The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-11 00:00:00

INCOME TAX.

In reply to Sir F. KELLY,
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said there
was no intention to make any alteration in favour of
farmers who already had an extensive power of appeal.

SCOTCH SPIRITS.
In reply to Lord NAAS,
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER stated
that there was no present intention on the part of the
Government to allow a drawback on home-made Scotch
spirits in bond.

EXCHEQUER BILLS BILL.
This bill was read a third time and passed.
INSPECTION OP NUNNBRIES,
Mr. T. CHAMBERS rose to move for leave
to bring in a bill to facilitate the recovery of per-
sonal liberty in certain cases, and having claimed the
indulgence of the house while he delivered a
maiden speech, he proceeded to state that, in making
this motion, he had no desire to wound the religious
feelings of any one. Still it would be his duty to touch
upon theological topics, because there was a class of
persons in the state who were subject to unduerestraint and
hardship, and it was in respect of this class that he wished
now to legislate. There were institutions existing in
' this country which were beyond the reach of all the
enactments to be found on the statute book, and which
were used for the purpose of keeping females in
restraint. His bill, in fact, would point at
monastic institutions ; and, as the Legislature had
more than once passed enactments in that spirit,
there could be nothing novel or strange in this motion.
The law as it now stood, however, was a dead letter, and
he wished to bring in a bill to render it more stringent. It
was too much the practice to describe nunneries and mo-
nastic institutions as places of calm retreat, where females
could retire to who were anxious to quit the pomps and
vanities of the world, but it frequently happened that
so far from being places of this character, they were little
better than prisons where females were detained against
their will, upon the lame pretence that such detention was
for their spiritual welfare. In tie majority of instances,
no doubt, these institutions were places of peaceful and
comfortable retreat for persons who wished to lead a se-
cluded life, but the public mind believed that many
of these convents were full of those who were dis-
contented. Most of these convents were built like
prisons with bolts and bars, and porters at the doors
watching all day and night. All these architectural
features resembled those of an ordinary prison.. They
had high walls, and other guards against intrusion,
besides cells and dungeons, and the public
m
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Agapentonies and
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his
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something that told much stronger in
ctvhoomewelsai": dte
or; e bnuott
favour of his motion. It could hardly be said that
there were no discontented nuns in the country,
or why should there be so much rhetoric wasted in ex-
horting those already in nunneries to keep tdmheeaninro
ucvnaoctwhi
nso..
If there was not a class of discontented nuns in this country
z
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wshoehwa clereaanss existed
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favour of this bill, but there was another argument
which he must adduce in support of his motion.
(Hear, hear.) Almost every other country in
Europe but England provided a remedy for the
case which this bill contemplated.
In Prussia, for in-
stance, no novice could take the veil without the consent
of the civil authorities ; whilein Russia no nun could
enter a convent without the permission of the Synod of
Moscow. In Bavaria vows could not be taken for a
longer period than three years, while the State reserved
to itself the right of visiting these monastic institutions,
and setting those persons at liberty who were anxious
to return to the world. The same practice prevailed
in France • and though he did not wish to follow
the example of foreign countries, he thought these proofs
were conclusive against all these monastic institutions
being simply places of peaceful retreat. No doubt he
should be met with the objection that the bill
was opposed to religious liberty, but it was no
such thing. All that it could do would be to se-
cure civil liberty to parties who wished it. The
Roman Catholic Relief Act entirely prohibited the tot
ence of monastic institutions for males, but a reservation
was which
was made in favour of some half-dozen establis
were in existence at the time the act was passed,
to the Roman
were confined to females. Accorctirnglßs
3 it appeared
Catholic Directory and Almanac,
f se.erntsvathat
Catholic Church, while of those
nunneries in England
Catholic Church he believed there
attached that there t
owtebree
Romann no less than 7 5
belonging to the Ango-
. were not less than a hundred, containing something like

3,000-nuns. NOW, at the present moment, the law ,of
England stood. helpless at the porch of a nunnery
just as much as centuries ago the Emperors stood help-
less at the gate of Rome. It could not enter, and to a
party who once got within the walls of a nunnery, there
was no prospect of liberty ever being again regained
but through the instrumentality of the law. Having
narrated the instances of cruelty, imprisonment, and
total seclusion which were mentioned in the House of
Lords by the Archbishop of Dublin and the Bishop of
Norwich on the previous evening, the hon. gentleman
added another instance which had occurred in Paris,
where the superior of a convent and six or eight nuns,
who had renounced the Roman Catholic religion, were
suddenly, and without the knowledge of their friends and
relatives, sent away from the city to some distant asylum,
where they were now suffering confinement. These in-
stances were facts, and could not be controverted ; and
it would be far more candid if hon. gentlemen would ad-
mitand justify them. To use a legal phrase, they could
no longer plead the general issue—they must " confess
and avoid." It would be urged against his motion that
it was as an invasion of religious liberty. He was at a
loss to know on what grounds that objection could be
maintained ; he was not going to compel Roman Catho-
lic ladies to abandon their vows or to break up any ar-
rangements or observances practised in these convents.
What lie wanted was an inquiry into a power, a civil
tyranny, a despotism over mind and body, against which
there was no redress or relief. (Hear.) This was not
even interference with the ecclesiastical authority, be-
cause these convents were not part of the Church of
Rome. Everybody knew that they had been punished
at times, and at others taken into favour—at one mo-

went anathematised, and at the next patronised by the
clerical authorities. It might be said, too, that his pro-
position would be an insult to the feelings of ladies of
high rank and station, and an unjustifiable interference
with their rights. He hoped hon. members who might
be ready to urge that argument would bear in mind that
there was no footing for it in law. It would be a frivo-
lous and absurd objection. If "there was no wrong done,
there could be no reason why they should resist the ap-
pearance once in seven years of a gentleman whose
only object would be to make inquiries, and, if
wrong was done, the delicate feelings of ladies of high
rank and station were not to be placed in opposition
to the means of doing justice to helpless and unpro-
tected women in the power of irresponsible and despotic
authorities, and perhaps of saving their lives. It might
be said that the bill was a breach of the great maxim of
the British constitution, that "an Englishmen's house
was his castle," but that had been broken through over
and over again, and he hoped they would go on doing
so rather than sacrifice the substance for the shadow of
liberty. The Englishman's castle was liable to be broken
into by any Custom-house offier who might smell a box
of cigars or a pound of pigtail—(laughter)—through the.
keyhole. The most sacred personal rights of the sub-
ject were liable to be invaded for the same cause and by
the same parties to save a few shillings to the Imperial
Exchequer. The merest cobler who received a parish
apprentice was not safe in his stall if the parish officers
thought fit to present themselves to inquire after his
charge. It was too late to press the argument that an
Englishman's house was his castle, and that it ought not
to be invaded, unless, indeed, they meant to say that it
was not to hold good when a trifling fraud was com-
mitted on the Excise or the Customs, and that it was to
prevail when the liberties and lives of helpless women
were concerned. (Cheers.) He had stated the evil, and
he would now state the remedy. His first anxiety was
to do as little as might be necessary to accomplish the
purpose, and to satisfy the public mind on this ques-
tion with as little sacrifice of private feeling as possible.
What he proposed was, that the Secretary of State for
the Home Department should have the power of ap-
pointing one or two persons, and that those persons,
having reasonable grounds to believe—it was the phrase
used in a great many acts of Parliament in reference to
similar objects—that improper coercion was exercised
against any women in any house or building, should have
power to go down to the county in which it was situate,
there to select a justice of the peace, and in his
company to proceed to the place, to ascertain the circum-
stances, and to see the persons with reference to whom
complaint was made. All that was wanted was, that they
should have an opportunity of ascertaining the facts.
What the public complained of was the secrecy, the im-
penetrable mystery, which prevented any certain know-
ledge being obtained, and which, undoubtedly, caused
all suspicions against these institutions to be much mag-
nified. (Hear, hear.) If any man of high character,
responsible to the Home Secretary, who was responsible
to the house, in company with a respectable magistrate
of the county, were to inquire into the facts, and if the
facts were found to be different from what had been

stated or suspected, then the utmost inconvenience that
would be inflicted would be that the ladies, unaccustomed

to see any gentleman except their priest, would be re-
quired to see these gentlemen and to answer their
questions. If these gentlemen should be of opinion that
the facts which had been brought under their notice
were well founded, they would return to town and sue
out a writ of habeas corpus, to give the party suffering
the means of obtaining freedom. In conclusion, he ap-
pealed to the house to give these persons, who were
helpless, the benefit of legal inspection. Parliament
ought to give it even for the sake of the institutions
themselves, that they might be relieved from the odium
with which the popular impression visited them. If it
were denied that there was any ground for that popular
impression, then let it be disproved by assenting to an
inspection. If they refused inspection it warranted
persons in saying that there was a foundation for the
suspicions entertained, otherwise investigation would
not be resisted. (Hear, hear.) How could these sus-
picions be negatived t It was by putting conventual
institutions within the radius of the law. Let them not
be suspected of wrong—vindicate them, and let the
Legislature put them beyond reproach. The hon. and
learned gentleman concluded by moving for leave to
bring in a bill to facilitate the recovery of personal
liberty in certain cases.

Mr. C. BERKELEY seconded the motion. He was at
a loss to conceive why this country should stand almost
alone, with the exception of Spain and Italy, in respect to
the law upon this subject. Tile law remained the same in
this country as it stood at the time of the Council of
Trent. The hon. and learned gentleman had omitted to
mention that in' Mexico, where the whole population was
Roman Catholic, a law was established for the frequent
visitation of nunneries. Ladies having taken the veil were
excluded from seeing their friends unless in the presence
of the Lady Abbess. (No, no.) Whatever contradiction
the hon. gentleman who cried. No" might give him, he
(Mr. Berkeley) could tell the hon. gentleman that it had
happened to him (Mr. Berkeley) to be refused an interview
with one of the nearest and dearest friends he had in the
world—(hear, hear,)—unless it were in the presence of the
lady of the convent. (Hear, hear.) A postulant was a
lady who for a year previous to taking the black veil as-
sumed the habit of the white veil ; and even a postulant
was refused permission to see her friends or anybody who
might wish to have an interview with her. If hon. gen-
tlemen knew as much as he did of the sort of education
that went on in the convents they would not resist this
motion. They were places were young unsuspecting, and
confiding persons entered, who, if entitled to a fortune,
. the moment they took the veil; forfeited their property,
which became the possession of the convent. The poor
victims might repine and wish for liberty, but having
once taken the black veil, no matter how much they might
repine, they must remain coerced, and there was nothing
but death to relieve them from their situation. (Hear,)
Mr. BOWYER said he understood the condition im-
posed in the case mentioned by the last speaker had been
so at the request of the hon. gentleman's relative herself.
In some countries there was legal authority to detain nuns
in their convents, and there inspection, though perhaps
not necessary, was at least reasonable ; but in Eng-
land there was no such authority. The arguments ad-
duced were merely founded on popular suspicion, and car-
ried no weight. The machinery proposed by the bill was
not satisfactory, as there was no guarantee for the character
or opinions of the inspectors to be appointed. The fact
was that the interior of convents was better known than
that of any private houses, so that the strange stories
brought up by the advocates of legislative interference
were utterly incredible.
Mr. Sergeant MURPHY denied emphatically that
ladies who were inmates of religious houses wanted
any liberty. He took pride in saying that three of
his own nearest relatives were members of such com-
munities, and that he had at all times the readiest ac-
cess to see them, whether with or without notice.
As the law stood at present, the bill was clearly unneces-
sary, because such persons were exactly in the same posi-
tion as any other subjects of the Crown; and if a system
of meddling espionage were to be adopted, the inevit-
able consequence must be to banish them from the
country. The Roman Catholics of the lower and middle
classes, both in Ireland and England, derived most mate-
rial benefits from the monastic bodies ; and if they were
put to flight, the consequence would be that the amount of
spiritual destitution would be fearfully increased.
Mr. FIR WEN stated some facts which had come to his
knowledge, which made it appear to him that it was not
only desirable, but essential, that these establishments
should be from time to time inspected.
Mr. NEWDEGATE said, that the arguments of those
who opposed this measure appeared to resolve themselves
into a flat denial of every fact adduced in its support, and a
broad assertion of the precise reverse of that fact. It was
simply preposterous to say that no young women were kept
in these institutions against their will, and that no compul-
sion was practised upon them, seeing that established facts
proved that compulsion was practised upon both the bodies
and minds of many of these nuns. With such of them
as wished to remain shut up, and were satisfied with their
condition, no one desired to interfere, but it was the duty
of Englishmen to see that none of them were shut up
against their will or otherwise subject to ill-treatment in
these places. The hon. and learned member for Cork coolly
asserted that no sufferings were endured in these places.
Tbah; case of the Misses Macarthy, which had been brought
2t gret_h_e Privy Council, proved, on the contrary,
that was in these places not only. suffer-
ing, physical and mental, inflicted on the inmates,
but that there was isolation from their friends en-
forced, and alienation of their property effected, for the
benefit of the establishment or of the superior, a circum-
stance explaining how great were the pecuniary interests
concerned in the maintenance of these tabli h ts It
appeared to him that if these nunneries were suchen imm. a-
culate establishments as they purported to be, the sooner
they admitted inspection the better for their character, for
at present the most unfavourable ideas prevailed with re-
spect to them. This was the case not only here, but in the
'United States, where not long since so evil was the character
which a particular convent acquired in the public opinion,
that a body of 200 men, masked, broke open the doorsb
night, and, after compelling the a bbess and the nuns to
quit the convent, burnt it to the ground. These places
required to be brought within the reach of the law and the
supervision of the State. At present, they seemed quite I
independent of the law, so much so in one important par-
ticular, that although, no doubt, sudden deaths must from
time to time occur in them, those deaths were never
brought within the cognizance of the coroner, it being
quite impracticable, as he had been assured by a coroner,
to collect any evidence within their walls upon any such
circumstance. As to the Roman Catholic members of that
house, they would not dared
die esuadpflortanatthheembialld,
elnoostuntheeeyd
should incur the solemn an
by their church upon whoever, in thesheoxiilercdisleenodf
hhiims
vete judgment and his better feelings,
to aid the withdrawal of a nun from her convent. In con-
clusion he would merely say that, upon this subject, how-
ever deluded they might be, Protestants thought though how-
ever