The Express.
London, England, 1865-01-09 00:00:00

TR

"loose upon the streets," and her Igar • •4is
" been brought up anyhow." Her lneratiie,
if not her only business, seems to be that of •
susceptible convert or wayward proselyte, moil.
teeing batmen the Roman and the English
Church, and pensioned in turns by benevolent
enthusiasts of either persuasion. Her daughter,
there is reason to believe, was not comfortable
at home ; at least she told Father BOWDEN that
she was in danger with her mother, and that she
saw very little prospect of leading a good life, and
should "run away." The mother insisted that
the girl was very happy, in no danger of fall-
ing from the path of virtue, and was keeping
company with • very respectable young
man. But Father BOWDEN had seen her "in the
" streets, and found her conduct there and general
" behaviour and demeanour not respectable." It
was to save her that, about • year ago, he, as
her spiritual adviser, recommended her to enter a
" Home ;" the mother then refused her permission ;
and when Father BOWDEN, some months later,
repeated the advice, he did not inform the mother,
but intended to inform her that her daughter was
in • safe place as soon as he knew that the girl
was settled in the " Home."

In the oourse of a very severe examination, the
magistrate endeavoured to discover whether the
Father had used his influence to persuade the
girl to leave her mother without her mother's con-
sent, and in what manner and degree the girl had
been " biased" by her spiritual director. To these
questions we cannot say that Father BOWDEN'S
answers were either in form or substance calcu-
lated to clear the atmosphere of prejudice and
suspicion in which we dare say he felt himself
enveloped. He was hesitating, uncertain, reti-
cent, and even slightly contradictory once or twice.
But we must make large allowance for the difficul-
ties of a Catholic priest answering a charge of
abduction in an English police court. At any
rate, Father BOWDEN was most anxious
that the magistrate should himself have
an opportunity of examining the girl, and asoer-
taining the truth of his statements. On Saturday,
accordingly, Mr. Sues, with his wife, examined
the girl BM:Memo-re privately at his own house,
and the result was that she returned alone of her
own free will to the asylum from which she had
been brought, after enuring Mr. SELFE and his
wife that she went to the Home of her own accord,
that it was her own strong wish, independent of
any control or bias from any one else ; and that
she should remain in the institution where she had
placed herself. Mr. Surf., in telling the mother
of her daughter's resolution, said that he thought
under the circumstances the girl had acted wisely,
and he entirely confirmed the truth of Father
BOWDEN'S assertion, that it was her own act, and
from no suggestion on his part that she had left
her mother. Father BOWDEN had withheld from
the mother's knowledge the girl's intention, and
for this alone the magistrate blamed him.
On the whole, the manner in which this case
has been investigated by Mr. SIMI should, we
think, be satisfactory to Protestants sad Catholics
alike. Justice has been done to family rights,
however questionably represented, and to the good
intentions of the Father of the Oratory. At Rome,
it we may judge front the Encyclical, such an
inquiry will appear almost a sacrilege ; but, as
Sir G. BOWYER may reply to any remonstrances
from that quarter, in Rome we do as the Romans,
in England we do se Englishmen.