The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-11-14 00:00:00

A CURIOUS POINT OF LAW.

In a snit, "Muilitno L. Hussey," heard in the Rolls
Court, in London, a poia of some interest was
rAised with referenee to t,. legality of a marriage
performed in Ireland between a Prot e taint and Roman
Catholic by a Catholic priest.
William A. S. Pemberb on and Edward Sheardonn,
solicitors, having established the n ',inn of one Frances
A. Mullins, the mother f the plaintiff, to several
valuable freehold estates in Lincolnshlre, as the heiress-
at-law of Isaac Wood, who died intestate, availed
themselves of their influence over their client, who
was 1,11 to be an illiterate pers, u, to induce her to
convey to them in 1850 the estates in question. They
alleged that the expense: they had been put to in
making good her claim, as well as their costs generally
in the matter, were equal in value to the estates,
whereas, in truth, they barely amounted to on year's
rental of the lands. The plaintiff. Barry O'Meara
Mullins, as heir-at law of his mother, filed a bill in
September, 1862, to set aside the conveyance. and to
recover the lands from the mortgagees into whosf
hands they had passed. Before the cause came on for
hearing a compromise was entered into by plaintiff and
mortgagees, by which it was agreed to putup the estates
for sale, and to pay out of the proceeds 1;4,000 to plaintiff
as satisfaction of all his claims. This a,zreement was
subject to the condition that the plaintiff should make
good his title to the lands as heir-at-law of his mother
and the intestate Isaac Wood. On this condition was
involved the absolute importance of the case, for one
Parr, to whom the principal lot of the estates had been

sold, refused to complete his contract, on the ground
of the plaintiff's illegitimacy. As he alleged, at the
time of the marriage of the plaintiff's father with
Frances A. Mullins there was beim; NVOlllall, Joanna
Neil, a Roman CAM die, whom he hail already married
in Ireland. The plaintiff filed a bill for specific per-
formance against Parr, and the Master of the Rolls
decided that the plaintiff's title was good ; for, although
plaintiff's father had undoubtedly cohabited with
Joanna Neil, and even obtained portion of his seaman's
pay for her as his wife, there could, nevertheless,
lie found no record 14 his marriage with her;
and these circumstances were not sufficient to
rebut the strong presumption that arises from
I the fact of a second marriage that he did not
commit bigamy. And if even a record of the
marriage could have been found, a ceremony performed
by a Romish priest between a Protestant and a
Roman Catholic is in fact illegal, as was held in the
Yelverton case. Parr appealed to the Lords Justices,
who, withom denying that the balance of probability
was in favour of the plaintiff's legitimacy, declared
that the practice of the Courts of Equity was not to
force a title on a purchaser on which sufficient doubt
could be thrown to furnish fair grounds for subsequent
litigation, and in their opinion there was sufficient
riolni fur doubt. The order of the Master of the Rolls
being discharged, the plaintiff tiled the bill praying
that the terms of the compromise entered into between
himself and mortgagees might be carried out in
their integrity, or that the conveyance of 1850 should
he declared null and void as in the prayer of the original
bill.
' .

By the compromise before-trentioned an offer of
£4,000 had been made to the plaintiff as satisfaction
in full of his claims. This offer was repeated by Mr.
Jessel, subject to this condition that, as owing to the
plaintiff's inability to make out a perfect title the free-
holds might not fetch so much as at the last sale the
£4,000 shouldbe reduced in proportion to the price paid
by a new purchaser. This offer was I ejected.
The Master of the Dabs dismisse I the bill, on the
ground that the marriage of plaintiff's mother had not
been proved.

THE BIRTHDAY OF HIS ROYAL HIGH-
NESS THE PRINCE OF WALES.
Monday, the 9th inst., was the 27th birthday of
the Prince of Walt., and was observed in the metro-
polis by the ringing of church bells the display of flags
upon the masts of the vessels in the Thames, the dis-
charge of guns at the Tower and Westminster, &c.
The Queen provided a most agreeable surprise on
Monday morning for the Prince and Princess, who are
now staying at Windsor Castle. At a quarter to
sight o'clock Dr. Elvey, the organist of the Chapel
Jto al of St. tleorge, with the choristers and others.
proceeded to the corridor of the York 'rower, in which
their Royal Highnesses occupy a magnificent suite of
apartments. There the singers serenaded the Prince
aol Princess with the following glees .—" Merrily
wake," "Hail ! Smiling Morn," "On the Sea,'
"Hack! the Lark," "Foresters Sound," "In Sum-
, mer's Cool Shade," " The Dawn of Day," "Ode,"
and "thol Save the Queen !" At the close of the
serenade the choristers were hospitably entertained
with breakfast at the Castle.
The subjoined is the ode, which was composed ex-
pressly for the occasion by the Rev. W. H. Bliss :
Bright may the sun shine o'er thee,
Claduen thine ev'ry way ;
Joy ever smile before thee,
Shedding its welo one ray.
Chorit..—Year by year, awl day by day,
All English hearts thin for thee pray—
Britannia's hope, i old England's heir,
God shield from sorrow, pain and care
Bright may the sun shine o'er them,
Whose lives are dear to thee
May all be bright before them,
Bright every memory.
Chorus—Year by fear, etc.
ior Queen, beloved mid glorious,
In England's heart enshrined;
Thy Princess, to;, victorious,
By beauteous form and mind.
('teens—Year by year, etc.
hurrah! then for the Prince of Wales,
Hurrah ! then, for our Queen,
The Princess Alexandra,
And each "bonnie Royal wean.'
Chorux—Ye ir by year, and day by day,
All English hearts thus for thee pray—
God shield from sorrow, pain, and care,
Britannia's hope. Old England's heir.
Hurrah ! hurrah ! hurrah !

23,1 of wtober, two prominent Republicans, one a member of
Congress, were riding along a road when they were shot by
concealed assassins. One of them died in two hours, but the
other still survives. Each party blames the other with this
murder. The Republicans say the " Kuklux did it, but the
Democrats say the Republicans themselves did it in order to
get these Inca put out of the way, as they were raising cabals
and dissensions in the Arkansas Radical camp, Almost at
the same time, and in the same neighbourhood, another
prominent Republican was shot and killed by a concealed
assassin.
In St. Louis, on October 24, a Government detective was
murdered. II is body was hiuml in a blind alley, the back of
his head I.wing broken. lie had been active in ferreting
out revenue frauds, and that, it is thought, caused the
murder.
La Cooper County, Missouri, one night last week, an old
man named Mapes leas dragged from his bed by marauders
and murdered. The following day, his wife, her two
brothers, and a fourth person were arrested on the charge
of being iniplicated in the murder, and were taken to gaol.
On their way, as if by premeditation, a party of men over-
powered their guard, captured and hanged the two brothers,
and allowed the others to be taken to gaol.
At Laramie, in Wyoming territory. on the 10th of October,
the citizens formed a "vigilance committee," and sum-
marily hanged four thieves and desperadoes, and drove
several others out of the town. Despairing of the consti-
tuted authorities ever doing justice to these characters, the
people took the law into their 0.11 hands.
At Dardanelle, Missmui, on the Soth of October, a party
of necroes attacked the town, tiring into the houses of the
whites, win, rallied and drove them out of the place. Several
persons were wounded, and the despatch adds that "a
peace meeting was held by the whites the next day.".
On the night of the 23rd of October, Judge Scott, of
Clay County, Missouri, was called to the door of his house
and murdered Politics caused the murder.
. .

trnlZs"t'.:U,"TeXas7rarC;;;;i,";-1:1;;Ini;ife Bureau agent
was killed by political enemies.
At larrollton, near New Orleans. 011 the 23rd, a party of

...... -
disguised persons broke upon the gaol and killed tW-oliekdoes
who were prisoners. The same day a MY/ occurred at Gretna,
a village near by, between whites and blacks. Two men were
killed and several wounded, while ten houses were burnt.
The negroes, as usual, were driven out of the mace, and a
company of infantry from New Orleans finally queued the
disturbance.

.....
On October?! the steamer General Quitman, from Vicks•
burg for New Orleans, struck a snag on the Aississippi, sank,
and is as total wreck. Fortunately 110 lives were lost, but
the cargo of 1,200 bales of cotton and 4,500 sacks of cotton-
seed is all lost.
The steamer Del arte, on the Pacific, sailing from Silks
for VictoHa, was wrecked on the 21st. Her passengers and
crew and a portion of her cargo were saved, but the vessel
is a total loss.
A bark on Lake Erie, laden with petroleum, caught fire
and exploded near Cleveland, on October 25, severely in-
juring some of the crew.
On the 23rd a schooner was wrecked on Lake Michigan,
and seven persons were drowned.
In New York Harbour on the night of the 25th a
a Swedish brig caught fire, and some naptha on hoard ex-
ploding, two warehouses on the Dam Island shore were set on
tire. Four persons were killed by the explosion, and by a fire at
the same time in Williamsburg, near New York city, three
persons were burnt to death. " This catalogue of disasters,
murders, and misfortunes is certainly an appalling one,"
concludes the correspondent.