Papurau Newydd Cymru
Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru
8 erthygl ar y dudalen hon
HUiropolitau (iksstp.
HUiropolitau (iksstp. EY OUR OWJF COEKESPOSDEHT. [The remarks under this head are to be regarded as the expression of independent opinion, from the pen of a gentle- man in whom we have the greatest confidence, but for whiel, we nevertheless do not hold ourselves responsible.] The crowning triumphs of the French Exhibition have been accomplished. The prizes have been dis- tributed. Rossini's latest work with its marvellous accompaniments of bell ringing and cannon firing has been performed; the Emperor has congratulated France, himself, his visitors, the exhibitors, and the world, and with the grand ceremony of this week it may be considered that the" Exposition Universille" of 1867 has reached its zenith. It cannot be ex- pected that it should have other than the usual fate of its kind. They are ushered into being, like young bears, in a very crude state, but their advent is never- theless hailed with a flourish of trumpets and a general rejoicing. When they have grown into shape and ap- pearin their maturity, they receive an immense ovation, and are extolled as the best of their kind ever seen-the wonder of the whole earth. But no sooner has the last echo of eulogium died away than they lose the public favour, and although they drag along a weary existence for a short time, fail ever again to excite the enthusiasm of their middle life. The Paris Exhibition has been particularly fortunate in exciting attention hitherto. Crowds of potentates of all magnitudes have left their own orbits and travelled towards Gaul. Kings and princes have been in Paris as thick as leaves in Vallombrosa," but unfortunately the supply of kings and princes is extremely limited, and it cannot be expected that for a much longer period their reflected light will illumine the great show in the Champ de Mars. Nothing was left undone to make the grand event of the year as imposing as possible. Everybody who bore any sort of title, or was entitled to sport any sort of uniform was invited and almost everybody went. From the sublime Porte (who was of course the chief attraction) down to the mayors of small provincial towns, hundreds upon hundreds were there, dressed with an ingenuity which was doubtless extraordinary, and by all accounts the thing went off well. But, as I have said, folks are beginning to get tired of it. The Lord Mayor of Lon- don and his confreres, the sheriffs and aldermen, intend having a week of it since they are over, at any rate, but the Vrince of Wales, who has visited it before, return? at once. The Emperor, who still makes his daily appearance, must be awfully wearied of it, and Baron Haussmaun and his satelites must be still more so > while fashionable Parisian society is crying out When is the season to end ?" Therefore, although Franz and Gretchen, Jean and Jeanette, Uncle Sam, and Patrick, Sawney and John Bull-the common people of all countries—will still crowd to Paris, to be victimized by Parisian landlords, and wander with wondering eyes round the interminable walls of the Exhibition, there will be few who belong to the upper and fashionable classes to be found among them. There will, of course, be a sort of revival when the Emperor and Empress of Austria, and the Queen of Spain arrive, the latter asserting that she has been detained by the heat she asserts, but more likely by the emptiness of the royal treasure ehest. But it will only be a faint reflection of by-gone glories. And then there will be a very mild ceremony, or no ceremonial at all at the closing, a removing of cases and goods, a pulling down of the vast arrangement of sheds and pavilions, and the dust will cover the Champ de Mars as of yore, and the Exhibition of '67 will be a thing of the past, commemorated only by the representation of the obverse and reverse of a medal on the circulars of the tradespeople. Such is every life, a youth, a man- hood, and a decay such every play, an introduction, a climax, and a fall of the curtain; such every social enjoyment, a quiet time, a merry time, and a time for haiid-shaking and departure. If the life is a happy one, the play interesting, and the wine good, we enjoy them all, look back on them with pleasure, and hope for the like in time to come. So although the begin- ning of the end of the Paris Exhibition has come, there are many who have already visited it, and many who will yet visit it, who will remember it with pleasure, and while they think of their merry party, of the sights they saw in sunny France, and of the wonders of the Exhibition itself, will grant the praise which is his due to the Emperor who is the prime mover in the whole matter, because, in this same year, he converted the Field of War into the Field of Peace. The London season is also drawing to a" close. Public business is well advanced; the famous Reform Bill which has been such a bone of contention all along will be sent up to the Lords about the middle of this month, and will be succeeded by a few bills of import- ance, which will be as rapidly disposed of as possible to admit of an early dissolution. Already honourable members are looking to their guns and writing to their country housekeepers and gamekeepers, or preparing to return to private businesses, which have been in so far neglected for state duty; while their spouses are conning over the lists of those to whom they owe invitations, that they may order the last dinner or ball. State drawing-rooms, concerts, and balls, con- tinue to be the order of the day, and the court upholsterers and gardeners are as busy as they can be preparing for the Sultan's arrival on the 13th. If the news which reaches us from Paris is to be believed, his French hosts do not very well know what to do with him, he demands so much attention, and is followed by a suite of such alarming proportions. He has already annexed Italy and France to the Turkish territories, and will shortly add England also. John Bull may be a little surprised to learn this, but such is the pleasant fiction by which his visit has become at all possible. Wherever the world is favoured by the sight of the countenance of his Sublimity, there the Giaour dogs become converts to Islamism and dependents of Constantinople. Of course England, France, and Italy will prove rather rebellious provinces, and their contributions to the Turkish treasury will be small, but what of that? The law has been complied with the Sultan has come, has seen, and is supposed to have conquered. The departure of the Viceroy of Egypt from Paris on his visit to this country has been delayed fov a few days, owing, it is stated, to an invitation from the Sultan, who has asked his Highness to prolong his stay in Paris. It is probable that the Viceroy will arrive in London this week. His intention was to reside incognito with his agent in London, but, Government offering him an official reception, he accepted it. The said offi- cial reception is that he is sent to Claridge's Hotel, and has the use of the old grey horses with which we delight to honour foreign Sovereigns, while the nation carefully checks the bill, and then. pays it. France really treated him well, and as a prince, but we use him like a man who has no money. The Prince of Wales would scarcely like being sent to a caravan- serai as if he could not pay for himself, and it would not be surprising were the Viceroy offended since he has done us so many good offices—that they should meet with such a shabby requital. The Yelverton case has again cropped up, and this time under more romantic circumstances than ever. It will be remembered that an Irish jury and Irish judges found that Miss Longworth was by their law the wife of Major Yelverton, and that he was bound to support her. The Scotch law lords, however, refused to acknowledge her as such, although a minority of them were in her favour. Mrs. Yelverton, therefore, now comes to the bar of the House of Lords and prays that the last resource of Scotish law may be put in force—that Major Yelverton may be examined on oath as to the truth of the matter. This is rather a hazardous experiment, but in certain cases it has suc- ceeded and upset apparently conclusive evidence-and Major Yelverton himself appears rather afraid of the ordeal. He is afraid to come forward and deny that he legally roamed Theresa Longworth, while she in forma pauperis, without money or counsel and con- ducting her own case, comes to the highest court in the land and prays that he may be compelled to speak the truth. Her addresses to the judges were excellent, and had just enough of the legal about them to be in keeping with the locality in which they were delivered, while in substance they were piquant and racy. 1 he judges listened attentively and showed the unfortunate lady great attention. If Mrs. Theresa Yelverton gains her point it may change the fortune of the day even at the eleventh hour. She has fought her cause well and nobly, but even should she gain it, it will only be the beginning of sorrows to Major Yelverton's other wife.^ God show the right," as the old Scotch motto has it, but which- ever way it goes the result can only be misery. No /!C-.I more lamentable instance of the inefficacy of our marriage laws could be found than this—that a man should have two wives at the same time and the highest legal authorities in the land be unable to say which of them ought to bear the name of wife. A public demonstration was held in St. James's Hall on Saturday morning in honour of William Lloyd Garrison, a man who is but little known in this country, but who has been the successful instrument of a great work in America. Nearly a lifetime ago, and where he was without money or friends, Mr. Garrison became impressed with the guilt of slavery, and devoted himself to its overthrow. Not possessing any great talents he set to publishing pamphlets and tracts, which being sent southwards raised a storm of indignation against their author, and a price was set on his head. On a visit to Maryland he was cast into prison, and lingered there for some time, but having regained his freedom he recommenced his good work. For years he laboured and received only contumely, but by and bye the truth of his doctrines drew men of power to his side; the agitation became general, the civil war began and the chains were struck from the hands of the slave. It was meet therefore that Britons should do honour to this man, and Saturday's assembly was worthy of ourselves, of him, and of his work.
EXECUTION OF THE EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN.
EXECUTION OF THE EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN. NEW YORK, July 1. The captain of an Austrian frigate has telegraphed from New Orleans to the Austrian Minister at Washington that the Emperor Maximilian has been executed, and that Juarez refuses to deliver up the body.
PUBLIC BREAKFAST IN LONDON…
PUBLIC BREAKFAST IN LONDON TO MR. GARRISON. A very distinguished company assembled at a public breakfast in St. James's Hall, on Saturday morning last, to do honour to Mr. William Lloyd Garrison, who throughout his career has been the courageous and persistent advocate of negro emanci- courageous and persistent advocate of negro emanci- pation in America. The meeting took the form not only of a welcome to Mr. Garrison, but a celebration of the abolition of slavery in America, and the assem- bly was in many respects as remarkable as the occasion itself. Mr. Bright was in the chair. The Duke of Argyll, Earl Russell, Mr. Stuart Mill, Mr. Stansfeld, Mr. George Thompson, Mr. Vernon Harcourt, and the Hon. E. L. Stanley were amongst the speakers, whilst many members of the House of Commons, many noble ladies, and men distinguished in literature, were present. Mr. Bright, who was received with loud cheers, said The position in which I am placed this morning is one very unusual for me, and one that I find somewhat difficult; but I esteem it a signal distinction to be permitted to take a prominent part in the proceedings of to-day, which are intended to commemorate one of the greatest of the great triumphs of freedom, and to do honour to the most eminent instrument in the achievement of that triumph. There may be perhaps some who ask what is this triumph of which I speak. To put it briefly, and indeed to put only a part of it, I may say that it is a triumph which has had the effect of raising four millions of human beings from the very lowest depth of social and political degradation to that lofty height which men have attained when they possess equality of rights in the freest country on the globe. And more than this, it is a triumph which has pronounced the irreversible doom of slavery in all countries and for all time. How has this great matter been accomplished ? The answer may be given in another question, How is it that any great matter is ever accomplished? By the love of justice, a constant devotion to a great cause, and by an unfaltering faith that what is right will in the end succeed. When I look at this as- sembly, and partake of the sympathy which runs from heart to heart at this moment as we welcome our guest of to-day, I cannot but contrast his present position with that which he occupied in his own country not so far back but that many of us can remember it. It is not forty years ago, I believe, in about 1829, that our guest was spending his solitary days in a prison in the slave-owning State of Baltimore. I will not say that he was languishing in prison, for that I don't believe-he was sustained by a hope that did not yield to the persecution of those who maltreated him; and to show that the effect of that imprisonment was of no avail to suppress or extinguish his ardour, I may state that within two years after that he had the courage, the audacity I daresay many of his countrymen thought it, to commence the publication in the city of Boston of a newspaper devoted mainly to the question of the abolition of slavery. The first number of that paper, published on the 1st of January, 1831, contained an address to the public. I have often read a passage in it with the greatest possible interest, as it is the key to Mr. Garrison's then future life. It had been complained of that he had used hard language. He answered: "I am aware that many object to the severity of my language, but is there not cause for severity ? I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. I am in earnest; I will not equivocate; I will not excuse; I will not retreat a single inch; and I will be heard." That ex- plains to a great extent the life of Mr. Garrison. But what was the temper of the people amongst whom he lived at that time, the people who now glory, as they may well glory, in the abolition of slavery in their country? At that time it was very little better in the North than in the South, and I think it was about the year 1835 that riots of a most terrific character took place in some of the Northern States, and during that time, in Boston, Mr. Garrison's life was in the most imminent peril, and it has never been quite ascertained to this day how it was that he was left alive upon the earth to carry out his great work. Turning to the South, the Legislature of the State of Georgia passed a bLI offering ten thousand dollars for the capture of Mr. Garrison or adequate proof of his death. [Mr. Garrison; "Five thousand."] They seemed to think, it appears, that there were people who would do it cheaply, or that zeal would make up for the smallness of the reward. These were menaces and perils such as we have not been accustomed to in this country in any of our political movements, and we shall take a very poor measure indeed of the conduct of the leaders of the eman- cipation party in the Unitd States if we measure them by any of those who have been concerned in political movements amongst us. But notwithstanding all this the cause was gathering strength, and Mr. Garrison found himself by-and-by surrounded with a small but increasing band of men and women who were devoted to this cause as he himself was. We have in this country a very noble woman who taught the English people much upon this question about thirty years ago; I allude to Harriet Martineau. I recollect very well the impression with which I read a most powerful and touching paper of hers in the Westminster Review for December, 1838. It was entitled "The Martyr Age of the United States." That paper introduced to the English public the great names which were appearing on the scene in connection with this cause in America. There was, of course, in distinct character our eminent guest; there were Arthur and Louis Capern; and Mr. Berney, of Alabama, a planter and slaveowner, who liberated his slaves, came North, and was the first candidate on abolitionist principles n the United States; there were also Dr. Channing, John Quincy Adams, President of the United States, and father of the American representative in this country; Wendell Phillips, admitted to be the most distinguished orator who speaks the English tongue Charles Summer, and Horace Greely, the first journalist in the United States, if not in the world. But besides, there were noble women not a few. There were Mrs. Child, the two sisters, Angelina and Sarah Blinkie, who liberated their slaves and devoted their lives to the cause of emancipation, and Mrs. Chapman, whom Miss Martineau extols in high terms. And there was another, who most not be forgotten —Mr. Love joy, who laid down his life in the free State of Illinois for the cause. When I read this article of Miss Martineau s, I was driven, I don't know how, to think of the very striking passage which I am sure must be familiar to most here, because it is to be found in the Epistle to the Hebrews. After the writer had described the great men and fathers of the nation, he says ;The time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jentha of David also, and of Samuel and the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the arms of the aliens." I ask if this grand passage of the inspired writer may not be applied to that heroic band who have made America the perpetual home of freedom. Now, to Mr. Garrison, more than to any other man this is due—the creation of that opinion which has made slavery hateful, and which has made freedom possible in America. His name is venerated in his own country-venerated where not long ago it was a name of obloquy^ and reproach. His name is venerated in this country and in Europe, and where- soever Christianity softens the hearts and lessens the sorrows of men, and I venture to say that in time to come-near or remote I know not, but whether near or remote this is cer- tain, that his name will become significant only of good to millions of men who will dwell on the now almost unknown continent of Africa. But we must not allow our own character to be forgotten or depreciated even whilst we are saying favourable things of our friend beside me, and our friends across the water. We can share in the triumph that I have described and in the honours which the world is wil- ling to shower upon our guest. We have liberated slaves in this' country. Our position, however, was different. The negroes were not so numerous, they were not in our midst; they were four thousand miles away, and we had no prejudice of colour. We had a Parliament that was omnipotent over those colonies, and public opinion acting here upon the Parliament, was of course far too powerful for the resistance of those who were interested in the continuance of slavery. Still we liberated our slaves. The English soil did not reject the bondsman, but the moment he touched it it made him free. We have now in our memory our Clarkson and Wilberforce, and Buxton and Sturge. We have now even within this hall the most eloquent champion of the freedom of the slave which Eng- land has produced, in my friend, and your friend, George Thompson. I am at liberty to say that we will share in some degree the renown which belongs to our guest, and we will divide it with the country from which he comes. Our country was once his, for did not his fathers, I presume, bear allegiance to our ancient Monarchy, and were they not at one time citizens of this English commonwealth; and may we not boast that the freedom which now overspreads his noble nation first sprang into life amongst our common ancestors ? To Mr. Garrison, it has been given to see, in a manner not often afforded to those who do great things of this kind the great fruit of his labours. Over a territory large enough to make many realms, he has seen hapless toil supplanted by a compensated industry, and where the bond- men dragged his chain, there freedom is enthroned for ever. We welcome him amongst us as a friend whom some of us have known long. I have watched his career with interest since I was much too young to take much part in public affairs. I have kept within my heart his name and the names of many of those who have been associated with him, and in every step which has been taken, be it in public discussion, in their halls of legislation, or even in that sad field, the field of war, my heart has always gone with those who were the friends of freedom. We welcome him amongst us with a cordiality which knows no stint and no measure. On him and his noble associates, men and women, we venture to pass a verdict which I believe will be sanctioned by all mankind, not by the generation now living, but by those who shall come after us, and to whom their great struggles and their great success shall be a help in those future struggles which remain for men to make. One of our oldest and greatest poets has furnished me with a line which shall declare that verdict. I would ask are not these persons renowned now for their great work in the world's eye- William Lloyd Garrison and the noble men and women who were associated with him-are they not On fame's eternal beadroll worthy to be filed ?" The Duke of Argyll moved air address of welcome to Mr. Garrison, which was seconded by Earl Russell, and supported by Mr. Mill, M.P.; and enthusiastic and prolonged were the cheers when Mr. Garrison rose to reply. As a passing tribute to the memory of Mr. William Lloyd Garrison, the Daily News thus writes:— The leader for many years of the "forlorn hope of aboli- tionism in the United States, Mr. Ganison has a right to a larger share in the honours of victory than has been pre- viously accorded to him. He wears his honours meekly; but of that small band of men to whom the awakening of the national conscience to the evil of slavery is due, he is, perhaps, the chief. He is one of those who, by their suffer- ings in the early days of the agitation, made the abolition cause their own; but more happy in this respect than most of them, he has lived to enjoy its triumph. We can well imagine that it is with a feeling of wonder that Mr. Garrison realises the change which a single generation has wrought. It was on New Year's-day, 1831, while the first Reform Bill was being discussed here, that Mr. Garrison published the first number of The Liberator. In the address to the public in that first number he declared that he was in earnest, and would be heard that on the question of the guilt of slavery his influence should be felt and that posterity would bear testimony that he was right. At that time, not even his enthusiasm had dreamed of success, in the then commencing struggle, within his own times. But that success has come so rapidly and so completely that he has not had to appeal to posterity for jus- tification for his own generation have justified him by the adoption of the great act of justice which it was his mission to urge. It is his unusual privilege to rejoice over the triumph of principles for which he has severely suffered—to represent in his own person the age of martyr- dom and that of triumph, and to unite within the limits of one personal experience universal condemnation and as universal praise. No man now living has known unpopularity for the sake of truth and justice as Mr. Garrison has. For years his name was a byword: he carried his life in his hand, and there were multitudes who thought that to kill him would do their country service. Yet neither the hatred he roused nor the danger he incurred drove him back. His unpopularity was shared with truth, the hatred he incurred was incurred for the sake of justice, and he willingly took the personal suffering and risk as the necessary incidents of an heroic warfare. No honour that is done to such a man in this prosaic age can be too great. He has reproduced before the present generation some of the features of a more self sacrificing manhood than is ever common in prosperous times. Give him of the fruit of his hands, and let his own works praise him in the gate." Perhaps, of all living men, Mr. Garrison represents most completely the power of moral suasion as distinguished from all forms of force. Mr. Garrison's appeal was to the conscience of the people; and the strength of his in- vective, and the violence of his denunciation, were justified by the greatness of the national sin and the apathy of the national conscience. He cared not what passions he roused toward himself if he made some impression on the public mind of the evil of slavery. But it is to his lasting honour that he would not permit even the personal violence of his opponents to diminish his antagonism to the very suggestion of war. The American people will probably never know how much they owe to Mr. Garrison for his persistent adhesion to moral agitation. In the long run slavery itself took the sword and perished by the sword; but, thanks to Mr. Garrison, the anti-slavery agita- tion was always identified with a policy of peace. Negro insurrections were of more than occasional occur- rence, and they might easily have been used as one of the weapons for the destruction of slavery. Indeed this was what the South always expected and feared. Half the violence it exhibited was the -violence of terror, for the Southern air was generally full, in all times of excitement, of that vague oppression and alarm which precedes the earth- quake. But Mr. Garrison persistently discouraged all resort to force. In the hours of bitterest discouragement, when the chains of the slave seemed to be only more securely fastened by the efforts to strike them off, no hint of servile insurrection, as a means to that end, was ever permitted to pass unrebuked. He frowned down the spirit of revolt, and communicated even to the negroes themselves some of his own confidence in the force of argument and the power of justice. The wonderful success which Mr. Garrison now represents has encouraged the friends of humanity all over the world. No oppression or abuse which liberal and philanthropic men are anywhere assailing looks stronger at this moment than American slavery did but a few years ago. Its swift and sudden overthrow has been taken as a warning by every kindred wrong, and, all over the world, the party of defence is weaker and that of assault is stronger for the labours and success of the American abolitionists. Their victory is the victory of human progress over one of its greatest obstacles.
THE MODEL TRADES' UNIONIST.
THE MODEL TRADES' UNIONIST. Of all the good things ever said, I specially admire The saying that the labourer is worthy of his hire. The just reward of labour I'm determined to make mine; And if I can't do that alone, with others I'll combine. The tyranny of capital is more than I will stand, i. And with my fellow-labourers together I shall band, In case employers screw us down below what's just and right; We'll strike, if we can do no more, till they our toil requite. We'll strike, and to make others strike we'll do our best, of course. Our best, but not our worst, my mates-refrain from brutal force, No blowing up with gunpowder! No knocking on the head No shooting Do no murder-let man's blood be never shed. No rattening of persons that offend against our rules Because it is a crime and sin to steal your neighbour's tools. No persecuting them that choose to work for what they can Take no man's liberty away, or else you rob the man. Your neighbour's house, his ox, his ass; your neighbour's goods and gains, Belong to him less closely than his hands do, and his brains. His use of them is most his own of all things that are his And he who robs a man thereof's the biggest thief that is. Intimidation's not the way fair dealing to compel It is the way to Sheftield-il that 's where you 'd like to dwell. Co-operation—that's our plan all difference to avoid; Let every man employer be, and every man employed. Then shall we know what wages we've the means ourselves to pay, Not causing those high prices that consumers drive away, To buy in foreign markets cheaper things and better made And we, with our Trades' Unions, shall not ruin British Trade.-Punch. ————————
THE LORD MAYOR OF LONDON AT…
THE LORD MAYOR OF LONDON AT THE TUILERIES. <? At two o'clock on Sunday last, a deputation con- sisting of the Lord Mayor of London, and other officials, wearing their robes of office-drove in their state carriages to the Tuileries, where they had the honour of being received by the Emperor and deliver- ing an address to his Majesty congratulating him on his escape from Berezowski's attempt. The following is the text of the document :— To his Imperial Majesty the Emperor of the French. We, the Loid Mayor, Aldermen, and Commons of the City of London, in Common Council assembled, desire to express to your Imperial Majesty our feeling of horror at the late atrocious attempt to assassinate your Majesty's illustrious guest, the Emperor of all the Russias, and our indignation that the perpetrator of this wicked act should have so flagrantly abused the right of asylum accorded to him in France. We also desire to express our hearty sympathy with the unanimous sentiment and the universal feeling of the Irench people, of abhorrence of the crime of the assassin, and of our devout gratitude for the providential escape of his Im- perial Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias, the object of the murderous attack, and for the preservation of your Majesty and the Imperial Princes of Russia from the im- minent peril in which they were placed. We deeply lament that this dreadful occurrence should have happened to cast a gloom over society at a time when your Majesty had attracted to Paris so many royal and illustrious visitors to witness the wonders of nature and art in the Great Exhibi- tion, and when the gallant people of France were welcoming with hospitality and generous courtesy the citizens of other countries to their brilliant capital. We humbly offer to your Imperial Majesty and the Empress of the French our ex- pressions of cordial sympathy and of our devout hope that your Majesty's life may be long spared to be a blessing to France and to the civilised world.—Signed by order of the Court, FREDERICK WOODTHORPE. The following is the text of his Majesty's reply My Lord Mayor and Gentlemen of the Deputation, I desire to express to you the great gratification I feel at this evidence of the sympathy and good feeling of the great Corporation of London evinced towards the Empress and myself by the presentation of this address. It is very gratifying to me to receive you, my Lord Mayor and the other members of the Corporation, and to find that you are to take part in the ceremonies connected with the Great Exhibition, and I de- sire to welcome you all to Paris. I preserve a most plea- surable recollection of my residence in your country, and a grateful remembrance of the kindness and sympathy shown towards me by the English on the occasion of my last visit. It has always been my earnest wish to increase and extend the intimate relations between the two countries, because I believe it promotes the peace of the world. The Lord Mayor then presented Mr. Alderman Copeland, the Father of the Court of Aldermen," and Messrs. Aldermen Carter, Rose, Alderman and Sheriff Waterlow, Mr. Harris, the mover of the address, Mr. Under-Sheriff Crosley, and the other members of the corporation to his Majesty.
---------_.-THE YELVERTON…
THE YELVERTON CASE. This case, which has been so long litigated in various courts in England, Scotland, and Ireland, came before the House of Lords on Thursday morning in last week upon a very curious point. The question of a marriage between the parties as established by evi- dence having been decided by their Lordships in the previous appeal adversely to Miss Longworth, or, as she still claims to be, Mrs. Yelverton, she applied to the Court of Session in Scotland to refer the matter to the oath of the respondent, the Hon. Major Yelverton. The origin of probation by oath under the Scotch law may be traced to the Roman law, and, indeed, is traced by Stair to more authoritative sources, and its competency in certain cases is fully admitted by the law of Scotland. It is an appeal to the conscience of the adversary, chiefly resorted to as a last resort, when ordinary proof has failed in establishing a fact impor- tant to the just decision of the question at issue. It is a singular fact that in scarcely any instance has a Court been unanimous in rejecting the claims of the appellant. Owing to its having transpired that the appellant would argue her case in person, the bar of the House was crowded, a considerable number of ladies and members of the Bar being present. The appellant, who was attired in a lavender moire- antique dress, trimmed with black, a black lace shawl, and a black bonnet of fashionable dimensions, ad- dressed their Lordships in a firm, clear voice, which became loud and impassioned when she adverted to the unfortunate position in which she was placed by the conflicting decisions that had been given on her case. The story of the case will be in the recollection of the public, and therefore it is unnecessary to do more than to give the following brief statement of the cir- cumstances immediately leading to the present appeal which we extract from The Times:— The appeal was brought against a decision of the majority of the judges of the First Division of the Court of Session, pronounced in two conjoined actions involving the question whether the appellant was the lawful wife of the respondent. In June, 1859, the respondent raised an action to have it declared that the appellant was not his wife, and that he was free of any marriage with her. The second action was raised in January, 1860, by the appellant, who sought to have it declared that she was his wife, and that they were lawfully married persons. These two actions, which sub- stantially involved the same question, were conjoined. The Lord Ordinary in July, 1862, found that the appellant had failed to establish the fact of a marriage, and decided in favour of the respondent in both actions, declaring the appellant liable in damages and expenses. That decision was, however, reversed by the majority of the judges of the First Division of the Court of Session in December, 1862, who found that the appellant was the lawful wife of the respondent. Against that decision the respondent appealed to the House of Lords, who, by a majority, after hearing very elaborate arguments, which lasted several days, reversed the judgment of the Court of Session, and pronounced a decree in terms of the conclusion of the summons of "putting to silence at the respondent's instance, but gave no damages or expenses. The cause having been remitted to the Court of Session, the respondent presented the usual petition to have the judgment applied, but was met on the part of the appellant by a note craving the Court to supersede con- sideration of the respondent's petition, and allow her to put in a condescendence of res noviter, to be received and added to the record, and remitted to probation. The res noviter was in substance that a person named Sarah Mallins, now dead, had, in July, 1862, stated to the Rev. Mr. Campbell, an Irish clergyman, that she had heard the respondent acknow- ledge to his brother, the Hon. Frederick Yelverton, who was also dead, that he had married the appellant. On consider- ing these applications the Court of Session, in December, 1864, pronounced the first interlocutor now appealed against, refusing the application, and applying the judgment of the House of Lords. The appellant then presented a petition praying the Court to refer the whole cause to the respondent's' oath. To that petition the respondent objected on two grounds. In the first place he pleaded that the cause re- ferred to his oath contained a charge of bigamy against him, and that he could not be compellell to state upon oath whe- ther he had been guilty of bigamy or not, and, secondly, he pleaded that not he alone was interested, but that Mrs. Forbes, a lady whom he married on the 26th of June, 1858, was also interested, and that her interests could not or ought not to be trusted to his oath. A majority of the judges of the Court below decided this point also against the appellant, and pronounced the second interlocutor appealed against. When the case was called on for argument on Thursday the appellant said that her counsel was detained in Edin- burgh upon important business, and would be unable to argue the case on her behalf. She therefore proposed to argue the case herself. She then proceeded to read passages from her printed case and the judgments of the Court below. In commenting upon the judgment of the Lord President, she said she failed to discover any prominent reason advanced by that learned judge why a general rule of law should be stayed on this occasion save the one so forcibly put by his Lordship—namely, that Mrs. Forbes would not like it were she asked;" but even, with his vast learning, he admitted that he knew no precedent for such a question being put. It would surely be the advent of a curious state of matri- monial arrangements if the second wife were permitted to raise her hand and bar the investigation of a prior marriage; yet, if the argument of the learned judge was good for anything, it was good for that. "But," said his Lordship, "she has the last judment in her favour." Did that reason meet the case? If so, upon the same ground, it should have been equally competent for the first wife, when possessed of a judgment in her favour, to have raised her hand and have stopped further proceedings. "But," said his Lordship, Mrs. Forbes was married in a church in facie ecclesice, and we must support this particular form of religious ceremony. "Oh! my Lords," said the appellant upon this point, "I should like to see a little less specialistic ritualism, and little more religious adherence to the immutable and ever lasting law of God. That Major Yelverton at two differen. alters, in two different churches, but in presence of the one God, solemnly bowed himself, and took two different women to love and cherish till death did them part, all within the short space of a twelvemonth, has been proved beyond yea or nay but one was in Scotland, the other in Ireland; one was a Catholic and the other was a Protestant altar- that was the only tangible difference. We Catholics are not Fire Worshippers, or followers of Vishnu; we are Christians, and adore the same Christ Saviour, and desire to follow his teaching in respect to being the wife of one husband. Is not this litigation as irksome to the one lady as the other? Is the expense not as great to the unfortunate lady dragged into this cause by Major Yelverton-for I have to state dis- tinctly that this is purely Major Yelverton's action-that there was no action pending against him when this was in- stituted, and no proceedings have been raised against him for five years that he was offered the withdrawal of any further demands, or claims, or litigation, after the Irish trial, but he has chosen to pursue this most revolting and disgraceful of actions to the feelings and honour of a lady— an action which is a disgrace to the stutute-book of a civilized lard. True that your lordships, with the delicacy of Christian gentlemen, did not grant the full solatium prayed for by the respondent. True that your Lordships put your veto upon the revolting and barbarous spectacle of a lady being fined, prosecuted, and despoiled of her substance and her just earnings for the only reason that she maintained before God and man the assertion and proof of her untar- nished honour, because she refused to sully her breath of life by owning, even under the dastardly torture of a 501. penalty, she was other than a virtuous wife. This appeal to your Lordships' House would not have taken place had the respondent not refused to depone on oath, when, if his conscience would have allowed him to depone negatively, it must have been conclusive; nor does it seem more pertinent to advance the delicate sensitiveness of a man's feelings whose reckless want of it brought down upon him in the Dublin court the bitter hisses of his fellow-countrymen For seven long years had her claims been bandied about in various courts in the three kingdoms; they had been sub- mitted to eighteen judges, and handled by nearly a hundred lawyers without any unanimous decision being arrived at "It is not my intention," continued the appellant "to trespass upon the time of your Lordships by a recital cf my bitter wrongs and unprecedented sufferings for years, but when the Scotch judges devote arguments to the pleading in TYiisBTicoTdiQt for Major Yelverton, and exercise the dis- cretion of the Court in his behalf, it gives me the right to plead before this Court, the highest tribunal of equity, that the Scotch judges had done well to be just before they were generous, that they had done well to remember the out- raged, unprotected stranger standing at their bar for the measure of justice, waiting for several long years in the agonizing alternations of hope and despair-o-ne moment pronounced to be a lawful wil* aad the next degraded to the lowest depth to which a woman can fall when guilty. Reft of home, of husband, and of honour, cast ruthlessly on the cold and blighting world, desolate yet undaunted, she has been drifted a pauper before your Lords." At this stage of the proceedings the further hearing of the case was adjourned. On Friday morning the hearing of the case was re- sumed when several ladies were present in the galleries, and a considerable number of peers were in their places. The appellant, who was accompanied by two or three ladies, addressing their lordships, said In accordance with a suggestion of your lordships, I have marked certain passages in the judgments of the Scottish judges which I will submit to you instead of reading the whole. One of the judgments I have read fully. The Lord Chancellor You were quite right, because it was in your favour. The appellant then proceeded to read her selected ex- tracts from the judgment of Lord Curriehill. Commenting upon it she said the decision of the House of Lords on a for- mer occasion was not final in the case of Mrs. Forbes, but merely a temporary advantage in her favour. It was a decision founded on the glorious uncertainty of the law, ful- filling the words of the poet, that- Now we are secured by law Till the next brother finds a flaw. The decision was not final, inasmuch as it did not bar thd present appellant from establishing her Irish marriage in the Consistorial Court. It was not final against Mrs. Yelverton, because it did not bar her from applying for a divorce. She was told that the House of Lords was the only place in which Major Yelverton could obtain a divorce, as he was an Irish- man, and the Divorce Court had no jurisdiction there. Nor did the decision of the House of Lords assoilzie the debt which Mr. Thelwall held against Major Yelverton for the support of his wife. It could not avail Major Yelverton be- cause he was exiled from his country that he could evade that country's law. The full court judgment of one country could not, she apprehended, be set aside by the judgment ot another country whose laws it neither knew nor recognized. Hence, if this Irish judgment was binding upon Mr. Yelver- ton, it was also binding upon the appellant, because she had been pronounced by judge and jury to be the wife of Major Yelverton, the court refusing to take cognizance of what was done in Scotland. That judgment might be brought before their lordships, and upon conclusive evidence might be in-, duced to confirm the unanimous decision of the Irish judges. She would inquire where was the res judicata of Mrs. Forbes's marriage, which was declared by Lord Curriehill to be a solemn proceeding in facie ecclesioe. She certainly did not expect such a declaration from a judge in Scotland, where marriage was regarded simply as a civil and not as a religious or sacramental contract. At all events, there had been on the part of the appellant an equally solemn marriage in facie ecclesice at Rosstrevor. On the 25th of June the appellant arrived in Leith She went there to join her husband, and was met by him. She was at that time in the affectionate care of her sister, being at the time in feeble health. She went there because he had told her that unless she came to him he would be a ruined man. The appellant thought she might save him by the sacrifice of some of her property, and at that time her sister was in actual negotiation for the sale of some of her property to help him. She knew that he had been in pecuniary difficulties, and attributed his present wretched- ness to that cause, but she had no suspicion of his faithless- ness. She had no warning of the stormy cloud which was about to burst over her head no glimmering of the vortex of misery which was to engulf her in its dark folds for so many years. When he left her he promised to take her to a more suitable home. On that same evening Mrs. Forbes wrote to Dean Ramsay asking him to marry her on the next morning early to Major Yelverton, not in the Dean's own church, which was only 300 paces off, with all the solemnities which were usuaUy observed, but in the small fishing hamlet of Newhaven. If that marriage had taken place in England it would be illegal or, at all events, would be voidable because the marriage took place out of her own parish. But both marriages were alike private. There were no banns in either case, one marriage being private, and the priest having dispensed with them in the other. There was no ringing of bells, no breakfast, no bridesmaids, no announcements in any of the public papers. She would defy the keenest critic to point out any distinction between the two marriages, and yet it was upon that ground—tha ground of the solemnity of the marriage in facie ecccesix- that the Scotch judges refused to allow the law to take its course. Such, then, were the solemni- ties of Mrs. Forbes's marriage. Notice was given to Dean Ramsey at eleven o'clock at night, and the marriage took place at ten o'clock next morning. This haste was attributable to the fact that the first wife had arrived. That there was a first wife was told to Mrs. Forbes by Major Yelverton during their five weeks' acquain- tance before their pretended marriage. This fact, she sub- mitted, exposed the innocence of Mrs. Forbes to very considerable doubt. The law did not allow a man to have two legal wives at one time, and it was on this point alone that she asked their lordships for satisfaction; she simply wished to tear down the gigantic lie which it had cost Major Yelverton his fortune and his fame to build up during the long period of seven years. She was not pleading for any pecuniary gain; never was the appellant indebted to Major Yelverton for one shilling. She was not seeking to thrust from hearth and homestead a man, woman, or child. She was not seeking to take away their bread of life, or deprive them of any right which they had reason to believe was theirs unassailable. If children there be, their wrong is on the head of the mother, who knew the risk from the begin- ning, before their infant spirit had breathed the air of this sad world. If she were innocent up to the hour of her mar- riage ceremony, the wrong be on the head of the one who de- ceived her. If retribution is to fall, as fall it must, yea, even in this world, it must fall on the head of the evildoer. "Besure thy sin will find thee out." All she pleaded for was that Major Yelverton might be asked, "Did you or did you not marry Maria Theresa Longworth?" and surely English justice would not refuse so simple a demand. They had it on the highest authority that "an eath for confirmation is the end of all strife." It would be, she believed, the end of all these harassing proceedings, while by adopting so simple a course ample justice would be done to alL The appellant then proceeded to read extracts from the judgment of Lord Deas. On the reassembling of their Lordships after a short adjournment the appellant again appeared at the bar, and said her motion was that the matter be referred back to the Court of Session. She said her counsel had just arrived, and he would appear. The Lord Chancellor: I am afraid we cannot hear him now. You know we gave you your choice. The Appellant: Yes, then that is all I have to say. Mr. Anderson, Q. C. (in the absence of the Attorney- General, who was obliged to go to the House of Commons), in arguing the case on behalf of the respondent, proceeded to lay down three propositions— 1. That the reference to the respondent's oath was in- competent, inasmuch as the case had heen finally determined by the judgment of this House in the previous appeal. The matter having been sent down to the Court of Session to have the judgment of the House applied no new proceedings could be introduced. 2. That the reference was incom- petent because the rights of third parties would be involved and, 3, that the reference was incompetent because it involved a charge of bigamy against the respondent. The learned counsel had not concluded his argument when the House rose. The Lord Chancellor intimated that, in conse- quence of the learned judges having to attend their Lordships' House, the hearing of this cause could not be resumed for several days. The further hearing was therefore postponed sine die,
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.— 4 BEREZOWSKI'S ANCESTORS. The assassin, Berezowski-that is the only correct orthography of a name that has been subjected to more than one trans- mogrification-is, as manifest from his patronymic, of Russian descent. The Polish form of the name ia Brzszowski, Anglice, Beecher-i. c., he of the beech. wood. His great grandfather, according to Polish papers, was a Cossack from the Ukraine, who emigrated to Volhynia, where the son became suc- cessively postmaster and a civil administrative officel under the Polish Government. The postmaster's son, Berezowski s father, m his turn inherited a fine estate, served in the Russian Army, and was pensioned off when he had attained the rank of major. Though not flagrantly implicated in the rebellion, he, in 1863, shared the fate of many of his suspected countrymen, being banished to some distant inhospitable region, where he earned a scanty livelihood as a teacher of music. His estate was of course seized. The family, originally belonging to the Greek orthodox denomina- tion when in Poland, turned United Greeks, or what is the same, Roman Catholics, until, after the exten- sion of Russian sway to Volhynia, they were forced back to the bosom of the ortlfodox Church. A member of the latter Berezowski calls himself. "Is SHE INTELLIGENT ENOUGH TO VOTF, The Boston Commonwealth says A young lady in this city advertises herself as a thorough classical scholar, who desires a situation to teach the Greek and Latin languages, or either m a school in this city or vicinity, "to beginners or advanced pupils." A contem. porary remarks that the Put-em-down Society' must be on the alert. That young lady ought possibly to have as good a right to vote as even Patrick Mulligan, three months In from Cork, who doesnt know «B from bull's loot,' and never will learn."
FATAL CASES OF POISONING IN…
FATAL CASES OF POISONING IN LIVERPOOL. —On Saturday some persons residing in Vauxhall- road, Liverpool, partook of some potted herrings, which had been bought at a shop in Chisenhall-street. Two of them, James Grady and thomas Callaghan, died the same day, after severe sufferings, and many other persons who had also eaten of the fish were seized with fearful pains in the stomach. An inquest was held on Monday on the bodies of the two deceased men. The dealer stated that the herrings were fresh and the vinegar good. Medical evidence showed that death was caused by inflammation of the stomach and uv/SrineS m some irritant, which was in all pro- bability either from the incipient putrefaction of the fish or from some irritating material used in pickling. A verdict was returned in accordance with the medical evidence.