The Express.
London, England, 1868-06-11 00:00:00

IMPSRIAL PA RIM A M 141 N T.

• The motion yesterday forthe second reading of the
•
- MarriedWomen'aProperty Bill, whichwas made by
Mr. Lefevre without any observation', led to an
animated and interesting discussion. The earliest
oppopeats of the bill were Mr. Lopes and Mr. E.
Zo.rslake—both barristers and represeadativee, the
former of the onmmon law, and the latter of the
equity bar—who moved and seconded its re-
petiole Mr. Lopes founded his opposition
to the measure upon what he represented
• as the satisfactory state of the existing law, which
• secures protection for the wife, ensures the mid-
ewe of confidence between her and her husband,
and prevents there being any division in the do-
mestic councils by establishing one head and only
one head of the family ; and illustrated the dangers
which would result from the changes proposed by
the bill by referenjes to the foolish conduct of Mrs.
Lyon and Mrs. Borrodaile. Someobeervetionsof the
hon. and learned gentleman proved so offensive to
the feelings of the occupants of the lad'ies' galleTy,
' that the fair listeners felt compelled to give
' audible expression to their feeline ; and
' more than one hesitating but unmistakeable
• hiss made its way through the jealous screen winch
shrouds them from the observation of hon. mem-
bers. Fortunately these utterances escaped the
Iltotice of the Speaker and the Sergeant-at-Arms.
Mr. Kerslake, who addressed the louse at great
length, at with at least his usual confidence, con-
demned the bill, upon the ground that it would
work an entire revolution in the social status of
husband and wife, and in the entire law of pro-
perty. The support which was given to the
measure by Mr. Headlam, Mr. T. Urquhart,
and Mr. Melly, was founded upon a
general consideration of the injustice which was
t wrought by the existing law; but Mr. Jacob
Bright narrated the circumstance of several cases
in which, under its sanction, industrious and de-
serving wives had been robbed of their property,
and then deserted, by worthless husbands. The
hon. member for Manchester concluded a forcible
speech with a rather elaborate peroration, in the
y construction of which imitation of the style of his
more celebrated brother was very clearly perceptible.
Mr. Goldney, with something like profes-
sional caution, shrunk from assenting without
reserve to the great changes which were
involved in the provisions of the bill before the
• house; but he did not hestitate to admit that
hard cases arose under the present law.
The most effective advocate of the bill was un-
doubtedly Mr. Lowe, who declining to enter into
the discussion of legal technicalities, at once
placed the question upon the scround of justice
and right, and asked what crime there was in
matrimony that it should in the case of a woman
be punished, like high treason, with confiscation
of goods. He referred to the fact that no prudent
„ parent or guardian would allow a daughter or
ward to marry without a settlement, as a proof
that the feeling and experience of society con-
demned the law as it stood, and asserted amid
hearty cheering that it was the duty of
parliament to protect the interests of those
who had neither parents nor guardians to
.t defend them. The Attorney-General did not
go so far as to assert that the existing
law was entirely satisfactory. On the contrary,
be admitted, that so far, at all events, as the
poorer classes were concerned it might require
amendment ; but he argued that the change pro-
posed
.by this bill was unnecessarily large and
sweepmf ; and pointed to a number of in-
' stances in which conferring upon a woman the
right of a femme soil would introduce anomalies
into the relations between husband and wife. The
argument of Mr. Lowe, drawn from the preva-
lence of settlements, he met by the assertion
that those arrangements were intended, not for
the exclusive benefit of the wife, but for the pro-
tection also of the husband and children. Mr.
Mill's support of the measure was founded rather
upon the principle of natural justice and the
equality of the sexes, than upon individual ewe
of hardship; but as an additional reason for
adopting this measure, he suggested that the best
way to make a woman carom) of the property of
her husband was to give her a right to her own.
Mr. Denman having recommended that the bill
should be referred to a select committee, and Is)rd
Galway having suggested the serious difficulty
that if this bill was passed the marriage service
would have to be altered, so that instead of pro-
mising to " love, honour, and obey " her husband,
a woman should engage to enter into a partner-
with him on equal terms, Mr. Lefevre
replied, referring chiefly to the success with
which each a change of the law as he proposed had
been attended in America, and the house went to
a division. The result of the trial of strength was
a tie, 123 members voting on each aide. The
Speaker was, therefore, called upon to give his
casting vote ; and the right hon. gentleman, in
asierilance with usual practice, pronounced in
favour of the second reading. This gallant de-
cision won for him the approval of the fair spec-
tators whose sensibilities had been wounded by the
arguments of Mr. Lopes, and the cheers which
accompanied the second reading of the bill did
not altogether drown the sound of the clapping of
hands and rapping of fans in the ladies' gallery. A
good deal of tame was occupied by the considera-
tion in committee of the clauses of the Burials
(Ireland) Bill. The discussion, although it eon-
caned a serious subject, was carried on in a very
lively spirit ; and at many points the laughter
evoked was loud and long. This was enrallei
the case when an Inch member observed
with much earnestness and perfect sim-
plicity that " any one who had a right
to be buried in a churchyard would of
course go there and claim it ;" and when an Eng-
lish repreeentative, whose voice is only too familiar
to the house, spoke glibly of " the candidates for
burial," as though the formalities of an election
must accompany an Irishman even to his -grave.
Mr. Gladstone a Established Church (Ireland)
• Bill was considered as amended, and the report
was fixed for Friday next.

SHOCKING MURDER OF • GlRL—Yestertitip
morning a forgeman named William Hancock, living at
Ridsgrove, North Staffordshire, murdered a little girl
named Mary Ann Whitehurat, 10 years of age, the child
of a neighbour, who has been sleeping in his house.
Hancock, who has been a fervidly religious man, with
occasional outbreaks of drinking, has lately lost his situ-
ation through his dissipated habits, and has since then in-
dulged worse than ever. His &deet son, a youth of 18, heard
him abusing his mother yesterday morning, and went to her
aid. With his help shegotout of the house, and took her three
younger children with her. Hancock, enraged by this,
tom aw Olson ph s window *for *hewn dis es deimg
cut his right leg severely. He, however turned back into
the house. and went to the room where Whitehurst was
in bed. He took her out of bed and beat her brains out
on the floor. He again rushed out of the house, and this
time lan his head with great force against a wall, and
severely hurt it. He was arrested shortly afterwards, but
was so injured that he had to be placed under surgical age, and will probably be disabled or several days,
CRIIELTY BY A FATHER.—Yesterday, in the
Wolverhampton police-court, the stipendiary for South
Staffordshire (Mr. I. Spooner) sent an ironworker, named
James Wynn, to of for sir months, with hard labour,
for having chained up a child of his, aged nine, 24 hours.
ac
praecox is a wulower, and his family are the boy de-
scribed and two children. one five, and the other two
years old. At 11 o'elock in the forenoon of Tuesday
week he chained the boy to within two feet of the &e-
-grete with several coils of a heavy dog chain, and left
him there with very little food, unable to lie down, awl
with only the two younger children in the house, all
night—for the prisoner did not return home till about the
same hour on the following day. The stipendiary, in
passing sentence, sehl that it would have been no wonder
Riad.el the boy had, during the dark hours of the night, gone
CANADA AND THE DERRY.--Considerable ex-
citement was manifested in sporting circles here yesterlay
in reference to the Derby stake, which was run Jo? In
England on the same day. The stakes placed on the
reerult were larger than any previously known here, and
some ray that as much as 0,000 dole, changed hands in tie
city. One enterprising individual is said to have obtain"d
a telegram direct, and netted a handsome sum by the
tran-action.— Toronto Globe, May 7.
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