The Sun.
London, England, 1847-07-22 00:00:00

THE LAW OF MARRIAGE.

The follo.ving correspondence
fondaevnocuer fhoas takeny,,)ur ng inplfaocrem:—
57, Coleman-street, Friday, July 9.
i
.6
us
whetherSi r,—May
th
communications made to the Commissioners on
the law of marriage will be received by them confiden-
tially, where parties require it, and to what address such
communications should be sent ?
We make this inquiry with a view of publishing
your official answer as extensively as possible, our ex-
perience having satisfied us of the difficulty of eliciting
information from parties interested, except under the
seal of confidence. and we are sure that the Commis-
sioners will appreciate the difficulty, when they reflect
upon the extreme delicacy of the condition in which
such parties are placed.
" We have the honour to be, Sir,
"Your very obedient servants,
"CROWDER and MAYNARD.
" To the Secretary of h
her Majesty's
ll
styo'suCaeo,juiy l
mmissi37lBer4s
7.
on the Law of Marriage."
"Gwydyr
"Gentlemen,—l am authorised by the Commissioners
for inquiring into the state and operation of the law of
marriage. to inform you that communications made to
them shall be received by them confidentially according
to your suggestion, wherever the parties making such
coronae xiications desire it.

" I h ave also to request that such communications be
made in -writing, and addressed to me as 'Secretary to
the Law of Marriage Commission,' under cover, to the
Secrete ry of State for the Home Department,' with the
words 'l:a w of Marriage Commission' written on the
corner of 11 ie cover.

" I am edesired by the Commissioners to add their
suggestion that the communications so addressed to
them shun? ill be confined as far as possible to informa-
tion regal% ling the facts which may have a bearing on
the subject of their inquiry, especially as to the number
of marriage s within the prohibited degrees of affinity in
the districts in regard to which the writers possess_ in-
formation, and within what particular degrees; in what
classes of s, )cfety such marriages are chiefly contracted,
and whethe.- the number of such marriages has dimi-
nished or ii fc:reased since the passing of Lord Lynd-
hurst's Act is 1835.

I have the honour to remain, Gentlemen,
" Your obedient servant,
" HERMAN MERIVALE,
" Secretary to the Commission
" Messrs. C ro wder and Maynard."

MISS Bum DE TT CoUTTs's NEW CatutcH.---The
Temony of l'aying the first stone of St. Stephen's
Church, in Rocb ester-row, Westminster, by Miss Burdett
Coutts, took plat le, yesterday, with the usual ceremonies
on such occasion s, in the presence of an immense con-
course of people. Miss B. Coutts was accompanied by
Lady Antrubus, Ist lcly King, Mrs. Ramsden, &c. There
were present, bes ides the Bishop of Loudon, who assisted
in the ceremony, t he Bishops of Oxford, Adelaide, and
Tasmania; Lords :13rownlory' Sandon, and Ashley; the
Dean of Westmii is ter, the Rev. Lord John Thynne,
Archdeacons Sincl air and Bentinck,
and many of the
clergy of the Abbe y and the adjacent districts; Sir F.
Trench, &c. The whole of the expense of the erection
of the church about io be built is to be defrayed by Miss
Burdett Coutts, towether with the endowment and the
building of schools for 230 boys mad 170 girls. The
site has been prese cited by the Dean and Canons of
Westminster. The ehurcl which ba a been designed by
Mr. Benjamin Ferrey, of
Trinity-place, and winch well
be built by Messrs. B igby, of Westm Rester, will be in
the decorated style of the fourteenth century. It will
contain a nave 82 feet long by 21 lei it wide; aisles 82
feet long by 13 feet wide; and a chant el, 47 feet long by
21 feet wide. There will be a massiv e tower and spire
at the east end of the north aisle, tl te base of which
will be 23 feet square, and the en tire height 200
feet. The materials used in the i lonstruction will
be Sneatcn ragstone for the walls, and , 4.nston stone for
the quoins and dressings ; the roof will' be English oak
covered with lead. For the seats, stal. Is, and screens
Riga wainscot will be used. There Nil. I be a peal of
bells in the tower. The church will be capable of ac-
commodating 1,000 persons. The silver I Towel used by
the munificent founder was presented to h 'er by the in-
habitants of the district ; on it was engrave 'cl an appro-
priate inscription to that effect. The folk ~wing is the
copy of the inscription enclosed withinthe foundation
stone of the church :
Hujusce ./Elis sacrosanctse, _
Deo, Creatori, Sospitatori, Sanctifiea tors,
in honorem B. Stephani protomartyris, a lactate,
lapidem auspicalern
posuit
Angela Georgians Burdett Coutts 'e
filia natu minima
Franc;sci Burdett, Bronetti,
hui us civitatis Westmonasteriensis
Suffrage's olim in Senatum per XXXL an uos
cooptsti,
eadem ills, pietans ergo in patrem,
et gratse in Deum observantim,
quam nunc inchoavit tedem,
proprio sumptu exstructura,
ornatura, dotatura,
singulare in hoc seculo tants, munificentire exemplar ".
XIII Prid. Kal. Aug.
A.D. MDCCCXLVII.
The Rev. W. Tennant, M.A., formerly curate of SI ••
agedafro ldtweerenetyte-dsiixt: who, about.,
front of a ,
n
John's, Westminster, has been licensed, on the nominee -
Lion of Miss 13. Coutts, by the Bishop of London to th a
incumbency.
THREE FRIGHTFUL AND FATAL ACCIDENTS.—Ia. 1
the course of Tuesday, the following frightful and fatal
accidents occurred;--The first happened to a labouring
man,
wasa nie
d engaged William
large building in the Clapham-road, when he suddenl, i:
lost his footing, and fell from a height of upwards of 3 0
feet to the ground, thus sustaining a compound fra, 3-
ln, named
lure of both legs, with a spinal injury, besides a drew 1-
o n Star,
ta a rs, c
ful lacerated wound on the skull, by which the brai as
were injured. The poor fellow was conveyed to Guy P's
Hospital, but the injuries were such as to defy all medic al
skill, and deceased expired in about an hour after h is
admission. Shortly dierwards another fearfulcase was ad
mitted into this institution, the sufferer being a gentlemei e
of fortune, who gave his name as William Gilbert. .It
seems that Mr. Gilbert had been at Sydenham to a
visit to his two sons, who are staying at school them,
a
and on his return to town he was proceeding along t '
lt.
road, and by some means slipped down, and from tit e
singular manner in which he fell he has sustained a ver y
serious injury to both legs, the left being fractured i n
two places, besides other bruises. A third misha' p,
and which it is to be regretted has been attended wi th
fatal consequences, took place at Waterloo-bridges,
to
a lad named John rargater, aged about eight, !iv'l
his friends at No. 13, Salutation-place, Corn_n:.4 withLambeth. The unfortunate boy was playing Zillitiii-wad,
other lads at the steps at Waterloo-bridge, and by !. "If'
' some
means fell down and rolled to We bottom Prom a he
of about twenty feet, and received such !earful
wo ight
wot inds
that it was deemed necessary to remove him at one to to
Charing-moss Hospital, where he expired
wards. shortly a. fter- I '

FALL IN THE PRICE OF BREAD.--Yesterd-ay the
bakers throuhout the metropolis lowered the prieei of
i
the 41b. loaf d. The best bread is 9d. to 9id, ; sect/ nd
quality, Bd. ; and in the Blaekfriars-Dad, Westvielat4 or,
Whitechapel, 70. and 7d.