The Press.
London, England, 1854-05-13 00:00:00

Xnit3 and Volpe.

THE DEFINITION OF AN "ALIEN," in 80 far as the
jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery is concerned,
constituted the point which the Master of the Rolls
was called upon to decide on Monday last. The ob-
ject of the suit in which the point occurred wits to
obtain an order for the removal of two sons of Mr.
Adrian John Hope from the custody of their mother
to that of their father. The latter is the second son
of Mr. Hope, the banker of Amsterdam, Mrs. Hope
being a French lady, and the daughter of a distin-
guished French general. The two sons are respec-
tively named Adrian Elias Hope and Jean Henry
Hope, who are at present presumptive heirs to the
immense fortunes of the family. Mr. and Mrs. Hope
had lived much in Paris for some years after their
marriage, but, differences arising between them, they
separated, and Mrs. Hope had brought a suit for
divorce against her husband in the French courts,
from which also she had obtained several orders
regarding the custody and maintenance of the
children. In August last Mrs. Hope also commenced
a suit in the English ecclesiastical court, and in
September applied to the Cour Imperiale at Paris
that the two boys should remain with her during the
progress of the suit in the ecclesiastical court in
England, and obtained an order that they might do
so for four months, which was the period that the
French court, somewhat absurdly, supposed the
English court would take to give an opinion. The
application now made by Mr. Hope to have the
custody of the boys ; to be put in the way of taking
all proper proceedings in France in order to get pos-
session of them ; and for an injunction restraining
Mrs. Hope from interfering with them in any way,
was resisted first on the preliminary plea that the
court had no jurisdiction. The plea was argued at
much length and with great ability on both sides, the
principal point being whether the English Court of
Chancery could interfere as to the custody of infants
situated like the two sons of Mr. Hope, these sons
having an English father, but being born in France,
and of a French mother ; and, at present, being in
the custody of such mother, under and by virtue of
an order of the Cour Imperiale in France. By the
common law, on the one hand, it was contended they
were, to all intents and purposes, aliens ; and by the
municipal law, on the other hand, that they were
naturalised subjects:—
The Massa of the Roue, in giving judgment as to the
question of jurisdiction, said, that, without going into the facts
of the case, the real question was as to whether the two sons of
Mr. and Mrs. Hope were English subjects or not? lie had
always understood that the children of an Englishman born
abroad were English subjects although their mother might be
French, and that such children were to be treated, as far as the
operation of the English law went, as English subjects going
abroad; and therefore he had no doubt as to the Court having
jurisdiction to deal with their rights and protect their interests,
when called upon to do so. These children of Mr. and Mrs.
Hope, according to this theory, must be looked upon as English
subjects, and be treated as such. lie had no doubt that the
Court had jurisdiction in such a case as the present, and the
only question was how it could best enforce its power so as to
benefit the children. To state the ease generally, If the Court
were informed that there were English children residing abroad,
whose property was not properly administered, whose education
was neglected, and who were otherwise improperly brought up,
could it be doubted for one moment that this Court had jurisdic-
tion to protect such children, and that it was nut only within
the power but that it was also the duty of this Court to do so?
This Court was bound to exercise all functions and exert all in-
fluence which the Crown itself could do, as ',amt., patria, for the
protection of neat children, and the only difficulty, if any, in the
present case was as to how the Court could enforce its authority.
There were two questions before the Frisch rourte—dretly, as
to alimony, and, secondly, as to the custody of the infanta,

443

both of which points the] bad Ybtually, but, U to the second
(subject to the decision of the English court), deckled in favour
of the mother of the children. He would express no opinion
at present as to the propriety of the decision of the t ranch
Court, but as to the jurisdiction of this Court to deal with the
custody of these children, and its power to carry out and enforce
such jurisdiction, he entertained no doubt.
The further arguments of the case upon its merits,
which, it was said, would involve disclosures of a
painful character, were, at the suggestion of the
Master, postponed, with the view of the parties
coming to some private arrangement.
MOSES MOSES, whose extensive dealings as a re-
ceiver of stolen goods were lately made the subjectof
curiosity at the police court, was brought up at the
Old Bailey on Tuesday for trial. There were thir-
teen separate charges cf " feloniously receiving" laid
in the indictment, but the prisoner prudently fore-
stalled the evidence that was in readiness to support
them by at once pleading guilty to the whole series.
His counsel (Mr. Ballantine) then appealed to the
Court in mitigation of punishment :

Ills client had only beenengaged In these transactions for a
very few mondial, and up to that time carried on an honest busi-
ness, but, having unfortunately taken some premises which
brought him into contact with a notorious receiver of stolen pro-
perty, he in an evil hour was induced to become a party to the
proceedings of this person, and there was no doubt that for some
time he had lent himself to receiving property that had been
stolen from all quarters. The other mart however, was the ori-
ginator of the proceeding, and he had absconued and left the
prisoner to bear the whole of the consequences of the illegal
transactions that had been jointly carried on between them.
Since the prisoner had been in custody, he had given informa-
tion to the police which was likely to be of importance to the
interesur of justice ; and in additior, to those facts he begged to
assure the Court that there was no foundation fur the statement
that had gone forth that the prisoner was possessed of consider-
able wealth, but on the contrary he and his family were actually
reduced to a state of destitntion.
Witnesses were afterwards called to give the prisoner
a character, but all they could state was that they
had never heard anything wrong of him. Sentence
of fourteen years' transportation was pronounced, and
an order given by the Court that all property found
on the prisoner's premises, that could be identified,
should be restored to the owners.

A CARMAN named Hester, who had been allowed
to stable his horses on the premises of Mr. Rawlings,
a cheeaemonger, of New street, Covent-garden, was
charged at Bow-street with having stolen upwards
of 3001. from an iron safe in the shop. The whole
place, it seems, was left uninhabited at night, but
protected by strong locks, some of which on the
morning of the 17th March showed signs of violence.
Nevertheless the iron safe was found open, and its
contents gone. In this safe a good deal of cash was
usually placed as it was received from customers.
On the night of the robbery there was 3081. in it, of
which 1501. was in silver, including about 201. worth
of sixpences. Much mystery attended the robbery,
and for some time no clue could be found to the
perpetrator. At length suspicion was attracted to
the prisoner by his being discovered to have bought a
a cart. and paid 01. for it all in sixpences, as well as
paying away a good deal of silver money in other
purchases. When first questioned he stated that thu
silver was given him by an aunt, but the story was
proved to be false. Before the court he gave another
version, saying that he had been saving sixpences for
eleven years, and had moreover lately sold some pigs.
He was remanded.

THE SHARPER who victimised some tradesmen by
giving himself out as the Earl of Dalkeith, but who
was detected and apprehended in an attempt upon
the credulity of Mr. Dent, the watchmaker, was
brought up for trial on Tuesday at the Central Cri-
minal Court. The prisoner's name is John Woo/if,
and he is only twenty-one years of age. He pleaded
guilty, and instructed his counsel to urge in his behalf
the fact of his youth, the respectability of his family,
and that he had yielded to sudden temptation. He
was sentenced to six months' imprisonment with hard
labour.

WHILE stealing lead from the roof of the Wa
station of the South-Western Railway, a man
detected and pursued by a police officer. In attempt;
ing to escape over the ridges he feU through a sly.
light upon the rails below, and was so frightfully
injured that he died a few hours afterwards at the
hospital.
AN EirrENsrvE Itoneeny has been perpetrated on
the premises of Messrs. Charles Brook and Son, of
Meltham Mills, near Huddersfield, which were
broken into and a large iron fixture see blown open
with gunpowder, when Bank of England notes, Brad-
ford and Co. st. notes, with gold, silver, and sundry
bills of exchange, amounting to 8,0001., were stolen.
Everything connected with the affair shows that the
robbers were no novices, and that they were pretty
well acquainted with the premises.
ON Sunday morning the authorities at Aberdeen
were informed of a murder committed upon lel
Harvey, at Cults, near that city. Her body
found east into a ditch, with the throat Nit, and other-
wise mangled. A person named Forbes has
apprehended, accused of being the perpetrator att
horrid deed.

- ;.. +r
+i

From SLASHUM EBN HASHUM, residing in
London, to his friend KABOB EFFENDI, residing near
Thatladi-Kapoussi, on the Sea of Marmora, Constantinople.
I TOLD you, 0 Kabob, that my acquaintance Board, who had made so
many blunders in his geography, seeing the Lord Aberdeen come into
the room, went up to tell him, joyously, of his own mistake about
Scutari. Truly the jest of mirthfulness fell upon the ear of dissatis-
faction, for not ono smile would the nobleman accord to his friend's
narrative, and, when I was pointed out to him, he looked across the
room at me with a displeased expression of countenance. But who
was Aberdeen that he should scowl at Slashum Ebn Hashum ?
Aberdeen fears war, whereas Slashum, whose eyes glow at the trumpet
call, and whose scimitar flashes in its unsheathing like the lightning,
has rushed, shouting, among thousands of foemen, and with his single
arm has—[Our space being valuable, we have ventured to excise a
couple of pages in which Kabob's gallant correspondent brilliantly de-
scribes his taking a city in Anatolia with his own hand.]
Was 1, 0 Kabob, the man to be daunted by a frown from this
Earl? Assuredly not. I went up to him, and demanded of Board
that he should present us to one another after the manner of these
people. And, although Board evidently disliked the duty, he per-
formed it, seeking to improve your friend in the eyes of Aberdeen by
saying that, though a Turk, I was "an enlightened one." Enlightened
with such light as theirs indeed ! Mashallah ! Staferillah ! Light
laid on, as by their fetid gas-pipes, from the lowest cellar of Jehanum.
I
" I am happy in meeting your lordship," I said, knowing that
could annoy him. "An Osmanli must rejoice in the opportunity of
thanking the chief servant of the Queen of England for the aid she has
sent us in our need. Allah raz olsun ! "
" Ah! sad work, sad work!" grumbled my illustrious acquaintance.
" I am glad to hear, sir, that you are enlightened, because you must see
how utterly absurd has been the conduct of your people."
"We have eaten dirt in our time," I answered, humbly ; " but now
we have learned to imitate your noble nation."
"My nation was wiser, sir," he said; " we gave up our Sovereign
when a neighbour grew too powerful to endure him, and we submitted
to the seat of Government being transferred to the stronger country,
and you should have done the same."
" Ha! ha!" said Board, good-humouredly. " Another excellent
joke.! Our Oriental friend is thinking of this country. Lord Aberdeen
is a Scotchman, don't you know? "

I did not understand this ; so Board, in order to explain it, told
me that Scotland was to England what Greece was to Turkey, and that,
indeed, its capital was called Modern Athens. So I asked him whether
one of these days the European powers would unite and make Scot-
land independent, and give her a Bavarian King Board thought this
very amusing, but his friend frowned him down.

" You allude to English rule, my lord ?"
" I allude to nothing of the kind. We have enough to do between
India, Australia, and America, to say nothing of home, which is the last
place a true philanthropist should think of."
" Your lordship, being a Protestant of rather a strong school,
would hardly call France a Christian power. Besides, the Sovereign
of France has been the object of the abuse of your Cabinet."
Here Board coloured up, and slunk away.
" I do not mean France," said my lord ; " I mean the nation
which is your powerful neighbour—the England to your Scotland—the
nation with which you are unhappily at war. Had your Government
been reasonable, and sacrificed a few prejudices, instead of your being
in arms and clamouring to Europe for aid, you might, under the
auspices of Russia, have been pursuing the path of civilisation and
enlightenment. I can assure you that the Czar had the kindest views
towards you, but he has been misinterpreted and slandered."
" It is the fortune of good men to be so treated, my lord," I re-
plied ironically.
" I know his designs," said the Earl. " Without entering into his
territorial policy, which does not concern you, he had resolved to im-
prove Constantinople for you in a way which would have made you
grateful for ever. He would have abolished the bastinado."
" For the knout."
" He would have drained the city."
"Of its piastres, my lord. We expected that."
" He would have reformed your army."
" And fed it on garbage, as he does his own."
" He would have taught you how to treat women."
" After the fashion he treated the Minsk nuns ? Our women do
not like being flogged. and kicked, and flung into ponds."
" He would have fortified your capital."
" It needs no fortifications, except against him."
" He would have promoted education."
" Our schools are better than his already ; and for that matter,
my lord, better than your own. We do not leave children to perish
in ignorance to please schismatics."
" And he would have made your Golden Horn—"
" Another nursery for Russian sailors—a seeond Sea of Azoff.
We are very much obliged to him, and to you, my lord ; but, on the
whole, I venture to repeat my humble thanks for your Queen's assist-
ance, and to say once more Allah raz olsun."
Lord Aberheen went away in a very ill temper, and I hastened to
write down our conversation. It confirms all we had heard, 0 Kabob,
of his affection for the man in boots, and so I have written to my
patron. Regard my interests, 0 Kabob, and the fortune of a prince
be upon you.

SLASHUM EBN HASHUM.
[We regret to add that the enlightened writer of the above letters
has been suddenly recalled, but we are not without hopes of heannr
from him when he reaches Constantinople.]

A DISCOVERY.

'Twas said till now by antiquarians quaint
That every town but used its patron saint
On city seals, and tavern-signs to paint.

But this an error all along hath been,
For clearly now the patent fact is seen—
St. NICHOLAS is the saint of ABERDEEN.*
• " There are also guardian saints of cities. St. Egidius presides over Edinburgh,
and St. Nicholas Aberdeen."—Radcliffee Fiends, Ghosts, and Spirits, p. 49.

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