The Express.
London, England, 1849-02-23 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, FRIDAY EVENINOAJWARUAItrift 1449.

Of the meethips M meerielest Ohne tomesserselsk eery to.
are totem in the pewee infs. Tor see bwe hem
reams to mlabtlat nth slim at imam immegui
tins doom as in sag Ohm, gni ri_solt=r4
esadidet sal ihrsaussisesser
theereadaeagessftilMosit be teased wilted mem eia.
Ma sew hien smog the earths ernes&
ti=will=witelts ea of as bane the in a Nth Mese me
heel te of Meths and property, and al thimpeadi-
dente seter Mahn kW%
Onsidedes the Smiled extent of the lewd*,
that it me mnined to three maths in ltd
of might gresenee that 11106 mote than oshtenth
of the whole amethsr el seek meniegee bad been
ascertained. notelet Milli net, theision, be taken at hew
than 13,000, end ospmesis that the average number of chil-
dren resellieg him seek was three, they had a
total of amide 40,010 'Mikes fa the position of basbaede, as
the of this law. And when they ''addend
that the dfMtlst ever whisk the menhaden egeseded ems
meek lees they one tenth, perhaps net mese ihea ems
beselisiti of the whole of the eenany, the peopiniss el
Nom meat be takes as so mask the greater. Aneseget the la-
bouring elms, toe it was beliandseek marriages were kr mem
frequent than is the obsess higher la the social sear; be
**night, *oaken that benlithe sahly say that the total
number sines the pude, of Lied Lendhurst's act weld not
be le es time kin 40,03 to 50,000. This showed clearly that
the law had nee sheathed the general and universal
mince elks peddle; but, on the contrary, that it Cl=
deed a state of things so lamentable that rearms at the
hands of parliament was absolutely woe say. Is addition
to these evils, the law had undoubtedly led to much perjury
and OTIAOII. It also plaited the clergyman in a false position
as was shown by the evidence of those who were meet op!
posed to any change, as the Rev. Mr. Tyler, who said
it was quite impossible for them is coattails whether
the par in applying to be married were within
the prohibited degrees cr not, and ecoserteally
they were constanly liable to be pissed is
the painful position of celebrating marriages which lIIIMIO
forbidden by the law of the land. The natural oonalusith
from these premises was, that parliament must either devise
a more rigid mode of carrying out the restriction (which he
did not think was poosible), or they must alter the law. As
he had said there were numerous instances of pause
amongst the middle arid upper clung of society expetriatigg
themselves to countries milers such marriages would be no
violation of the law, but those marriages were only legal
while the parties were domiciled abroad—lure they would
still be illegal, and their children illegitimate. He thought
it would scarcely he denied that some remedy to inch a state
of the law was required. The commissioners, in their report,
me mania amid Ile eamlueba that the statute s ft s Wm. Iv.,
e. Si, bridled to erre sherbet seebbt to les eared Wl=
revive aselesente. bre aft tionialtrieno with the
or ci.r deemed weight= is nonsiess rumen''
whether =or leas name= Mee the prow of the Memo
we have wok la w beibreeltsarw4, nastiest ®is melts us le
form ea nide& Sat, without autumns M my mmgmben of this
decried's, the make althea menimps is se mem setejestify us
In sayW *etre le'n's' of OM Meats tmdwbrg them null and
vot4 have net gerreligg Monad meths Mon iambi soh saw
union+. No dear this to a Feet ed oriedemile Weenier sell.
On a low earenterin, orb servispie awl essert to theemeds;
but from the Wens 'Me curates. mid the seem, whir ohm
attaches es to, their member mom be esslawo3 assaiskaL The
evil le green ter, se baud en reemethis best,
sash merdiese,
when ociraild ander et Technic see mid, the eisminentea
are tossorms le Me paeftrties ende illm thdr hie., at ewe athelbs ell the
✓lOllll Old aise, as well Is thswwdsltlag
dent win saes; mhos penises ta a paths "Inn es
avowed disobeidere to kw by the open seramptise of m lessen
character which the law mead, Muss.
Here was a law, then, that was consequently evaded, that
acted as a snare and a temptation—that was little in accord-
nee with the feelings of the people, and so little efficient for
carrying out the restriction it was intended to establish that
thousands who could not afferd to live in other circumstances
were exposed to the temptation of either breaking the law,
or living in a state of concubinage. He proposed that par-
liament should take an inkiest in them parties, and relieve
them from this difficulty, and with that view he would urge
on the house to give him remission' to bring in the bill, in
order that the whole matter might be taken into considera-
tion. (Cheers.) The result which the forts shown by the
I svider.ce brought to the minds of the esmedmioners was
stated at the end it their report, vie. :
Os • review et the in ell these its darer berbigs rid
dire, we are men
CAI to ewes our beled not the
Memo lk 6 Wiliam IV. hthd to suds hs but dm to
wild war dente wischm
mgrs
menu* et • theraster
eanest. lbw menbess will tale lime whin a seneer-
mos deseentreset glesaleete meted stbeimentt they WO IbIR
=ea Wines. We ore sat bind ft riskthat sash
sad =wadi be eatessitedy bereamd sonar
wee the law to Om rosary as we have mid, M bum the
err ci the law' rebliney sr pratenve, which bee serened, or,
r we think, err will Wane* gown them.
He had litters fens miens alaugymes, incumbents of po.
pukes parishes, who had the mums of informing themselves
of the actual condition of the poorer clines in this respect,
and who were at the um* time anxious to do nothing that
should interfere with the IlnikOfity of the church, but who
were compellad to admit that the moral condition of their
flocks was so injuriously affected by this law that they were
prepared to recommend an alteration. This was the opinion
of many parties of the highest character and authority in the
church. While on the subject of the extensive evasion r the
law by the poorer clones he might be permitted to observe
that the neat body of those who had contracted theme mar-
riages were of moral habits sad religious feelings.
(Hear, hear. He thought he had now stated 'Widen to
justify him asking perralesian of the house to introduce
the bill—Omar, heart—sad he would sow proceed alacrity to
data the farm of the measure he pro . Be had stated
that it was his intention to eosin himself to the actual
grievance—that he believed to be eonlued principally to the
prohibition of with the deceased wile's sister. There
were also eases in whisk the prohibition to marry the niece
of a deemed wife operated In the same way. was a
oohs' ton much mere remote than that of the wife's sister,
and as suck would of course be included Is the bill, though
he attached meek lon impatience to this ease than the other.
Beyond this, however, he did not propose to extend the per-
mission to marry within the prohibited degree", but would
loin the table of restrictions of the church as it was. He
war aware that it might be complained that he did not ex-
tend the relief to brother's widows ; bat there was a broad
distinction between marriage with a brother's widow and
marriage with a wife's sister, both in • religion and a social
paint of view—in a religious view—because it was forbidden
by the Levitical law, and in a social view, banns the bro-
ther had many more opportunities of invading the morality
of the family, and of turning his petition to lammed ends
than the sister had. He had said that the measure was to
be posimin. He did not, therefore, intend to make it
eto celebrate these marriages. He was aware
theltirkleY respect there was some difficulty in the ease, but
be thought he could meet it. It had been asked what means
were them to compel clergymen to celebrate these marrieges
Mtsgthe legal restriction was removed ? His own
was that the clergyman could not be orna-
edte celebrate what he migh ceerider to
am illegal marriage. And het propoosd to
goodie ea the one hand that no person who had contracted
or ellthmised a marriage of this sort should be liable to any
sub or preeeeding.in consequenee. and on the other that no
snit should be maintained against any clergyman for refusing
to celebrate such a marriage. He meant to avoid interfering
with the law of the church further thee wee neemeary
therefore he avoided making it compulsory on any clergyman
to c sleben' these manic se. He was aware that then was
much difference of opinion sang the clergy, and even en
the episcopal bench, on this subject; but he believed
all parties were desirous that some alteration in
the law should take pleat. Dr. Posey, in his
published pamphlets, stated that the result of nth a
permbelon as he proposed to establish had been in-
jurious in Germany—but in America, where it also existed,
they had the evidence of Justice Story . and other high
authorities, showing that no injury or inconvenience bad
followed. In may parts of Germany there wee a power ha
grant • dimmoodiss for sash marriages. That was the kw
in Heaseren std until the separation of the two crowns the
King of was often called upon to grant deesadiese
for ea eel whisk in England wee held to be Mead. There
were me mesas of meeting the ell by a dispensary power
here. There was no authority is which the power
could be vested, and therefore he proposed to grant
the pmettnits generally by act of parliament. Still
he thought it aresesary to guard the permission, as far
as }made, from abuse ; and, therefore, when it could be
proud that the parties bad been guilty of any immorality
I=lllto applying to be moaned he gave a power of re-
t had lawn doubted whether marriages of this kind
were legal in Scotland, and he believed such marriages had
been contracted in that country under the impassion that
they were there recognised as valid by the law. If they
were now permitted by the law of Scotland the present
bill would make no alteration in that respites, sad
if they were not, it would kremlin 'them became
they were solemnised there. Them was yet another dam
of persons who were entitled to we sesideration at the
hands of the house. In the year 1830 the legislature passed
an act for affording to diameters the mums of contrasting
iserriages wading to their ewe hewn dbpseeing with the
soessuity for the chetah seessemy. Trent the widens, of the
Wainer' of all dimesting denemieselese, es shows bi the
ripest of the menahnieness, it append that amongst die-
embus eemenlly maniere within these degrees of affinity
were nell sessidered es_ prohibited either by the laws of God
er by morality. Oa behalf of that elan therefore he felt
that he was entitled to ask for such a bill. (Hear, hear.)
He had now stated the general grenade on which he
lad pommel this atessure, and as further epportunitim (for
dbeeseleg the matter would arias, he would set further detain
could
eso t e dia he preeent mb (Beenbear). Hei
amthpshoses
them that be ad net tee. hemem emo rashly,
betW ealleavenred bto ineasm bleamif fully on ell parts
It, and be droll be how it the result should be that—the
lisehlo wed Muhlm lithe womb of the bill being re-
megerl—lbeysheshil he waled le mint at amuse= of kgb-
Ides whisk dwell be at theism time safe and effective for I
eamodas the difficulty under whisk so many meths were
lalimerg. (Cheers.) Amid that by removing a reaction
width was ist the same der Washiness, oopeonlve, and
deempeenn they would oblate She Wake staroys mother-
las MK sad motor tropism to many an eaketriate
family. (Hen.)
The ration having been seceded wed put from the chair,
lit. H. T. HOPE thought the hew aunt, in deference
to the comellesionere, on whose report Ile WI was !melded,
and meo
right et wheat now ailed leave to rhodium it, to Ant
the bill to
ever, allow the
to dmi semi marg. lie meld not.
how hem geadraan's statement to pp
forth without some remarks, berme he did not wish itto
thought that by allowing the bill to pin the lest siege
the haw was *arduous he its favour. (Her, hem)
He signaled lde smadae that the evident* takes by the
wawa mortiodonen was almost all en one side, sad said
that a railway =amities weld be charged with having
'end unjustly if they Wed is admin. manner, and declined
to he the ems of the landowners along the line after
they had listened to that of the promoten of • ill.
It was admitted in their report, that Lord Lyndhurst's
act we. very little Mows, and that in place like Maw

Mr. IL PALM= midi that be Gould eat anew the bill to
be introdosed without eindel dietinetly that he would, on
all Intheiveppotmaltise, air fete his most strums' opposi-
tion. Mad they stalleleall pleads for altering a law
which nadetabledly used span this otel_y bads, that does to
this IllOment it had beim Melted in England as the true
exposeat el CitristitWV, red lithe will of God, applicable
te all maw P It had left eis believed by those who made
the law • the semmisimeets ed•ltted that the same belief
proveileel sew theendleollike ementry ; and he (Mr.=
es w sore that the Mardi of Biagland stroegly ea
, the same view. Bed they, then, 'Ancient grounds, either
upon the more of divinity or public expediency, to altar a
law of that sort, on • hick if they were wrong they would be
acting contrary to that morality upon which the very founda-
tion of their institutions depended ? It was now proposed to
abolish only one or two of the limited degrees of affinity ;
but if those degrees were taken away a code would re-
main inconsistent with itself. (Hear.) He connssed
that homily did expect when the commission honed that
ha they should ve had ea inquiry of a very different kind
front that which now appeared in the report on the table.
He was not prepared to hese that comurssionen appointed
by the crown upon a matter affecting the morality of the
nation shoed have examined a number of interested wit-
news, for of the evidence dutch parties the who'rr staple of
their report, with very few exceptions, was composed. The
evidence was not entitled to the credit which the right hon.
mover had anticipated for it, and this was a point deserving
of the serious consideration of hon. members, and particu-
larly of her Majesty's ministers. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. HENLEY said he entirely c "scarred in all the re-
marks that had been made relative to the commission, and
the mode in which it had been conducted. In fact, so fully
did he concur in them, that he had no hesitation in asserting
that it did not come beore the house with the authority of
any former commissions; fir if they abstracted from it the
interested witnesses, what amount of testimony had they to
act upon? Actually almost nothing. He believed that
no commission had ever protected evidence so meagre
and of such a character and nature. He had read it mast

attentinly,Zd he thought it hardly possible to wade through
it without seeing that one class of witnesses had been ex-
posed to • cross examination of • nature wholly different to
what smother close bad been 'subjected to. Much had been said
relative to the inbehiefs and grievances caused by the existing
law, but the districts selected by the right hon. mover for
obtaining his list of these complaints were principally situ.
ated on the sea-west—such, for fastener, as Portmouth,
Southampton, and Plymouth. If he bad inquired how
many wives men had at those places, he could have made
out numerous cases of bigamy. He could then have shown
how many men had two wives, and how many had half a
de.sen— (laughter)—but the commissio :ers had not asked
these questions, but had simply confined themselves to one
class of cues. Tiers was one most extraordinary omission
in the report, for it did not state what the condition of the
clergy of the church of England would be if the present law
were altered. How were the clergy to be placed ? (Hear.)
Would the noble lord at the head of the government call •
snavocation together at such a time as the present ? (Hear.)
He sincerely hoped the house would not, for the sake of
a small minority of the people who had broken the laws of
the church and of the country, take a step which would con-
fusedly be opposed to the feelings of the clergy and laity of
England. Ireland, and Scotland, aid which the great ma-
jority believed to be contrary to the law of God. (Applause.)
Sir G. GREY said that, as there was no opposition to the
introduction of the bill, he wculd defer saving until the
second reading the grounds on which he was prepared to
give a hearty atsent to its introduction, with a view to an
alteration of the law calculated to redress a grievance which
had been shown to exist to • great extant, and arising out of
the law of marriage between • widower and his deceased
wife's bitter. He oid not mean to say he would go no further,
but he wished to guard himself against being supposed to
concur in all the provisions of the bill, which he intended,
together with the evidence, deeply to consider heron the
second reading. He certainly could not concur in tho re
poaches which had been cast on the commissioners, nor in
the depreciatory remarks that bad been made on the evidence
they'ltsd collected. Rethought the right hon. gentleman was
entitled to the thanks of the house for introducing a bill to
remedy teat uncettainty, and on the second reading he (Sir
G. Grey) would state the grounds on which he now sup-
ported its introduction.
Mr. NAPIER, believing that this bill struck at the very
root of the marriage system, which was founded on the word
of God, and that it would interfere with the domestic hap-
piness of the people, and all the relations of We, would
give it his most determined opposition in every stage. Ma-
nage had a civil basis and a religious sanction. Once set
aside that basis, and they upset the whole precepts upon
which the law of marriage was founded. He was satisfied
that it they passed this bill they would do violence to the
feelings of the people, not only in Ireland, but in this
country as well.
Mr. PLUMPTRE would also give the bill a most deter-
mined opposition, satisfied that it would introduce greater
evils than existed under the present state of the law.

Mr. 8. WORTLEY would not have felt it neeemary to
say a word in reply, but for what he must toms the very
unfelt and nagenerosa attack of the hen. member fee Ox-
fordshire. (Hear, beer.) The boa. iceman amused the
commissioners of not taking the evidence of clergymen.
ameegst whom he said a strong feeling prevailed agatoet
the principle of this bill. Why, the hon. member could
not Dave read the report, or he would have seen it stated
that although every indication was given of their wish to
examine clergymen, and every publicly was given to their
proceedings, they found the greatest possible dif-
Lenity in. getting clergymen to attead—(hear. hear)—the
oatmeal inference to be drawn from which we. that
they were not so much opposed as was represented to
the principle involved in the bill before the house.
Hear, hear.) Another charge was, that they na-
l:Led inteireeted parties • but who were better goalie,"
. •

to give evidence thin itittnested parties, or why sboZtid they
be excluded when the evidence of all was courted ? (Hear,
hue.) He trussed the second reading of the bill would be
dimenmed on its merits, and without ceiling =punkin,
whin were really without foundation, on the commissioners,
Mho could have no possible interest in the matter. (li.ar
Leave was then given to bring in the bill; and Mr. 8.
WoaTLIY, Mr. B. DINISON, and Mr. MASTRABILN,
named fur the purpose.
THE TOLERATION ACT.
whole VlTT,,,Bwiittr a r:Teswtotomsouvceh foanr a committee
t of the
tre
Toleration Act as would exempt from penalties ministers of
the church of Ragland who declared themselves to be dig.
seaters therefrom. The noble lord in introducing the oaths
question a few nights ago stated that if they passed his
aleasant on the subject, they would be completing the
dale of toleration ; out the noble lord, when he made that
stelenent, must have either forgotten or been ignorant of
lb* dab at the law with regard to the Toleration Act, that
met whisk was the great foundation of freedom of conscience
Ind religions liberty ; and previous to which, the greet
saes of the civilised world looked upon religious permed=
is • duty. The state of the law, as expesided
ay the Court et Queen's Bench, was the cause of big
mike. By a decision of that court within the bat three
revs, clergymen of the Church of England were still liable
lobe proceeded against in an ecclesiastical court for breech
of Mechline if they dissented from that church. It was
quite true they omM not be proended spinet for penalties,
but they could be imprisoned ; and if the same opinion were
entertained in the days of Wesley and Whitfield as now they
could have been sent to titre= for the remainder of their
days. The consequence of the decision of the Queen's Bench
was this—that a clergyman, once entered into holy orders,
was bound to the discipline of the church in which he took
holy orders, and no step up= his part, to Askance with
the act of toleration, could release him ben hie endings,
no matter what the grounds upon whisk • thane
boom been wrought in his opinions. Now, be thogighTl&
se one would contend that such could have been the inten-
tion of the originators of that act; and if so,
notwithstanding, the decision of the Queen's Bench,
who had a right to take their own view of it,
he considered it the duty of that house so to amend
it as to teem the true spirit gad intention of the act to be
serried out. If the person affected by the decision of the
Queen's Bench was not now to prison he was liable to be
=primed as a contumacious person in contempt of the
ecclesiastical court. It was well that sum the
revolution we had not had many bishops en-
forcing such a law, for if so the religion et
the country would now' be in a very different condition.
If anything could revolt the feelings of the great bed,
of the people from the church, it was prieeedinp of ibh
kind. I Hear, hear.) When simple-minded men saw era
an illustration of the doctrines of the church, they were DEW
to be indisposed to listen to its teaching. The permuting
by the Roman catholic', in the time of Queen Mary, were
the greatest means of making the people benne protestant,.
On this subjeethewssableto refer ton less en salinity than
the Archbishop of Canterbury, who said there might to be
some means whinny a person might diesemest himself with
the ministry of the church. He non proposed Met a cler-
gyman diminish from the churn obenid he Awed to
take the oaths prescribed for dimming gaining, sad
should also mane a deihrelles of his dissent, each
declaration to be repeated en gent to the bishop, who
Assad thereupon pro the e.al entente of deprivation • and
dm penes gew=seini druid then be relieved horn all
had Mesh= to his having taken holy
=rages, wive the leadieg provisions of the bill he
proposed to introduce.
Sir .1 GRAHAM—WouId you make him eligible to a
seat in this holm ?
Mr. BOUVERIE—Yes. The bon. gentleman concluded
by moving—" That the house do immediately resolve itself
into a committee of the whole bones, to consider the memo
of relieving persons in holy orders, in the United Churn if
England and Ireland, on their declaring their Mend then
from."
The motion being seconded,
Mr. GLADSTONE concurred in thinking that when a
clergyman had deliberately changed his mind oaths subjected
the vows taken at his ordinatioe, it wee no longer the buskin
of the law to dive into the opinions he might entertain. He
approved el the bill, provided there was no difficulty as to
the details, and he should be both surprised and grieved if
ft did not give general satisfaction.
The motion was then agreed to, and the house went into
committee.
Mr. BOUVRRIE moved—" That leave be given to bring
in a bill to relieve perms in holy orders of the wined church
of Ragland and Ireland, on declaring their dissent there-
from"—Agned to.

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