The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-18 00:00:00

MARRIAGE WITHOUT LEAVE.

It is a curious fact that has been brought to light by the practical
experience of this ASsociMion, that, without exception, those sol-
diers who have married with leave, or whose wives were admitted
into barracks, and recognised by the regiment, have left the largest
families, and, in consequence, are by far the most deserving of ,om-
miseration. • To there persons the Association has been of the
greatest benefit; while, at the same time, amongst those women
married without leave, much misery has been found, to exist, which
the Association has not refrained from alleviating.
The Committee, however, regret to find, that notwithstanding all
the positive and practical good that has been effected by the Associa-
tion, there still remain in the minds of some military men strong ob-
jections to its of erations ; it is still urged that undue encouragement
is given to marriage without leave, end that large numbers have
thus married since the institution of the Associ Boa. If the opera-
tion of the Association had afforded such encouragement, surely evi-
dence of it would have appeared from a number of applications for
relief on the part of wo cell who had married in anticipation of it.
Only one applic .tion has been made at this office by tee wife of a
soldier whose marriage certificate was dated In .854, se that the ob-
jection would appear to be entirely groundless ; and it might be con-
sidered almost needless to say more in answer to it. But the Com-
mittee have it to show, that while they have oily contemplated
those ca-es as entitled to relief which they bound already sanctioned
by Government, or acknowledged by commanding officers, they have
made a rule (No. 3), and have taken all the means in their power to
give it publicity, which puts it out of their power to relieve
any who may have married calculating on assistance from
them; thus taking into consideration and providing against a con-
tingency which might have arisen, but which has not occurred.
,The following are the rules with reference to this subject:-
1. No soldier's wife is entitled to re let whose name is not entered
in the regimental return, which, though it contains the names of ad
women whether marrii.d with or without leave, is yet signed by the
Colonel commanding the regiment, and thus they are partially ac-
knowledged.
2. The Government makes no difference between these women,
and the passages of all are equally desayedito the parishes of their
husbands.
3. The rule for the relief of soldiers' wives married without leave
is only retrosp ctive :or no swelter who has married without leave
since Ju,y, 1854, will be entitled to relief for his wife.
On the 4th July, 1854, at the largest Meeting ever held by the
General Committee, General the Earl of Beauchamp in the chair,
it was unanimously resolved—
" That from and alter the date of this resolution, the 4th July,
1854, no wife or widow be entitled to a donation or pension who
shall have marrie 1 a soldier without leave, whether they belong to
regiments on active service or to regiments now under orders of
readiness for active service, provided that such orders ofseadineas
were received subsequently to the formation of this Association, on
the 7th March, 1854.
As the-Government, the officers commanding regiments,* and the
Association have found it absolutely necessary to countenance, to a
certain extent, marriage without leave, and as it appears from the
returns of the married men of the 30 regiments of the line, and the
10 regiments of Cavalry, that a largo proportion of them in each
regiment ate married without leave, it becomes a serious question
how far the treatment hitherto carried out towards wives of soldiers
has been successful in the prevention of matrimony. It is evident
that, in spite of all the certain misery entailed upon them, soldiers
will marry, and can find respectable women to marry them; it is
also evident from the Universal sympathy shown to their wives and
families on the present occasion, that the country would gladly be-
friend them effectually ; the Committee would therefore direct par-
ticular attention to the concluding remarks at the end of this report,
in hopes that some practical measu e may be decided upon as
speedily as possible to prevent the recurrence of so much unmerited
misery and destitution.
COLLECTIONS on the DAY of HUMILIATION.

Thousands upon thousands of Her Majesty's loyal subjects joy-
fully full iwed her most gracious example on this day, and poured
in of their abundancelor the support of an Association which their
beloved Queen and his Royal Highness Prince Albert had honoured
with their joint patronage from its first commencement.
Had it not been for the noble contributions made on the Day of
Humiliation, this Association would have been totally unable to
grapplo effectually with the dire distress and destitution brought to
light by its operations.
All the great religious communities in the kingdom, except the
Roman Catholic, unanimously joined on that day to help the soldier's
wife and child.
To the Church of England especially this Association is indebted
for considerably more than two-thirds of the total amount collected.
The Wesleyan body also contributed largely and generously; the
Jews, too, joined munificently in this national effort by having col-
lections in th-ir eyeagogues. The Committee remark with much
pleasure that these astonishing collections were quite voluntary. No
Queen's Letter was issued, and never was any public subscription so
heartily ass'sted by the poor man's penny. In numberless congre-
gational collections more than one pound's worth of halfpence was
given. Eve,' the prisoners in a large government prison put their
names down for a subscription of more than 201. The total amount
collected on that day would have been even greater had not many,
of the collections been made for the sailor's as well as the soldier's
wife. Of tnese collections the Committee had the pleasure of paying
over one-third to the Association for the widows of sailors and
marines. •
• The Committee would point out most emphatically that, notwith-
standing the remarkable exception in the Fast-day Collections, no
reliious distinction whatever is made in the distribution of this
noble charity, recipients are not even asked to what religion they
belong. •

OTHER COLLECTIONS.
At the heal of these stands the county of York. The Yorkshire
Association (with his Grace the Archbishop and all the nobility end
gentry of the county as patrons and liberal subscribers) has remittal
to the Central Association the large surn of 5,0001. The press has
very eons derately and effectually aided the cause of the soldier's
family, but no paper, either of daily or weekly circulation, has so
practically assiAed these poor people as the " London Journal." The
editor of that pAper, by the weekly issue of 12 supplements, at one
halfpenny each, has realised the surprising sum of 1,4211., which
has been paid in weekly instalments of 1201. Nothing proves so
unanswerably as this does the sympathy of the poor, as the purchase
of the supplement was not compulsory on the subscribers to the
paper.
Subscriptions have been received from all
Scot ia perts of the world ;
from PaltalllA, Bahia, Bombay, Quebec, No.va , St. John's,
New Brunswick, Brussels, Pan, Lausanne, Bonn, Paris, Calais,
Meade, Ceylon, elow real, Boulogne, the Black sea Fleet, Ber-
muda, Fredericton, New Brunswick, &c.
The generous sympathy of the Navy for the wives of the Army
has been very gratifying ; indeed the first person who by an able
letter in "The Themes" roused tile pubic to a se Akio of their neglect
of the soldier's wife, WAS " A Naval Officer."
But of all the subscriptions, perhaps tha most touching was that of
the Chelsea Pensioners. One old veteran, in paying his penny, was
heard to remark, " Hail there been such an
woman association in my day
when I was away at the wars, my poor old would not have
idled in the workhouse." Several bodies of men of the working
classes have agreed to send in w, ekly penny contributions ; the men
of Price's i'atent Candle Factory, and the men of the Crewe Loco-
motive Department, have already paid m considerable sums
collected in thia way.
Front several large towns considerable amounts have been re-
mitted, from IYallsall, Cheltenham, &c.; but the town of Bath has
exceeded them all by several hundred pounds. •
The RAIL WAY C.JMPANIES—L YING-IN-HOSPITALS.
So universal has been the sympathy displayed towards the poor
people whom this association has taken by the hand, that all the
great lines of railway have been made free to the soldier's child.
Particularly the London and North. Western, and the Portsmouth

Ono commanding officer who could not }lnd amongst his soldiers'cs .
mantel Evil loavea sukient nupber willing t. embm.k
with their hus I ItaltedadrAna. )bed Ware permitted'
by authority to complete the number by seleetioll from the ehthlies,
Weillea =Tied without loaTo, 11144 out of bunch&