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Tomahawk (1867-1870), 6th March 1869, Edition 1 of 1, Page unpag, THE TOMAHAWK: A SATURDAY JOURNAL OF SATI...

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  • Departments (2)
    • THE CONVENT CASE.
    • A FETTERED EXHALATION.
  • Text (6)
  • Transcript

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      The Tomahawk: A Saturday Journal Of Sati...

      THE TOMAHAWK : A SATURDAY JOURNAL OF SATIRE . $ i ut * 3 * bg % * l \ m a' § exR * tt "INVITAT CULPAM QUI PECCATUM PRETERIT . "

      No. 96.] London, March 6, 186 9. [Price ...

      No . 96 . ] LONDON , MARCH 6 , 186 9 . [ Price Twopence .

      The Convent Case.

      THE CONVENT CASE .

      The Long Trial Of Saurin 2/. Starr Has A...

      The long trial of Saurin 2 / . Starr has at last come to an end . It has been the very sea-serpent of cases . Tedious , tiresome , trivial as most of the evidence has been , the case will long remain as a monument of the patience and scrupulous fairness which distinguish our great legal tribunals . We leave the jury out of the question—who expects any good out of twelve British jurymen 1 That it was possible for such a case to be tried before the Lord Chief Justice of England alone shows how perfect is the religious and civil liberty of England . In no other country in the world could Miss Saurin have brought her wrongs before a court of law ; in no other country could a case involving the minute laws and petty regulations of a religious community have been fairly tried before a civil tribunal . Unedifying as have been the revelations of the bickerings and nieannesses of a number of women living an unnaturally secluded life , still we may fairly congratulate ourselves that , in spite of some few cases of individual bigotry which have manifested themselves in the form of offensive letters addressed to the judge and counsel employed in the case , there has been on the whole a perfect readiness to separate the case entirely from 10 xacts ais

      rewgious cuspuies , ana regara me nonesuy ana - passionately from a mere legal point of view . There are some who have advocated conscientiously , and not from any sectarian prejudice , the inspection of convents by Government . We don ' t see that any Government has any more right to inspect such places than to intrude its officers on Societies of Freemasons , or on Clubs . If" any persons choose to form a society , so long as they respect the rights of property and the laws of morality , their internal organizatio ' n . can be no affair of the Government . Of course the buildings which they occupy should be subjected to the same sanitary regulations as all other houses ; but , whatever our opinion may bo as to the amount of good or evil which the conventual system the effects sam , w e e level feel as sure workhouses that the p , lacing gaols , and such lunatic establishments asylums , by making them subject to Government inspection , would be a very dangerous experiment . But we see in this case that when the law is called in to judge of disputes arising in such institutions , it is able to deal with them in a spirit , and with a power , which vindicate its dignity and authority . Thpugh we may fairly point with triumph to the fact that such a trial is possible in England , we cannot but hope that we may never again have a similar proof of British liberty . The fact that for twenty days the time of the Court of Queen ' s Bench has been I consumed in the investigation of the case involves an immense

      amount of cruel delay and injustice to the parties in other suits waiting for trial . This is a practical consideration ; and we certainly , should gain one good thing by the expenditure of so much valuable time , if the attention of Law Reformers were drawn to the possible extension of the system of Grand Juries , and to the devisal of some means by which vexatious and trivial suits might not be allowed to stand in the way of important actions which involve very large interests and demand a speedy settlement . The appointment of regular arbitrators in connection cases with , all our , if courts possible , who , to adjudicate ght be empowered on them , would report be a great such boon . We have seen in this gigantic trial that no reliance can be placed on the prudence or self-restraint of counsel ; the time of the Court was often needlessly taken up by elaborate attempts on the part of the " learned brothers" to create laughter , a very common failing among lawyers , and one which they carry with them sometimes to the bench . Nor were the loquacity and inconsequential prolixity of the witnesses sufficiently restrained ; and much of the evidence might well have been omitted . We may remark here that this tendency to playing the buffoon is one which seems to be increasing among counsel , and which is sometimes carried to such lengths

      as seriously to disgust those whose sense of decency is stronger than their sense of humour . Probably a certain section of the press will make great capital out of this trial . They will hold the Roman Catholic religion up to contempt , as if that , andnot human nature , were answerable for the petty nieannesses and prejudices exposed in the course of the evidence , & c , & c . If the private life of many families were brought before a court of law , they would be found , without any regard to the religion of their members , to be quite asfull of jealousies and petty tyrannies as any convent . We do not want to make religious capital out of the case one way or another , but rather would extract from it a lesson of charity and mutual forbearance . To some natures convent life may be of great benefit , just as teetotalis power m of sel f -restraint , as moderation , are nobler in qualities pleasures than of the total table abstinence , and the , so is it more noble to do our duty in the ordinary social relations of life , unselfishly " and perseveringly , than to withdraw into a state of seclusion , which , while it may afford more leisure for doing good , never can afford so many opportunities .

      A Fettered Exhalation.

      A FETTERED EXHALATION .

      Beetle Watts Or T A O Be Double Don - E ...

      beetle Watts or a o be double don - breasted to him Tarantula ? Fillip hi for m with producing a thre s e uch -man a pie not c dare e ! A to D plead ead Heart " Not G must uilty ! " only excuse , or he would

  • Citation
    • Tomahawk (1867-1870), March 6, 1869, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/t/issues/ttw_06031869/page/1/