The Express.
London, England, 1855-02-22 00:00:00

reference to them. Great dissatisfaeti
noticed at the time, was manifested

n, as we
amongst

Lord DERBY'S followers on learning that their
shifty chief bad proposed to form a junction
with the adherents of Lord ABERDEEN. The
failure of the attempt did not wholly ap-
pease the resentments of the Carlton; and it was
felt that, before again venturing to lead their Par-
liamentary troops to battle, it was indispensable
that they should be " talked over. by their plausible,
but somewhat unpopular chief. Summonses were
consequently issued for a meeting of the Tory Oppo-
sition at the residence of Lord DERBY, by whom the
assemblage was harangued on general topics
and general tactics for the space of three-
quarters of an hear. When the noble Earl
concluded, the storm of angry remonstrance and

reproach broke forth. The heart of bigotry wu
fall, and it sought relief in vehement denunciations

of Peelism, Puseyism,

and we know

not what beside. Lord DERBY aw that it was no
time for trilling with his party, so he determined to
make clean work of it, and to make his humble con-
fession of error upon beaded knees. He had
no idea,. he declared, of the depth of the
aversion entertained by his friends for Mr.

LDSTONIS and Sir JAMES ORMAN. If he

had known it, he certainly should not have
outraged propriety so much as he had unfortunately
done, by seeking to re-unite by the golden link of
office those between whom there existed such invete-
rate antagonism. But he solemnly promised that,
if they would once more trust him, he would never
make so serious a mistake again. The frowns of the
country gentlemen relaxed as they beheld their
haughty leader humbled and penitent at their fest.
The

sardonic countenance of the lieutenant whom he
had just three weeks since offered to throw over in
order to make room for "Oxford's Own"—slowly reco-
vered its wonted air of supercilious self-complacency.
He had been sorely wounded by the unworthy offer
to sacrifice him to a hated rival in debate and oppo-
nent in policy : but DISRAELI could now
afford to forgive, for he had been amply
avenged. Towards the close of this notable con-
ference, all parties seemed to have resumed their
good humour, and mutual reliance on one another's
faith and wisdom. The latter sentiment, indeed, was
for a moment disturbed by an expression which fall
from Lord DERBY, to the effect that in dims lilas
these nobody could foresee with whom they might
be driven to coalesce; and that, for his part, having
begun u a Whig, aid been compelled to turn Tory,
be should not like to swear that he might not finish
by giving office some day or other to Mr. Joint
BRIGHT : so incorrigible is the love of badinage in
the man, and so wilfully does he try the un-elastic
temper of his long-suffering followers.—Doily Nam

CONTEMPT OF THE

COURTS.

One of those troublesome tribunals, the Ecclesias-
tical Courts, has been imprisoning a poor woman for
not paying the costa of " contempt." We inserted
some letters relating to this case last autumn, and
again invite attention to it, as it was brought before
the House of Commons, on Tuesday, by Mr. Bazaar,
in the shape of a petition from the sufferer.
The petition was from CusaLorn Imes, who
formerly resided in Merthyr Tydvil, and was the
wife of a collier in that district, and the mother of
14 children. She stated that in 1850 she was falsely
charged with using language which was calumnious;
that in consequence thereof she was served with •
citation from the Consistory Court of Llandaff ; that
she offered to make a recantation of words which she
had never used, but the expenses amounted
to between 71. and 81., a sum beyond the ability
of hermit or her husband to pay; that in the
month of April last she was taken to
Cardiff gaol; that she has thus been, from
the 15th April, 1854, to the 20th February,
1855, incarcerated for an offence which she
never committed. She also stated that she had
applied to the Bishop of the diocese and to the Secre-
tary of State for the Home Department, from neither
of which authorities had she obtained any relief.
She therefore came to the House of Commons with
the humble prayer that by the authority of Parliament
the law might be repealed which gives jurisdiction to
the Ecclesiastical Court in cases of slander, and that
steps might be taken to deliver her from her present
position. We understand that a petition has also been
presented to the House of Lords, and that the LORD
CHANCELLOR has intimated that a bill is in prepara-
tion to remove the evil. The imprisonment was for
contempt, as she was too poor to employ a proctor
is the snit. A gentleman of the neighbourhood
charitably employed a proctor on her behalf, and an
appearance was entered in November last; bat the
court refuses to issue a discharge until she pays the
cost of the contempt.
BLACKSTONE tells us that these " eccentriced"
tri-
banaL are admitted in England, not by any right of
their own, but upon bare sufferance and toleration from
the municipal laws. "We permit some kinds of suits to
be of ecclesiastical cognisance which other nations have
referred entirely to the temporal oostrbr—se concern-
ing wills and successions to intestates' chattels;
and perhaps v. e may, in our turn, prohibit
them from interfering in some controversies
which on the continent may be looked upon as
merely spiritual." Perhaps we may; and the sooner
the better. As to suits of defamation, they are now,
according to the report of the Commissioners of the
Ecclesiastical Courts, of infrequent occurrence in
London ; but they prevail to a considerable extent
in many of the jurisdictions in the country. Now
this poor creature, if she said anything slanderous at
all, which she denies having done, probably in-
dulged in some idle or even ill-natured gossip, which
was unworthy of notice, and any oomplaint of which,
if brought before the common law tribunals, would
have been laughed out of court. Had the verdict gone
against her, her solicitor might have sued her for
Ma sods, and she might have been imprisoned. In
such ease, we could only have said that, as a jury
had found her guilty, she must take the coma-

queues. But, tried by a single judge, acting as the
arch-inquisitor of a tmonkish, mysterious tribunal,
which no one respects, and judging by rules of evi-
dence and examination which nobody knows any-
thing about, the case is too bad. Perhaps, as
131.scxsrons says, we may prohibit these ab-
surd courts from proceeding in such mat-
ters—perhaps we may adopt the characteristic

. . -
advice given by the digger up of Nineveh in another

matter, and send a man with a hatchet to put them
up root and branch. They are an absurd anachro-
nism. Our robust but peaceful friend, Mr. BRIGHT,
in presenting the petition, said—" I shall not be in
order if I express au opinion, I will therefore confine
myself to stating a fact. It is this; that a state of
things like that shown in the petition is most scan-
dalous." The house "hear, hear'd," and laughed.
We say "boar, hear," without laughing; and we say
that the ease disclosed is most scandalous.—Daily
News.

INQuizT ncro Wei
Mayor of Carlisle, Robert Irespesa. Beg., has convened •
pubis meths to be held ea Friday, the 23rd instant, in
accordance with a rogideltisa numeconely sigaed by the
citizens, to take into esseklecatiaa the propriety of peti-
tioning parliameat in fa o, of • thorough and complete
isquiry into the oases of theileasters of the British army in
the Cameos

r. The