russell , the superintendent of the division , with a fresh body of constables . At this time the mob must have numbered very near a thousand , and consisted of a vast number of gentlemen and well dressed persons , the amount being , made tip by others belonging to humbler grades . There was a very strong feeling manifested by many of the well dressed persons present against the proceedings « f St . Barnabas , and it required the exercise of very -considerable firmness and moderation on the part of the police to prevent a most serious disturbance . By -dint of persuasion and force the vast assemblage , ' which was such as temporarily to causemueb . amdltv
-for the safety of the congregation and the neighbourhood , was , with the exception of one person who was Captured , dispersed . On Monday , a young man , respectably , dressed , who gave the name of W . Goss , and said he was butler to M . Drummond , Esq .,. of JSo . 2 , Bryanstone-square , was brought np in custody at the Westminster Police Court , charged with disorderly conduct , and attempting to create a disturbance at St . Barnabas Church on Sunday forenoon . —Inspector Cumming , who preferred the charge , described the circumstances above narrated . —The accused said that he was at first charged with creating a disturbance in the street , and that only at the stationbouse were the additions of " endeavour to force his
-way into the church , & c , made . The-fact was , the -doors were shut upon the public , and some gentlemen who came up ashed how that was , when the man at the door read a paper ofsome sort , which he called ah authority , but the people laughed at it , declaring it was no authority at all , and the gentlemen forced their way in , followed by a few more , amidst a great noise and uproar . The police were positively mistaken in saying that he ( the defendant ) had anything to do with the affair ; he was not near the door , and had never interfered in any wav , but was from first to last a quiet spectator of what oc--curred . —The defendant then called the following witnesses : Mr . George Freeman , grocer , No . 1 , Bond-street , fielgrave-square , said he was at St .
Barnabas Church , and saw the defendant there , but be did not see him put his leg in between the doors or attempt to force his way into the church , and if be had done so he must have seen him doing it . He was-not committing any breach of the peace , nor doing anything calculated to excite it ; nor did he use any harsh or offensive expression . There might have been between 1 , 000 and 2 , 000 persons present . The persons in the crowd were shouting out . He did sot hear any one call out to pull' down the doors . Amongst the crowd there was a very great number of highly respectable people . —Mr . John Mitchell , builder , Chester-street : Did not see the defendant put his foot to the door , or attempt to force it open . The defendant ? fas not out of his sisht all the time ,
^ and he did not in any way misconduct himself . The man at the door refused to admit those . who were sear the door , and upon being asked his authority for doing so he produced a warrant , which was read aloud . At that moment a great many of the police came up with the inspector . -The-latter said , ' Where are your staves?—why don't you use them V and the police immediately used their staves -and pushed the people away . At that time there were not more than twelve persons near the door in--eide of the wall which surround the church , and amongst them the defendant was standing . The inspector immediately called out to his men , "Why don ' t you take him away ?' and he was at once -seized and used very roughly . Witness told them
the defendant had not committed any offence , but they took him away notwithstanding . He followed him to the station-house , and asked what was the charge against him ? The inspector hesitated for some time , and at length said he was charged with disorderly conduct in front of St . Barnabas Church . "Witness offered to become bail for him , and got another person to io so likewise . —Mr . Baring , ironmonger , 3 , Victoria-road , said that he went on Sunday morning to St . Barnabas Church , and got there about five minutes past eleven , and applied for admission . There were about ten persons outside at the time , who were refused admission . When they were about to leave , two gentlemen came up and said . " Don't eo away—they can ' t keep you out of
the church . " One of them was a nobleman . They asked by what authority they were prevented from going in . The porter produced a warrant , which was read aloud by one of the gentlemen , and they then forced their -way in . Two other gentlemen then came out , who assured him that there was abundant standing but no sitting room in the chhrch . A few minutes after that a gentleman got over the wall , and said he was disgusted ; the candles were lighted , and it was popery in the most malignant form , and that led to the mob crying out , "No popery . " Up to that time 19-20 ths of those present were respectable persons . A boy then came np with a Iife-presexver swinging in bis hand . He called a policeman s attention to him , and said It was calculated to
excite the breach of the peace . He saw the defendant there standing quietly by the side of the rails . lie left before the defendant was taken into custody . —Mr . Broderip said : I have now heard the whole of the case , and it is quite clear that a very large mob of persons was present , a proportion of whom ¦ were highly respectable , and aportionlow characters . The question is , whether the person before me was at all active in leading the mob or doing that only which he might have a right to do , attempting to gain admission into the church . Now it appears from the evidence that there was room inside the church when admittance was refused . I find that all he is ^ charged with is putting bis foot to the door to get in , but a
great many of the witnesses swear . that he did not do so and , therefore , I do not think it is acase for me to call on the defendant for sureties for his good beha--vionr , and therefore I must dismiss him . The Queen ' s place , must be preserved , . and I , am determined to preserve it within this district ; but those persons have much to answer for and undertake a serious responsibility , who provoke breaches of the peace and excite the indignation of their fellow subjects by the exhibition of Romish ceremonies in a Protestant church at such a time as the present . —These expressions were followed by a general burst of enthusiasm , -clapping of hands , & c ., which was taken up by the persons assembled outside the court .
Issect-Knieb. —M. Tjogere, Professor, At...
IssECT-KniEB . —M . TJogere , professor , at the Agronomical Institution of Versailles , who had been charged by the Minister of Agriculture to examine . the " best means of destroying the insect which lavages , wheat , has invented an apparatus which , by ap plying acertain amount of heat ( from fifty-five to sixty . degrees ) to the grain , preserves it in a -sound state for bread , whilst it destroys the insect . From sixty to one hundred hectolitres may be passed through the apparatus per day . The Light and Health Tax . —" Truly , the light is sweet , and a p leasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun /'—Eccl . ilth chap ., 7 th verse . If blindness be an affliction , it surely is an affliction to Jive in houses where nearly every chink and crevice which admit the light , and air . into our
dwellings are " taxed . " Where darkness predominates dirt accumulates , and as our governmen taxes the admission of lig ht and air into the dark dwellings of-the poor , Jirpecially in our crowded cities , it is surely very , very studious in encouraging filth , fever , miasm , and malaria , amongst them . By the deprivation of ihtse natural requisities for our existence , the Board of Health , with all its ' sanitary regulations , stands shackled in its useful progress ; for wherever light and air are wanting in our dwellings , there cholera and contagion with 4 QI their attendant destroyers are prone to stalk . O ye advisers of our royal Queen , ye who . have thoug htfully given us cheap bread , deny us hot the -frill enjoyment of our health and existence .. " God said let there be light , and there was light , " b » S je now ta h » bounty . —The Burner ,
V -^I^^Iradmm^Bbbbiohil '- '.V--'' Li. B...
V - ^ i ^^ iraDMm ^ BBBBIOHIL ' - ' . v-- ' ' li . BAaraaaTOKB , Southahptoit v . St . Pancras . Mr . PMhley and Mr . Hodges were for theappel-S ? fc \ . * Sv ^ T ^ not ha ? ° deserved mention S ^«^ r Whl 0 b ' ^ h not ; bearing upon the points in issue , was elicited in , the course of nrd ^ 3 - The a PPB » l was against a lunatic 2 i & . i" * f spect Mary Basing , a pauper , and it was clearl y proved , by the evidence of a lady named Lunn , that in theyear 1825 or 1826 the pauper acquired a settlement in the . appellant parish by a yearly hiring as a servant . —Mr . Pashley said he could , not contend against this , but he was in a position to show that the pauper acquired two subsequent settlements in other parishes by servitude . : ^ .,. ' . = lfTTVnTi ' ESHT ' - enoeinnn .. ; . -
tie proposed to prove by the evidence of the pauper herself a settlement in the parish of Limehouse . — Mr . Huddlestone asked if the Court would take the evidence of a person who was actually under treatment in- a lunatic asylum ? The pauper was in court , but she was actually in the custody , of a keeper , who brought her up by subpoena . —Mr . Pashley said the court would find that the woman was perfectly recovered , the surgeon to the asylum having signified that she was quite sane , and fit to be examined here upon oath . He believed she was now merely detained in the asylum until the question of her settlement was decided . —The learned judge asked if he was to understand tbat such was actually the fact ? It was a very serious matter ;
if what the learned counsel said were true , the Court could not receive her evidence . —Mr . Pashley said he could not say positively whether this pauper was so detained ; but he bad known of many instances in which pauper lunatics had been detained in asylums after being pronounced cured , until their settlement was ascertained , because , if discharged before that was arrived at , the party lost all power to claim the expenses of the pauper ' s maintenance ; There was no doubt of the pauper ' s havin g been pronounced sane by the medical officer of the asylum . —The pauper was here brought into Court in the custody of a female officer , who said she was superintendent of the Grove HaU Asylum , Bow ( as was understood ) , a properly licensed asylum . In
answer to the Court she said she did not know tbat the patient had been declared cured . —The learned judge said if the pauper had been detained after having been declared cured for the purpose stated by the learned counsel , the house or asylum ought most certainly to lose its license , and the surgeon and-proprietor would stand a good chance of being found guilty if they were indicted , as they assuredly might bo ,-for conspiracy . What were the commissioners in lunacy about , to permit this?—Mr . Pashley 'diid not assert that it was absolutely the fact that this pauper had been detained in this manner , but it was true that some time before the surgeon had declared her cured . He had known many instances in which counsel had been desired to lose
no timt in settling papers ,- as lunatics could not be discharged , though cured , until they were completed . The present pauper appeared to be perfectly sane when questioned as to her settlement by the parOchiaf officers six weeks ago . —Mr . Pownall , who was on the bench , said , if this were so , a piece of great cruelty had been exercised towards the poor unfortunate pauper . —Samuel Chandler deposed that he examined the pauper as to her settlement in the presence of the medical attendant of the asylum , who told him that she was sane , and also that she was detained only because the question of her settlement was not decided . —The learned Judge : There is much more in this case than appears on the surface , and public justice demands that it should be adjourned in order that this medical man may he compelled to attend to state what the meaning of all this is . The circumstances must
be communicated to the commissioners in lunacy , who are bound to answer for them ; for herei it appears that a poor woman without friends , without means and unprotected , is subjected to the cruelty of being confined in a lunatic asylum after being declared enred . These are circumstances I must have inquired into ; let the case be adjourned , and the costs will abide the results . The case was then adjourned until the appeal day of the December sessions , the witness Chandler being directed to subpoena the person in whose presence he examined the pauper . The November adjourned general sessions of the peace for the county of Middlesex commenced on Tuesday morning , at the Sessions House , Clerkenwell . There were seventy-eight cases of felony and four of misdemeanour for trial . The magistrates on the bench were Sir Moses Montefiore , Mr . Brooking , Mr . "Woodward , Mr . Warner , and Mr . Eussell .
Jubismctios of the Court . —The grand jury returned a true bill against William Howell for stealing a metal inkstand , value Is ., the property of the Right Reverend John Bird Sumner , Lord Archbishop of Canterbury , and others , trustees of the British Museum . —Mr . Bodkin said this was a prosecution instituted by the trustees of the British Museum for an act of simple larceny , and he appeared in support of the prosecution by their direction . The charge was preferred against the prisoner before a police magistrate , who committed him to this court for trial , but in the meantime it was ascertained that he had been before convicted , and that fact was alleged on the face of the indictment . On reference to the Central Criminal Court
Act , he found that this court could not try an indictment in which a previous conviction was charged against a prisoner , and the present case was an apt illustration of the great trouble , expense , and inconvenience , occasioned to the public by the extraordinary clause which operated as he had mentioned . He was at a loss to know " what object was hoped to be attained by the operation of that clause , ' and it was certainly a matter of great importance to the public that some remedy should be applied to so serious an evil . Here was a case of simple larceny . The authorities of the British Museum had attended here at some expense and loss of time te prosecute , in obedience to the decision of the police magistrate , - yet they were to be
subjected to the further expense , loss of time , and inconvenience , of attending at the Central Criminal Court in this case , which at this court would have been disposed of at once . —The learned Judge said this was not the first time , this had been complained of , and he was fully aware of the-justice of the complaint . The evil was not so manifest before the abolition of the penalty for transportation for simple larceny , as the court could then give consideration to a" former conviction in passing sentence , but since tbat abolition the court could not give effect to former convictions in these cases , the consequence of which was the complete failure of justice in an immense number of instances . In that court last year there were 220 cases in which
prisoners had been before convicted , some of them two , three , and four times , yet tho court was not able to punish them accordingly ; having no power to award transportation , or to try the accused for the former conviction . The expense of trying these cases of simple larceny at the Old Bailey was treble or quadruple the expense of their heing fried here , and if that court was competent to try a case of simple larceny at all , it was competent to try it with the additional charge of a former conviction against the prisoner . It was to be hoped / on public grounds , that some short act to remedy this would be past next session . —Mr . Bodkin said the anomaly
was the greater as there was nothing-in the statute to prevent the grand jury finding such a bill , whilst the court was unable to try it . Tho power of trying such an indictment was possessed by every other Court of Quarter Sessions in the kingdom , and why a distinction was made in Middlesex he professed he was at a loss to know . He had called the attention of the court to this case in the hope that it would be brought under the notice of those who bad influence to remedy so very serious an evil . — The bill-was then ordered to bo remitted to the Central Criminal-Court , and the witnesses bound over to appear at the next session of that court .
¦ - Shophftiso . —Napoleon Ferdinand De Maillepree and Louise Wilheimina Teichert were indicted for stealing a ' gold key and a gold locket , the property of William Cochran . —On the morning of the oth inst . the prisoners , two foreigners , were observed in Cheapside by Haydon and Brett , two active officersof the City detective police , - who having some suspicion as to their objects in being in the streets , watched them . - The officers followed them along Oxford-street to Regent-street , where , after walking up and down some time , the female prisoner entered the shop of Mr . Cochran , jeweller . The male
prisoner remained ' outside , and after a short time the female left-the shop , and having spoken rapidly a-few words to her companion , she ran into Hanover-square , the man following her . They , joined in the square , and'the officers distinctly saw them examining some trinket . The officers followed them into-several other shops , where the same mode of operation was adopted , and eventually they took them into custody in the shop of Mr . Vaughan , pawnbroker , Strand , where they were offering in oIed ° e a locket and a key , which , on being presented at Mr . Cochran ' s ; the shopman at once identified as hovin « hPon on- the tray of jewelleryjwhich had
been shown to"the female prisoner . It appeared Swhen in the shop she had examined a quantity SjSry-butleft without purchasing anything . -ThTwom ' an p leaded Guilty , and the , manjas found Guilty . There was another indictment ng ^ nsttbenf , but they were not tried upon it . Sentenced each to six months' hard labour . _ REGISTRATION OF A CATHOLIC CflAPM . -Ifie 101-lowing certificate was handed in to the clerk of tho peace as required bv the act for the Registration of Catholic Chapels ( 31 Geo . III ., e . 32 ) :- "J , the undersi gned , do hereby certify that I intend opening a place for divine worship , according to the Roman Catholic rites . nnder the title of St . Ann ' s Chapel , Spicer-street , Spitalfiehls : : and I further certify that I propose to be the nnVmtin < r nriest of the said
chapel . - ( Signed ) J . Qwbubb . Kov . 19 , 1850 . " bTEALrsQ fbom ihe Peesoji . —Esther- Cooper , 23 , and Harriet Symons , 21 , wera indicted for steallog ^ and . jwftb ^ anic ^ iiiefg , ;^ properly of
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Thomas Potter Sawers , ? - from his person . —The prosecutor , a tradesman carrying on business at Cambridge , was in . town on the 29 th of last month , on which , day he dined and spent the greater part of the evening with two 6 r three friends . Towards midnight he' got into the company of the prisoner Cooper ,, in the neighbourhood "' of Euston-square , and she introduced him to the " other prisoner Symons . They . partook of several kinds . of drinks at the Plasterers' Arms in Seymour-street , and ultimately the prosecutor found himself lying in the street , at three o ' clock in the morning , suffering great pain under the left ear , aa if he had been struck with a life . preserver ; there was a serious Z , .
bruise on his right arm , and the whole of his money , £ 3 , with two pocket handkerchiefs , were missing . In Symons' room was found a pockethandkerchief , which * the prosecutor swore was one of the two of which he had been robbed . On the way to the station-house she asked if " Etty" was taken , and being answered in the affirmative , she said * We got a sovereign , and are going to split it . " In Symons' room , was found a large bunch of keys , which the police said had been adopted for picking desks and other locks . —The j ury , after four hours and a half ' s deliberation , acquitted Cooper , and found Symons' Guilty . The latter was sentenced to nine months' hard labour .
Robbert . —Thomas Burke , 21 , an Irishman , was indicted for having stolen a pot of marmalade , value 10 d ., and a bun , value 2 d ., the property of Henry Dietman . The evidence was quite conclusive . '—The prisoner , in his defence / denied with indignation that he had committed the theft , and declared that he was a gentleman , and had recently come to England from Ireland with tho object of recovering , if possible , some estates of which he was the lawful owner situate in the county of Galway , which had been fraudulently taken from him by the Encumbered Estates Commissioners . ( Laughter . )—Guilty . —Sentenced to three months ' hard labour . Assault . —Richard Wallis , a Yorkshireman , was sentenced to'four months' hard labour for committing an assaulf upon a little girl , named Laws .
&Ato Inmitgettce
& ato Inmitgettce
Court Of Queen's Bench. The Queen (Ex Pa...
COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH . THE QUEEN ( EX PARTE DAVID PACIFICO ) V . BALDWIN
AND ANOTHER . The SoLiciOR-GENBBAn said , he was instructed to move , on the part of Mr . David Pacifico , for a rule , calling upon the printer and publisher of the Morning Herald to show cause why a criminal information should not be filed against them for a libel published in the Morning Herald on the 13 th of March last . The libel itself arose out of a topic which had been much discussed of late in reference to the aftairs of Greece , and if the publishers of the libel had confined , themselves to matters of public concern the applicant would never have complained of them ; but in this instance the writer of the article had made an attack on Mr . Pacifico ' s private character which compelled him to come here arid ask for the protection of the court . The
libel prefessed to be a letter from the private correspondent of the Morning Herald at Athens , dated the 2 Sth of February , in which , after discussing the question at issue between Greece and England oh public grounds , the writer said , "The Jew Pacifico , before his fraudulent bankruptcy at Constantinople , and before his consulship in Greece , held an inn in a village in Portugal . " Ho ( the Solicitor-General ) must here observe that the applicant never had . been at Constantinople , and never had been a bankrupt , and in fact had never owed a shilling which he was not able to pay . Tho article proceeded , — " On one occasion Don Pedro , on his way to Lisbon , first sent to say that he would stop there , and having changed bis mind and taken another route , was much astonished some time after , wards to see mine host arrive with a bill for £ 150 ,
for the cost , he said , of his preparations to receive His Majesty . Don Pedro took tho thing as a joke , but gave him £ 25 and sent him to the rightabout . ' ' The applicant , in his affidavit , swore that there was not a single word of truth in the whole of that statement . The whole of it was untrue from the beginning to the end . The libel went on , — " Since then Pacifico , having changed for the third time his nationality , and put himself under Sir E . Lyons ' -protection , raked up this old account , which he pretends to have been torn or lost in the pillage of his house , and which suddenly took the fearful proportion of £ 25 , 000 . This is the principal item of the Pacifico affair , which also comprehends the indemnities for the harm done to his house , such as £ 2 , 000 for bronzes and crystals broken , and the rest in proportion . Now , it happens that before the riot in his house Don Pacifico had had the misfortune to have
one of his daughters run away with twice—first , by a merchant ' s clerk , and , secondly , by an apothecary ' s boy ; and , on this second sad catastrophe he addressed himself to King Otho , protesting that his daughter had stolen everything he possessed , and that he had nothing left to live on , and consequently asking for alms . The King , it is a well-known fact , lent him more than once , 100 drachmas at a time . You may judge , therefore , of theorystals and bronzes there must have been to break in his miserable dwelling . " As to his daughters , the applicant said ho had three daughters , the eldest of whom wasmarried with his full consent , and the youngest , who was thirteen years of age , was still living under the
parental roof . With regard to tho second , to whom the libel was supposed to refer , she had been married to an -officer named Lante . Mr . Pacifico , being a Jew , had objected to that marriage on the ground of-Captain Lante ' s religion , and his daughter had been married without his consent ; but as to her running away , ¦ or taking away with her any . part of her father ' s property , there was no pretence whatever for the charge . Xor was there any 'pretence for the imputation that Mr . Pacifico had ever made the representation alleged . Now , there-, were three libellous charges made in the article which he had brought before the court . First , there was a charge of fraudulent bankruptcy at Constantinople , which the applicant swore Was entirely false .
Lord Cajipbbli , said , the only difficulty he felt was that which arose from the lapse of time . The libel was published on the 13 th of March , and this waa November .- He ( Lord Campbell ) would be glad if the learned Solicitor-General would read that part of the affidavit which explained the delay . The Solicitor-Gbnehai , then read some passages from the applicant ' s affidavit , stating tbat on the 17 th of January , 1850 ; beingapprehensive of damage to his person , he had embarked on board the Caledonia with his family , and lay for eleven weeks off
the coast , where he was at the time the libel was published ; tbat on bis arrival in the island of Malta he was seized with cholera , and was detained there for several months ; that though while there he had - received information = from some of his friends that some libellous publication had appeared ) he did not see the libel in question till he arrived at Southampton , on the oth : of August . The libel was set out in the affidavit , and a paper was annexed which showed that it was first published in the Morning Herald . Lord Campbell said the learned Solicitor-General might take a rule .
Court Of Exchequer, Breach Of . Promise—...
COURT OF EXCHEQUER , BREACH OF . PROMISE—SHERLOCK V . ATWOOD . This was an action for breach of promise of marriage . The defendant pleaded , first , that he did not promise ; second , that at the time of the promise the plaintiff was of unchaste , immoral , arid improper character , of whi ch * he , the ^ defendaht , was unaware ; third , " that the defendant was ' an infant at the time . of the promise ... Mr .., Sergeant Alleu and Mr . Lush for the plaintiff ; Mr . 'Humfroy , Q . C ., and Mr . Field for the 'defendant . ' —Miss Philips , stated , that the plaintiff had been brought '' up , from ' childhood by witness's aunt , Mrs . Philips , who resided at Putney . In 1848 , plaintiff went to reside with a Mrs . " Edwards . ' ; She ^ left , that lady in December , 1818 , ' and came again to reside with witness ' s aunt . While with Mrs . ' Edwards , plaintiff made the acquaintance of defendant . He continued to visit her after she returned to Mrs . Philips . He told ' witness that his intentions were pure and honourable , and that he visited MisS Sherlock as his intended bride . He was then living with his father , a large market-gardener .. He said he expected to obtain , a p lace in the Post-office , and he should be able to keep her well ; Ho did obtain an appointment in June last . It was £ 70 the first year , and to increase afterwards . He used to come every day , and more than once a day , arid spend the whole of his . evenings with the plaintiff at Mrs . Philips ' s . He was then not quite twenty-one . He came of age on , the 1 st of July , 1849 . He said on that day he would
marry her on the day following : Before the 1 st of July wttness observed , tbat Ann Sherlock was in the family way . Witness spoke to defendant . on the subject . He said he ' intended to marry her as soon as he could , and when he had taken her to church no one would be able to throw a slur on ' her character . ' . He told Mr . Philips that he sincerely regretted ' that p laintiff should be in the family way before he had made her his wife : He took ia houso in Portland-place ' , ' Wandsworth-road . . It was taken in Mrs . Philips ' s ' ' name , and she was to live with them at first . The agreement was signed on the 2 nd of July . Mrs . Philips aiid theplaintiff wentlo reside in the house on the Sthi . On the 7 th
defendant called on witness ., Ho seemed in great excitement , and said his father declared ho would disinherit him if he married the plaintiff . Witness afterwards met defendant at Mi-. Philips '? , by appointment ; ho appeared so affected'that he could say nothing . The plaintiff was there . She was lying down almost senseless ! He then refused-to marry her , on the ground that his father would not consent . He mentioned no other ground whatever . Plaintiff was afterwards confined in October . Cross-examined : About three months after the birth of the child plaintiff swore it against the defendant , and obtained balf-a-crown a week . Plaintiff 18 WW eighteen * £ efvre- she UTv 4 TrHh Ww ,
Court Of Exchequer, Breach Of . Promise—...
£ £ u " , ? hved-with a-Mrs ? 'Colletfc- My aunt , « r ' j --l ' is not married . She has a daughter !; tne daughter has beenmarried about three months . She has noxjhild ; but : she had' ' one « wh ( rdied three years ago . Plaintirs father : ira ' gardener at Putney ' .. am n <> t aware that her father has been in gaol tor felony .. 'i do remember ' something about ro «» oving some lead , but whether he was in gaol or not , I don't know , i Re-exammed : ' ! had opportunities of observing the conduct of : the plaintiff , and it was neverimmoral pr improper . J don't believe eh © ever had acquaintance with any other-man but the defendant . —Mrs . Anne Edwards : Was no relation of the Mrs . Edwards with whom the plaintiff lived . Knew the plaintiff from her childhood up to
three or four years ago . Her iconduot was always correct . . Since that time she had no opportunity of judging of it . —Elizabeth : Cotton proved . ' that the defendant took her house of her in the name of Mrs . Philips , saying that he ' was about to be married , : ; that his father objected ; but he had a good situation in the Post-office , and had a right to do as he pleased . —Mr . ^ Humfrey then addressed the jury for the defendant . He said that he couldnpt deny that the defendant had made the promise ; nor could he ' deny that he was of age when he did so . Nor could he say that the young man was unacquainted with the immoral conduct of the plaintiff at the time he made the promise ; : indeed so infatuated was he , that he believed he would have married the
plaintiff , notwithstanding her character , if his family had not interfered . He was , however , entrapped into this engagement , and his friends had only done their duty in saving him from an abandoned strumpet . He was prepared to prove that the plaintiff was such . Ho called upon the jury to look atthe school in which the plaintiff had been brought : up ; the companion of Mrs . Philips , who had a natural daughter , which had a natural child ; then the companion of Mrs . Edwards , who he should show was a kept woman ; but bad as Mrs . Edwards was , she did not corrupt the plaintiff , for he should prove that she came already corrupted to her houso . Before she resided with her she lived with a Mrs . Collett . While with her he should call witnesses to prove that her
character was of a most abandoned kind—that she swore , drank , and smoked , and was unchaste . At Mrs , Edwards ' s the defendant became acquainted with her . He should have to prove things respecting plaintiff too vile for him to repeat—they must be heard from the witnesses themselves . He should prove that the plaintiff , when she swore the child against the defendant , told another man that her attorney bad said she was a fool not to fix him as the father , as- she then would have made a better thing of it . —Mary Wood stated that she was formerly in tho service of Mrs . Collett at Hammersmith ; the plaintiff was there at the time ; the plaintiff slept with another servant named Alice Morgan ; Witness found one morning a young man
in their bed-room ; she did not tell her mistress of it . —George Strudwick , the young man referred to by the , last witness , stated that ho went to their bed-room by the invitation of Alice Morgan and the plaintiff . Was intimate on that occasion with Alice Morgan , but not with Sherlock . " Had seen the plaintiff in the company of prostitutes . Had seen her with a cigar in her mouth . Had seen her drunk . — William Smith stated that he accompanied the defendant to Mrs . Edwards ' s house ; He slept with Mrs . Edwards , ' and the defendant with the plaintiff . —Other witnesses proved acts of gross indecency committed or allowed towards herself by the
plaintiff ; but not actual unchastity . —Mr . Sergeant Allen was about to address the jury in reply , when Mr . Baron Martin interrupod tho learned counsel by asking him whether ho thought he could possibly convince tho jury that- they should give the plaintiff more than nominal damages ? But as the jury after some time did not appear to have agreed ; the case was postponed . —This case was again called on on Tuesday , when Mr / Sergeant Allen strongly commented on the evidence produced by the defendant . —Mr . Baron Martin having left the case to the jury that body consulted for nearl four hours , and then returned a verdict for the plaintiff , damages £ 10 .
THE NATIONAL LAND COMPANY . O ' CONNOR , M . P ., V . BRADSHAW . This was a rule for , a new trial on the ground of misdirection which had been obtained on the part of the plaintiff by Mr . Sergeant Wilkins , It may be remembered that this was an action for libel , in which the plaintiff complained that the defendant , who was the publisher of a Nottingham journal , had , in a certain handbill regarding the contents of a forthcoming number , charged the plaintiff with dishonest conduct , with reference to the National Land Company . The . defendant pleaded " Not Guilty , '' and a justification , and at tho trial before Sir F . Pollock , ' C . B ., which lasted three days , the jury found for the plaintiff on the first issue , an d for the second , on the plea of Justification , accompanied , however , by an emphatic declaration that , in their opinion , tho character of Mr . O' Connor was entirely free from any imputation of personal
dishonour . In the course of the summing up . the learned Chief Baron asked the jury to put their own construction on the libel , which he said might impute personal or political dishonesty , and he laid it down as his opinion that the National Land" Company was illegal , either as being an- infringement of the Lottery Act , or the Banking Act . He also left it to them to say . whether the ^ defendant in issuing the libel was animated by a bond fide , belief that Mr . O'Connor was seeking . to turn the Company to his own political or , personaf " advantage , and'he further remarked that , in his view of that Company , the subscribers could not have any redress , either at law or equity , against Mr , O'Connor , for the recovery of their subscriptions , while , in the event of his-bankruptcy , all their , deposits would pass to his assignees . / . On these points it was felt b y the plaintiff that the direction of the learned judge was erroneous , and this rule having been granted generally , on the ground of misdirection . . .
Mr . Roebuck , Mr . Keating , and Mr , Eaglet , now showed cause . They contended that the scheme of the National Land Company was essentially a lottery , in which though some subscribers obtained prizes , it was notorious to every reasonable man that the majority would lose their subscriptions ' and get nothing , for tho whole scheme , as put forward by the plaintiff , would require £ 21 , 000 , 000 of capital to carry it out , and at least 150 years would be consumed before all the 70 , 000 subscribers could by possibility obtain locations . This certainty of loss to some , and the vicious gambling hope held out to all of success , reduced the scheme to . a sheer illegal lottery , ' and fully justified the Chief Bardn in directing the jury plainly that it was an illegal company within the 42 nd George III ., c . 119 , and the various other statutes on that subject . They also argued that the direction was correct on all'the other points to which the rule was pointed . ;
"Mr . AinERTON ( in the absence of Mr . Sergeant Wilkins ) and Mr . Prentice were heard at great length in support of the rule .. . They complained of the manner in which the defendant ' s counsel commented on the points of misdirjebtion which had been mentioned to the court . However ^ there were many other , more material matters to which tho attention of the learned baron had not ibeen at all directed . The plaintiff did not wish toseleotany number of phrases or passages in the learned judge ' s summing up , or find fault with certain expressions selected , bat what he complained of was that the jury had been misled by a substantial misdirection , and that the result was a verdict which was utterly unintelligible . There was no other way to account for the
finding of the jury except that they weroinfluenced and controlled by his lordship ' s opinions . They wore told it was their duty to determine whether the plaintiff acted with bona fides with reference to the Land Scheme , and if so , then , whether tho defendant had written the strictures complained of bona / j ( j « , ra ' nd in fact they were directed to consider whether the p le . vof justification was made out , and to put'their own-construction on sonie of its moist important terms . ' Tho verdict- affirmed that ' tho statements' in tho libel were true , 'but to show what was passing in the minds of the jury andtheir opinion that the plaintiff ihad acted bona fide , 'they accompanied their-verdict with the expression of their unanimous opinion to that effect .
Sir F . Pollock , - C . B . —There is a wide difference between a ' paperof'thatsort arid the solemn finding of the jury . The one was'Mniact done under the obligation of their oaths ; but the court knew nothing of the other , or under what arrangements 'it had been made . It was no judicial act . Theverdict was uponoath delivered in the discharge of a public duty . '; That piece ofr paper referred to ( I don't mean inoffensively ) was a ' piece of impertinencenot belonging to the : j ury . — ' ' ¦ •¦ ¦'¦¦'¦ ' ; " : Mr . Baron Parke . —It is certainly very ambiguous . <; . ¦ - ¦ ¦ -: ; : ;; . ¦•¦! , - .. ¦! -. ' : - ¦ : . : .. ' . ' . I ; ;! Mr . ' Baron Ald ' brso ' n . —I don't myself understand what M honesty " quo ad Hoc means' ; itj requires a very nice distinction to comprehehdit . [¦ J , Mr ; ' Baron PLATTi ^ Th [ e expression of the opinion of the juryaceouipanying their verdict might : enlighten the court as to its-satisfactoriness . : ¦' - Mr . AinERxoN said that-under the circumstances the verdict was utterly unintelligible . The only
way to account for it was , that ; the jury had been misled by the ' learned- ' judge . Whatever might be said of the exorossionoftho jury ' s opinionof the plaintiff ' s character , it might ; 'with advantage to him , be placed against the ; invectives indulged in thatday by thedefendant ' scounsel—invectives which he ( Mr . Athertoh ) was happy'to say very seldom found their way into discussions of cases > in . the new trial paper . The learned counsel then proceeded to distinguish the Land Company ' s plan from the Arts Union , and other lotteries , and contended that it did not come within the prohibitory statutes . ; .- ¦ ' ¦ Mr . Baron Parke said the verdiofclearlymeant that Mr . O'Connor was not guilty of the dishonesty of putting any of the fund subscribed into his own pocket , but'the ' : ho was'guilty of political dishonesty . -It appeared 0 o him that the : summing up of' the learned judge ?? •&;) unobjectionable . Mr . Baron AWBRSOlf . — "What the jury said was this i-Jnhis geaeral wnfturtMr ^ . < r « 9 PBW to , Wt
Court Of Exchequer, Breach Of . Promise—...
dishonest ; but in this particular ; transaction he was guilty of what the law would call cram ighorantia . In other words , " he is a very respectable man , but We think he is ' a political impostor-( laughter)—and not very honest in this transaction . " ,: ' ; ' - ' :. '" : •'" ' " . '"'"'• ' ' . ' After some further discussion the case was deferred . : ' ¦
,;. • Cardinal Wiseman's Manifesto. ; Aj...
, ; . CARDINAL WISEMAN'S MANIFESTO . ; Ajnanifesto has been published which may be said to contain the motives , that induced the sovereign , pontiff to attempt the establishment of the . Catholic hierarchy in England . The manifesto is Very lengthy , and occupies nearly seven columns of the Times , from which we make the following extracts . Having given a history of Catholicism in England since 1 C 23 , it states that the Catholic , church in England had so much expanded and consolidated itself , since . the Emancipation Act , andits parts had . so matured their mutual ' relations , that it could not be carried on without a full and explicit code . ' The bishops , it was urged , found themselves
perplexed , and their situation full of difficulty ; as they earnestly desiredto be guarded from arbitrary decisions , by fixed rules , and yet had none provided for them . The uncertainty , also , of position on the part of the clergy , which resulted from this anomalous state , made it still more painful . Such was the case submitted to the judgment of the Holy See , fully illustrated with practical applications . Aremedy ' was therefore prayed for , and it was suggested that it could only be in one of the two following forms : — Either the Holy See must issue another and full constitution , which would supply all wants , but which would be necessarily complicated and volumnious , and , as a special provision , would necessarily be temporary . ' r I- ; Or the real and complete code of the church must be at once extended to tho Catholic church in Engr , land , so far as compatible with its social position ' $ ,
and this provision would be final . : ) lv But , in order to adopt this second and more natural expedient , one condition was necessary , and that was—The Catholics must have a hierarchy . The canon law is inapplicable under vicars-apostolic ; and , besides , many points would have to be synodically adjusted , and without a metropolitan and suffragans , a provincial synod was out of the question . Such was the main and solid ground on which the hierarchy was . humbly solicited by Catholics from the Holy Seo . It was one that referred to their own internal organisation exclusively . Thoughts of aggression never entered the heads of the petitioners or of the petitioned ; nor were the bishops moved by stupid ideas of rivalry with the established church , in what forms its weakness , nor any absurd defiance of national prejudices . They knew that they violated no law in asking for what was needful for their religious existence , and they acted on an acknowledged ri ght of liberty of conscience . ; -
The ground of the pleading was the absolute necessity of the hierarchy for domestic organisation and good government . ' The Holy See kindly listened to the petition , and referred it , to the Sacred Congregation of the Propaganda . ' After a full discussion , and further , reply to objections , the boon ; was granted . The vicars-apostolic were desired to suggest the best divisions for new dioceses , and the best places for the titles . These were adjusted , the brief was drawn up , and even printed . Some difficulties arose about a practical point , and publication was delayed . In 1848 , another bishop , Dr . Ullathorhe , was deputed to Rome , to remove them , and the measure was again prepared , when the Roman revolution suspended its final conclusion till now . ,.
All this time there was no concealment , no attempt to take people by surprise . All Catholics know of tho intended measure ; the papers announced it ; so notorious was it , that the Dean and Chapter of Westminster petitioned parliament against it ; and a friend of the writer ' s heard the Dean of Westminster say , most openly , "Well , he may call himself what he pleases , but at least he can never bo Dean of Westminster . " In Battershy ' s Irish Directory for 1848 , the writer was named , "Most Rev . N . Wiseman , Archbishop of Westminster . " He can add , that many letters came to him so addressed .
- Then , why is this very act , which was openly spoken of , and hardly attracted attention , three years of ago , now denounced so furiously , and characterised so foully ? -Having exculpated the Pope , by taking the responsibility of the measure upon himself , the Cardinal says -. — " It may be useless at this moment to stem the current of vulgar and ribald abuse that is poured out against his sacred person , and encou raged by those whose mission , if they have one , should be of peace . Time will disperse the mist , and show the transaction in its true light . In the meantime , the writer of the these pages ( and he is sure he is not alone ) declares himself ready to
stand between the Pontiff and the vituperation cast upon his act , believing it to have been most just , most expedient , nay , little less than necessary , for the well being of the Catholic Church in England . And yet ; for'Englishmen , it ought to have been sufficient to say , ' It is strictly within the law . '" Carnidal Wiseman then proceeds to rebuke the First Lord of the Treasury for His letter , and the Lord Chancellor , for his after-dinner speech at the Mansion House , and appeals to the manly sense and honest hearts of the English people , for a fair , free , and impartial hearing on behalf of himself and fellow Catholics , He then proceeds to examine
. What xvas the extent of religious toleration granted to Catholics ? Have they a rightto possess Bishops or a Hierarchy ? Having discussed the Catholic . Emancipation Act , the . Cardinal draws the following conclusions : — 'First , that Catholics , by law , had a right to be governed by bishops . Secondly , that no law or authority bound them to bo for , ever ; governed by vicars-apostolic , and tbat they , were at liberty to have a hierarchy , that is , nn archbishop and bishops with local titles , or titles from places in the country . Thirdly , that accordingly such ., titles are not against any law , so long as they are not the actual
titles held by the Anglican hierarchy . Fourthly , that all these conditions having been exactly observed in the late erection of the Catholic hierarchy , this is perfectly legal , perfectly ; lawful , and unassailable by ; any present law . Then why all the clamour that has been raised ? On what ground does the attack made upon us rest ? Why have wo been denounced—why held lip to public hatred ? Why pointed out to public fury ? I have not seen one paper which , during the violence . of ; the storm , thought it worth while to look into the question of law , and . , calmly , inquire"Have the Catholics violated , or gone beyond , the law of . the land ? If not , why should they be thus so perseveringly abused ? " ¦¦ ...
. Tho appointment of a Catholic Hierarchy does not in any . way deprive the English establishment of a single , advantage . which it now possesses , Its bishops , retain , and , for any thing that - the new bishops will do , may retain for ever their titles , their rank , their social position , their pre-eminence , their domestic comforts , their palaces , their lands , their incomes , without diminution or . alteration . Whatever satisfaction it has been to you till now to see them so elevated above . their ; Catholic rivals , and to have , their wants so amply provided for , you will still enjoy as much . as hitherto . ; . And the samo ; is to bo said of the second , order ., of clergy : not an archdeaconry , or deanery , or canonry , or benefice ,, or . living will be taken from them or claimed by , the Catholic priesthood . The outward aspects of tho two churches will bo the same . > .
Ilow . eould Catholics obtain their Hierarchy ? We have seen that , not only we possess a full right by law to be governed by bishops , but that wo have an equal right to be governed by them ' according to the proper and perfect form of episcopal government , that is , by bishops in ordinary having their sees and titles in the -country . < If we have a perfect right to all this , we have no less a perfect right to . employ the only means by which to obtain it . We have seen that Catholics are allowed by law to maintain the Pope ' s supremacy in ecclesiastical
and religious matters , and one point of that supremacy is that he alone can constitute a hierarchy or appoint bishops . Throughout the Catholic world this is the same , i Even where - the civic power , by an arrangement with the Pope , names , that is proposes , a person to be a bishop , he cannot be consecrated without the Pope ' s confirmation or . acceptance ; and if consecrated already , he : can have ho power to perform any functions of his office without the same sanction . If , therefore , the Catholics of this country- were ever to have a hierarchy at all , it could only be through the Pope . He alone could grant it .
Iks the Mode of Etiallishinyth * Hierarchy been " Insolent and Insidious ?" , The words in this title are extracted from the too memorable letter of the First Lord of the Treasury . 1 am willing to consider that production as a private act ; and riot as any manifesto . of the intentions of her Majesty ' s Government : * ¦*¦*¦¦ * * * . ' . ' * ' •* . So little ' was I on my part , aware-that such feelings as that-letter disclosed existed in the head of . our Government on the subject of the Hierarchy , * that having occasion to write to his lordship on some business ,-I'todk tho liberty of continuin g iny letter as follows : ' — .. ° ' « ir ' T ' 'J ' "Vienna , Nov . 3 . "My Lord , —
" I cannot but most deeply regret the erroneous and even distorted new which the English papers have presented of wh * t ! the Holy Seo has done in regard to thp spiritual government of the Catholics of , England ; but I take the liberty ofstating that
,;. • Cardinal Wiseman's Manifesto. ; Aj...
the measure now ' promulgated , . was hot only pre « pared but printed ' ' three ' years ago , and a copy ofi it was shown tb'Lord Minto by the Pope on occasion pf / an audience given to his lordship > y- hiai Holiness . I have no right to intrude upon your ! lordshi p further jii this matter beyond offering to » to givo _ any explanations that your lordship may desire , m full confidence that it will be in my power tojemoye particularl y the offensive interpretation put upon the late act of the Holy See , that it was suggested-by political views or by any hostile feelings . "And . with regard to myself , I beg to add that I am invested with a purely ecclesiastical dignity ; that I have no secular or temporal delegation whatever—that my duties will be what they have ever
, been , to promote the morality of those committed t ' omy charge , especially the masses of our poor , and keep up those feelings of goodwill and friendly intercommunion between Catholics and their fellow countrymen , which I flatter myself I have been the means of somewhat improving . I am confident that time will soon show , what a temporary excitement may conceal , that social and public advantages must result from taking the Catholics of England out of that irregular and necessarily temporary state of Government in which they have been placed , and extending to them that -ordinary and more definite form which is normal to their church , and which has already been so beneficially
bestowed upon almost every colony of the British empire . " I beg to apologise for intruding at such length upon your lordship ' s attention ; but I have been encouraged to do so by the uniform kindness and courtesy which I have always met with from every member of her Majesty ' s Government with whom I have have had occasion to treat , and from your lordship in particular , and by a sincere desire that such friendly communication should not be interrupted . ; ' "I have tho honour to be , my lord , your lord * ' ship ' s obedient servant , '"! ' "N'Card Wiseman "The Right Hon . the Lord John Russell , •'' , ' First Lord of tha Treasury , & c .
The Cardinal then proceeded to show that no reasonable objection could exist to the organisation of a Catholic Hierarchy in England , on the ground that it had been recognised and even royally honoured in Ireland , and that Australia and our North American possessions are divided into archiepiscopal and episcopal sees , by tho authority of acts of their respective legislative assemblies . If , therefore , the Royal supremacy of the English Crown could thus lawfully exercise itself where it never has before exercised authority , and where it is not recognised , as in a Catholic country—if tho Q . ueeri , as head of the English church , can send bishops into Abyssinia and Italy , surely Catholics had good right to suppose that , with the full
toleration granted them , and the permitted exercise of Papal supremacy in their behalf , no less would ba permitted to them without censure or rebuke . In 1841 , or 1842 , when for the first time the Holy See thought' of erecting a hierarchy in North America , I was commissioned to sound the feelings of Government on the subject . I came up to London for tho purpose , and saw the Under-Secretary for the Colonies , of which Lord Stanley was tha secretary . I shall not easily forget the urbanity of my reception , or the interesting conversation that took place , in which much was spoken to me which has since come literally true . But oh the subject of my mission the answer given was somewhat to this effect : — "What does it matter to us ' what
you call yourselves , whether Vicars-Apostolic , or Bishops , or Muftis , or Iraaums , so that yotf do not ask us to do anything for you ? We have no right to preventyou taking any title among , your * selves . " This , however , the distinguished gentleman alluded , to observed , was his private opinion , and he desired nio to call in a few days after , I did eo , and he assured me , that having'laid the matter before the head of the department , the answer was the same as he had before given me . I wrote it to Rome , and it served , no doubt , as the basis of the nomination of bishops in ordinary in North America . I have no doubt the documents referring to this transaction will be found in tho Colonial-office .
The Title of Westminster , The selection of this . title for tha metropolitan see of the new Hiorarchy has , I understand , given great offence . -I am sorry for it . \ It was little less than the necessity which led to its adoption . I must observe , that according to the discipline of the Catholic church , a bishop ' s title must be from a town or city . Ori g inally almost every village or small town had its bishop , as appears from the history of the A ) lean church . But a town or city abishopi'ic must still te ; a " territorial" title ia never given . Thus in Van Diemen ' s Land , white tho Anglican bishop takes his titleof Tasmania from , the territory , the Ca . holic derives his of Hobart Town from the town . In re-establishing a Catholic
Hierarchy in England , it was natural and decorous that its metropolitan should have his see at the capital . This has been tho rule at all times ; though of course those capitals may decay into provincial towns -without losing their privilege . The very term metropolitan signifies the bishop of the metropolis . This being the principle or basis of every Hierarchy , how was it to bo acted on here ? London was a title inhabited by law ; Southward was to form a separate see . To have taken- ' the title of a subordinate portion of what forms'the great congolmerate of London , as Finsbury , or Islington , would have been-to cast ridicule and open the door for jeers upon the new episcopate . Besides , none of these are towns nor ' cities . West " minster naturally suggested itself , as a city
unoccupied by any Anglican see , and giving an honourable and well known metropolitan title . It was consequently selected , aid I can sincerely say , that I had no part whatever in the selection . But I rejoiced that it was chosen , not because it was the seat of the courts of Jaw or of Parliament , or for any such purpose , but because it brings the real point more clearly and strikingly before our opponents ; "Have we in anything acted contrary to law ? And if not , why are we to be blamed ?" But I am glad , also , for another reason . The Chapter of Westminster has been the first to protest against the new archiepiscopal title , as though some practical attempt at jurisdiction within tha Abbey was intended ; Then let me give them assurance on that point , and let us come to a fair decision and a good understanding .
The diocese , indeed , of Westminster embraces a largo district , but Westminster proper consists of two very different parts . . One comprises the stately Abbey , with its adjacent palaces and its Royal parks . To this portion the duties and occupation of the Dean and Chapter are mainly confined ;' and they shall range there undisturbed . To ' the venerable old church I may repair , as I have been , wont to do . But perhaps the Dean and Chapter are not aware that , were I disposed to claim more than the right to tread . the Catholic pavement pf ^ that noble building and breathe its air of ancient ' consecration , another might step in , with a prior ' claim .
For successive generations there has . existed ever , in the Benedictine order , an Abbot of Westminster , the representative , in religious dignity , of thosa who erected and beautified and governed that church and cloister . Have thoy ever been disturbed by this- "titular' ? " Have they heard of . any claim or protest on his part touching their , temporalities ? Then let them fear no greater , aggression . now-Like him , I may visit , as I have said ,, the old Abbey , and say , my prayer by the shrine of good St . Edward , and meditate ; on the olden times , when the church filled withbuta coronation , and multitudes hourly worshipped without a service .
But in their temporal rights or their quiet possession of any dignity or title they will not suffer . Whenever I go in I will pay my entrance fee , like other liegosubjects ,: and resign . myself meekly to the , guidance of the beadle ,, and listen without rebuke when he points out to my admiration detestable monuments , or shows' me a hole iu the wall for a confessional . ' " Yet this splendid monument , its treasures of- art , ' andits fitting endowments , form not the part of Westminister which will concern me . ! For there ia another part which stands in frightful contrast , though in immediate contact , Tvith this magnificence . In , ancient times the existence of an abbey , on any . spot , with a largo staff of clergy and ample revenues , would have sufficed to createaround it a little paradise ' of comfort ,
cheerfulness , and ease . This however , is not now the case . Close under the abbey of Westminister there lia concealed labyrinths of lanes and courts , and alleys and slums , nests of ; ignorance , vice , depravity , and crime , as well as of squalor , wretchedness , - and disease ; whoso atmosphere is typhus , whoso " ventilation is cholera ; in which swarms a huge and almost countless population , in great measure , nominally . at least , . Catholic j haunts of fil th-whica no sewage committee can reach—dark corners which no lighting board can bri ghten . This is the part of Westminister which alone I covet and which I shall be glad to claim and to Visit ' as a blessed pasture in which sheep of holy church are to be tended , in which a bishop ' s godly work has to be done , of consoling , converting , and preserving . And if ; as I humbly trust in God , it shall b ^ seen that Una special culture , arising from the establishi 1 have beun tuhl that great offence has Icen taken as tho use of the word to ' govern' found in my restora ' , at though implying some temporal authority . . i n & " ? : ever , that in this appeal . I have agam at d agam "f " *^ amongst us to episcopal rule . . It" ? Utt , J" - "' , " foi . m 0 f s . ioh the lateral was addre ^ d / : n . tlnrii ^ nl toj n ^ ^ ^ documents . ' to the cleigr , « 6 f "'" f * " ? f 0 ? C :. th < . li < -s i ,-W , faithful , ' wlnchlthowud-i . io l 0 ' r Jnve buen iu the habit who could understand ''» " -liia ' - ' a-vear to tho . Cathoici of addressing screral ^ o ™ , / e - ahva > s been read m committed to my chaW , r ^ t this is , I believe , the first ourchurches and «*««• £ ^ mehon 0 ur of transferring to its which tho pre" b * ° a ^? 0 b 0 represented as addressed to awHS ^ rtasfsttrjasps
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 23, 1850, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_23111850/page/7/
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