The Sun.
London, England, 1870-05-26 00:00:00

SKETCHES IN PARLIAMENT.

Members mustered strongly yesterday afternoon, WEDNESDAY
for
there was to be an ecclesiastical debate, and when
theology is combined with politics, there is a double attrac-
tion. Quite early, for the catechising was unusually
short, Mr. Watldn Williams rose to move his resolutions
for the disestablishment and the disendowment of the Es-
tablished Church in Wales. Who is Mr. Watkin Williams ?
He is the son and the grandson of Welsh parsons ; he was
educated at Oxford and London Universities, was called to
the bar at the Inner Temple, and he married the daughter
of Mr. Justice Lush, the first Protestant Dissenter on the
English bench, if I remember rightly. He is forty-two
years of age, rather tall, with dark curly hair,
smooth face, and somewhat ruddy countenance. He
is a new member, i.e., he was first elected at
the last general election, for, going down to
the Denbigh boroughs, formerly represented by Mr.
Townshend Mainwaring, he took that very staunch Church-
man by surprise, and beat him by 374 votes. When Mr.
Williams rose the benches below the gangway occupied
by the Radicals were thronged to overflowing. The Min-
isterial benches were fairly filled, Mr. Gladstone, Mr.
Cardwell, Mr. Bruce, Mr. Forster, and Mr. Glyn being
present. The anti-Ministerial bench was almost empty
for the greater part of the debate, Mr. Disraeli especially
being conspicuous by his absence. Mr. Williams is an
average speaker, but no orator. He gave us the history
of the Welsh Church from the very earliest times, and
was, it must be confessed, somewhat tedious. Now and
then he diversified his archaeology with a mild
joke, which was eagerly greeted by a House hungering
for a few plums with its somewhat heavy pudding. He
made a good point when he thanked the Premier for
having put an end to that disgraceful state of things
which had continued for just 125 years, and under which
not one of the Welsh bishops appointed since 1745, until
Dr. Hughes was appointed to St. Asaph, had been ac-
quainted with the Welsh language. He spoke for about an
hour and a quarter, and after intimating that he
did not intend to press for a division, sat down
amid a very hearty clamour of " hear, hear,"
from the Radicals, which, however, was quickly
changed into "move, move," when it was seen that Mr.
Williams had resumed his seatwithout moving his resolution.
That omission supplied, it was seen to the delight of many
M. P.'s, that Mr. Gladstone was up. Surely then the debate
would be short. The Premier did not seem at first to have
his ideas well in hand. He hesitated for a while and
then was very diffuse ; but at last he warmed to his
work, and put his foot down on established churches as
being institutions sanctioned by Scripture, and desirable
in themselves. He was sharp enough to take advantage
of one of Mr. Williams's admissions, that much of the
alienation of Welshmen from the Church was due to the
appointment of non-Welsh-speaking bishops, and remem-
bering his own late appointment, he was able to urge
with some force that a better state of things might be
anticipated. He concluded by calling upon the House
in emphatic language to give the motion a direct
negative.

But though Government had thus early declared its in-
tention, the Welsh members were not going to let the
House off so easily. Session after session has been occu-
pied about Ireland, it was surely, then, rather hard
that Wales should not have a few hours
of one evening. So up rose Mr. Osborne Morgan.
Now this very rising Chancery barrister accomplished in
Denbigh county the same feat that Mr. Watkin Williams
performed in the Denbigh burghs. Going down suddenly,
without local influence, he did, by force of his political
principles, so please the Welsh that, though he could not
of course oust the great Sir Watkin Williams Wynne,
he did beat the Adullamite Colonel Biddulph, who
had held the seat for no inconsiderable time. Mr. Mor-
gan is a readier speaker than Mr. Williams, but though
he spoke well, the House was very impatient. It was
known that there was to be a division after all, and it was
close upon dinner time. Now, hon. members exceedingly
dislike being called away from their meal by the alarum.
So as Mr. Morgan went on there were cries of "'Vide, vide,"
of which he took small heed. Occasionally he was
listened to, and he excited ironical cheers when he quoted
speeches from eminent Liberals and Conservatives assert-
ing that the position of the Welsh Church differed in no
material degree from that of the Irish. Then he
began to perorate, and just as he was reaching
the climax of some grand simile, an hon. and
mischievous member shouted " 'Vide " louder than
ever. But Mr. Morgan was not disconcerted. He wound
up in proper style, and having wound up, went down.
Now at last, then, we shall get into the division lobby,
and then into the dining-room. Not so fast : up rises a tall
grey-haired gentleman from the first bench below the gang-
way on the Opposition side. His rising is the signal for an
angry roar of " vides." But Mr. Scourfield is perfectly
indifferent. This is a Welsh subject, and he is a Welsh
M.P., and he means to have his say. Several times he
declares, by way of placating the irate House, that he has
one more remark to make, and at first this prospect of a
speedy end has its intended effect, but when the trick is
found out, when it is discovered that his promise to stop
is made merely that he may go on more easily,
M.P.'s get very angry indeed, and their chorus
gets very loud. Woe to the man who
persists in speaking after 7 o'clock, when a division is immi
nent. Even Mr. Scourfield did not venture to do this,
but sat down just before the sacred hour. Then came the
usual form of putting the question, the declara-
tion that "the Noes have it," the loud answering
challenge " the Ayes have it," and the clearing
of the House for a division. Great laughter was
excited, when some members, who had dropped
in through curiosity, found themselves shut in, and after
hammering vainly at the door in the hope of getting
out, learnt that they must now, very much against their
will, Tote. The division took more than a quarter of an
hour, and it was a quarter past seven before
the tellers marched up four abreast (Sir Wilfrid
Lawson by the way, being one of the tellers for
the bill), to the table. Among the first to re-enter the
House from the lobby were handsome Mr. Charles Reed,
and venerable Mr. Hadfield, both of them Dissenters of
Dissenters. I do not know if Mr. Williams was satis-
fied with his first division-45 against 209. If so "his faith
is large in time, and that which shapes it to some perfect end."
While this debate was going on a strange and startling
rumour reached the press gallery. It was that Sir John
Trelawny meant to call the attention of the Speaker to the
fact that there were strangers in the gallery, the object
being to get rid of the ladies during the debate on the
Contagious Diseases Act. There certainly was no reason
to suppose that they would voluntarily withdraw, as in
truth they had come down expressly to hear the debate.
As soon as the division was over and Mr. William Fowler
and other M.P.'s had presented a number of petitions
against the act, a giant far away under the gallery got up,
and, looking very sheepish, said, " Mr. Speaker, I
rise to order.. I beg to call attention to the
fact that there are strangers in those galleries"
(pointing to the Speaker's and strangers' galleries). This
was really too bad. It was not Sir John Trelawny, but
Mr. Crauford, M.P. for Ayr, who made the "observa-
tion," and he did it in such a way as to involve the exclu-
sion not only of the ladies, but of all the male visitors.
yea even of the reporters and able editors.
So there were cries of " No, no," and the Speaker
said something which I could not hear. If it
was an appeal to Mr. Crauford not to persist
on his decree of banishment, the appeal was in vain. Mr.
Bouverie, who is great in all little technicalities, sup-
ported his fellow-countryman, and then the Speaker,
amid cries of " Withdraw 1" said to Mr. Craufurd,
" Does the hon. member persist ?" Mr. Crau-
furd, without rising, and simply taking off
his hat, said, " I do, sir." " Then the galleries
must be cleared." And cleared they were, to the
great delight of the reporters, who thus got a most
unlooked for half-holiday, but to the great disgust of the
able editors, deprived of an expected topic for a leader,
and to the loudly-expressed indignation of the forty and
odd ladies who by this freak of the Scotch giant
were not only forbidden to hear the debate,
but would be prevented from reading it this
morning. Even the very door-keepers had to leave, and
some curious reporter being seen to peep through the
glass door of the press gallery, excited the wrath of some
hon. member below. It was twenty minutes past seven
when we were all turned out, and the prevailing im-
pression was that the exclusion would last for two hours.
It lasted double the time. Mr. Fowler alone is said to
have spoken for two hours. Both Mr. Bruce and Mr.
Gladstone are reported to have strongly censured Mr.
Craufurd's conduct, and it is probable that when
the debate comes on again a month hence, M.P.'s
will not again be suffered to sit in camera,
but the discussion will take place with all the safeguards
which publicity can give. Somewhere about midnight
there was a very interesting discussion upon horse•raci ig
in which Lord Royston of fox-litter celebrity took par 6,
but I had not tbv patilinoe Windt i9llr, 9111! for it,

SPIRIT OF TIM PRE,
THE FENIAN RAID ON CANADA.

Another attempt at the invasion of Canada, says the
Times, is threatened by the Fenians of the United States.
Not the memory of former disaster, the indignant repu-
diation of all sympathy by every party in Canada, the
prohibition of the United States' Government, and the
complete apathy of Ireland itself can prevent the idlers
who crowd the streets of New York and Philadelphia
from conspiring once more to disturb the peace of the
Canadian Dominion. We cannot tell as yet whether
they will carry their nefarious enterprise into
effect. The United States Government has at
former times shewn its willingness to perform its
international duties. The Canadians had at first some-
what to comlain of, for the Fenians openly invited sub-
scriptions, collected arms, and moved to the frontier with-
out molestation. But when the invasion really became
imminent President Johnson acted with energy, sending
troops to the frontier and turning back the hands who
were making their way towards Canada. President Grant
seems equally disposed to check the present outrage. But
under the present circumstances the absence of a regular
American force near the Canadian frontier is unfortunate.
The best that can be done is to send such a force as
speedily as possible. By the use of the telegraph and the
railway a number of troops sufficient to maintain order
can be soon brought to any point of the
Union, and the United States' army, small as
it is, is sufficient to furnish men for the duty.
Whether the American Government be prompt in ful-
filling its obligations or not, the course of the Canadian
authorities is plain. There must be no tenderness to the
marauders this time. This is not the first offence of the
Fenians and their leader. If, in spite of the warnings
they have received, in spite of the prohibition of the
Government to which they hate transferred their alle-
giance, they persist in carrying war into a peaceable
community, which has given them no offence at all, they
must expect to be dealt with as robbers and murderers.
Nothing, indeed, more abominable can be imagined than
that these ruffians, in their insane hatred of England,
should conspire to ravage the territory of a neighbouring
and cognate people whose only fault, in their eyes, is that
they are under allegiance to the British Crown.

THE sUrN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 26, 1870.

THE REPEAL OF THE UNION.

A section of Irish Conservatives (a correspondent writes)
are toying with the Repeal question. Some of this party
are no dthibT Sincere. They argue that the disestablish.
ment of the Church and the theory of exceptional legisla-
tion for Ireland have virtually dissolved the Union.
They profess no longer to have occasion to fear
Roman Catholic supremacy in a native Parliament. Other
Conservatives vehemently oppose the idea, believing that
their position, " bad as it is, would be worse " if the
Union were repealed. The Freeman's Journal doubts the
earnestness of any section of Conservative Repealers : and
the Roman Catholic Whig party are averse from repeal
in such company. There is a movement going forward
quietly to produce a demonstration of Conservative
opinion in Dublin on the subject.

THE FEMALE MEDICAL SOCIETY AND THE

GOVERNMENT BILL.

The sixth annual meeting of the Female Medical
Society was held yesterday at Exeter Hall, the Right
Hon. the Earl of Shaftesbury presiding. The society was
established to promote the employment of pro
perly educated women in the practice of midwifery
and the treatment of the diseases of women and children.
The meeting was well attended, the audience being com-
posed chiefly of ladies. The Hon. Secretary (Dr.
Edmonds) read the balance-sheet, which was of a satis-
factory character. The report stated that of the eighty-
seven ladies, who had availed themselves of the
teaching operations—forty-six were single, twenty-
three marnied, and eighteen widowed ; most of them
intended to gain their livilihood by practising
as midwives. Two of the students were studying at
Edinburgh for the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and many
of them were relatives, wives, or widows of clergymen or
medical men. The report concluded by saying that the
impending legislation as to a State examination for
medical licenses would probably remove many existing
anomalies, and the committee submitted that all degrees
and licenses should be open to both sexes; that a distinctive
qualification should be established for persons intending so
practice midwifery in small districts and country towns ;
that there is no necessity to enforce any special curricu-
lum of study upon candidates for a license to practice
any branch of medicine, inasmuch as the examinations
might be so arranged as amply to test the practical skill,
as well as the medical and scientific knowledge of every
candidate ; that freedom to acquire medical and scientific
knowledge in the way most convenient to candi-
dates for a license would greatly facilitate access
to the profession, and thus largely benefit the public,
while destroying the present monopoly in favour of
,pri-
vileged schools, and would remove a barrier to the improve-
ment and cheapening of medical education. If these
principles are adopted in the forthcoming Act there will
remain no difficulties in the way of women who wish to
evote themselves to the practice of medicine in any one
or all of its departments. Dr. C. R. Drysdale in moving
the adoption of the report expressed the pleasure it must
be to all to see the progress they were making
Colonel Henry Clinton seconded the motion, which was
carried, as were also the suggestions of the committee,
which concluded their report, and which appear above.—
The Noble Chairman said if they could add to the profes-
sion a number of educated and able women, fitted for
special purposes; they would be conferring the
greatest blessing ever given to the country. He
was very glad to say that the bill introduced
did not exclude the female sex. The word "person" had
been used throughout the bill very carefully, and person,
in Parliamentary language, meant to include both
sexes. That, therefore, which was conferred upon
the male professors would be conferred equally
upon females. He maintained that the ladies
had a full right to enter into the competition.
Either men and women must study together in the present
schools, or others must be established for the female sex
separately.—The noble chairman said this point had
previously been brought under his notice, and he had
agreed to point out the fact to Lord de Grey—(hear,
hear),—and he hoped the desired effect would be obtained.
—The meeting shortly afterwards terminated.

CLOSE OF THE M'FARLAND TRIAL.

The MTarland trial was ended yesterday afternoon by
verdict of not guilty, and immediately thereafter, the
prisoner was discharged from custody and would have
;one forth a free man had it not been for the fact that he
vas at once imprisoned in the arms of his friends and
3ongratulated on his triumphant acquittal.
The jury retired, after receiving the charge of the Court,
at two minutes after three o'clock. The Recorder left the
Bench and the assembled spectators disposed themselves
reely about the room, conversing upon the all-absorbing
..opic. The District-Attorney left the room, and did not
again return. The ladies, who have been most patient in
their attendance during the trial, and have taken the
Liveliest interest in the case, did not in the least abate
their anxiety while waiting for the verdict. One
after another came forward to where MTarland sat
and expressed to him their wishes for his speedy
deliverance. The defendant was anxious though he
did his best to compose his feelings and appear
calm. Little Percy felt that the trying hour had
come and remained by his father doinet his best
to comfort him in his affliction. Mr. Graham sat in his
chair calmly conversing with friends, occasionally turning
to his client to cheer him up, and, when sometimes left
to himself, sitting absorbed in thought and evidently
anxious for the fate of his friend.
Two clergymen, whose presence in the Court-room
yesterday was well timed, sat near MTarland, and by
their conversation kept the mind of the defendant em-
ployed, though, from his answers to their observations, it
was manifest that his thoughts were absent from the
scene around him. The minutes sped onward. Those who
had watched the trial carefully, and were therefore com-
petent to judge, calculated—and calculation at such a
time is pardonable—that the jury should agree upon a
verdict in half an hour from the time they left the jury-
box, and that any prolongation of that period might be
considered an indication of disagreement—a conviction
was not for a moment thought of. The half hour passed,
and the anxiety of MTarland's friends—which included
all present, as subsequent events proved, Mrs. Calhoun,
Mr. Runkle and Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair having retired
after the charge of the Court—increased. The
two brothers of MTarland sat near each other eagerly
watching every moment of the throng near the door;
General Graham and Mr De Witt Graham, brothers of
defendant's counsel, sat near the counsellor, and occasion-
ally conversed with friends ; Mr. Gerry, the able junior
counsel in this case, and Dr. Vance aasociated together,
and both were anxious as to the result. The throng
behind the rail were so excited that they stood upon the
benches as if in that position they could hear the result
sooner. The multitude outside, who had not been able tc
gain admission during the day, felt they were fortunate in
being where they were, for they would be first, at least, to
learn that a verdict had been agreed upon.
An hour passed, and still no verdict ; the moments be-
came hours to the waiting throng. Every movement at the
door was regarded with significance, but still no jury. At
twenty minutes past four the gas was lighted, and the
process of illuminating the room was watched as closely
as if the person performing it was shedding some light
upon the dark subject. Mr. Graham's anxiety was at
this time intense, as was evident from his nervous
manner, and MlFarland was suffered to remain
undisturbed by his friends,• and left to commune with
his own thoughts—and what these must have been none
can realise save those who have been placed in like trying
circumstances.

Meanwhile "heaven's artillery" added a solemnity to
the scene• The storm which had been lowering all day
burst forth into a thunder-shower of unusual violence for
this season of the year, and flash after flash of lightning
shot through the sky, followed by peals of the grandest
thunder. Amid this disturbance of the elements without,
came presently a scene within which will not soon be for
gotten by those who witnessed it.
At 4.50 o'clock there suddenly rose upon the then
hushed stillness of the court-room the loud orders of the
officers " Hats off in court, gentlemen ; take your seats.'
The effect was electric. The audience scrambled for the
nearest chair or bench, order was restored in, a moment,
and then one by one there filed into the room the twelve
men who had just passed upon the fate of the prisoner for
weal or woe. At this moment Mr. Graham's fortitude
gave way, and he wept like a woman. M`Farland, too,
was almost unmanned, but he had yet another scent
to take part in, and he sustained himself for the ordeal.
Little Percy now clung to his father even yet closer than
he had ever done before, and furtively glanced towards
the jury, as if his youthful mind could divine the secrets
which yet reposed in their breasts. Amid silence almost
as deep as that of the grave the Recorder entered, took
his seat upon the bench, and the venerable clerk of the
court, Mr. Henry Vandervoort, called the names of the
jury. MiFarland was directed to stand up, and did so,
supported by his chair, and the formal question was put.
The answer came promptly, in a clear tone of voice, from
the lips of Mr. Richard Brown, the foreman—" Not
Guilty:"

As the words escaped from his lips, the crowd, who had
stood with every nerve strained to catch the result, re-
sponded with cheer after cheer, which demonstration no
,3ffort on the part of the officers could repress—if, indeed,
say was made. The Recorder sat unmoved on the bench,
and unreproved by him, cheers were given for Mr. John
Graham with a vigour even exceeding the former.
Little Percy leaped npon a chair, and, waving his hand-
kerchief, joined in the popular demonstration. Every-
body was wild with excitement, and women and men were
not ashamed to shed tears—indeed, there was scarcely a
-dry eye in the room. A rush was made toward M`Farland
by those anxious to congratulate him, but the officers kept
the throng back, for there was yet one more formality to
be taken. Order was restored for the moment and Mr.
Vandervoort put the usual question to the jury requesting
them to hearken to the verdict as it was recorded. Then
Mr. Gerry rose and requested the discharge of his client,
which the Recorder promptly granted. IMTarland was
from that moment a free man. The Court was imme•
diately adjourned and then the multitude thronged about
sn
it negs eaancdh
wo f a
st h ehmu g
gu
epdo n a tnhd
de
kissed result. b
yP etrhcey
lwadiasesa_ll
him and Mr. Graham and Mr. Gerry, warmly congratu-
-1 aindeed, everybody was in a state of emotional
excitement. The jurymen came in for their share
of congratulations, and replied that they felt that they
iad simply done their duty, and were thus absolved from
their oaths. After a little time the Court-room was
.cleared, i Daniel M`Farland was taken to his brother's
louse, auLl last night slept, if he slept at all, surrounded
by loving friends and relatives.
It is stated that the jury stood ten for acquittal and
two for conviction of one of the grades of manslaughter,
when they first entered the jury-room. The matter was
discussed for some time, and finally the two jurors yielded
and a unanimous verdict was agreed upon. It is further
stated that the names of those two jurors were Richard
Brown, the foreman, and Thomas Scott, the seventh
juryman.
Messrs. Graham and Gerry have been crowned
with laurels by this verdict, and, as District
Attorney Garvin truly said in his address to the
jury ' the names of the recorder, counsel and jurymen
will be handed down by history in the records of great
trials, and made measurably immortal. Mr. Graham
paid a just tribute, in his address, to the faithful services
which had been rendered him by Mr. Gerry in preparing
this case, but none can tell, nor perhaps will the public
ever know, the sacrifices which both these gentlemen
have made for their client from the very commencement
of these proceedings. The 10,000 dolls. fee which Mr.
Graham receives for his services is small compensation
compared with the mental labour which he has bestowed
upon the case. He has been up night after night during
the trial, has not entered his office—proceeding from his
home to the Court-room direct, and returning immedi-
ately after the day's labours were over—since the case
commenced, and has undergone mental fatigue which
would prostrate almost any other man. Yet he is happy
now in winning success in a case in which he has taken
the warmest interest, " sticking to his client as close as
his skin," as Mr. Graham truthfully remarked in the
course of his summing up.
What effect this verdict will have upon the community
can well be imagined. It is rumoured that M`Farland
intends, encouraged by this decision, to bring legal pro-
ceedings against his wife in the nature of a divorce.
Some persons entertain an idea that the civil suit
against Richardson will be prosecuted against
his estate. Whether this is true or false cannot
now be determined. While this trial was in progress,
Mrs. M`Farland, under the name of Abby S. Richardson,
as guardian for the children of deceased, took proceedings
to sell the property at Woodside, New Jersey, and it is
possible that these steps may be enjoined.—From the
New York Times of 11th May.

MRS. MPARLAND-RICHARDSON'S STATE-

11ENT.

Mrs. M`Farland-Richardson has given to the public,
through the Tribune, a statement of her trials and suffer-
ings as the wife of Daniel M'Farlarid, the- causes and in-
strumentalities of her separation, her relations with A.
D. Richardson and her opinion of M'Farland. It thus
appears that her trials and sufferings as the wife of
111`Farland were those of a faithful, much enduring and
long forbearing woman bound to a savage monomaniac
addicted to drink; that at last her tortures, humiliations
and constant dangers and terrors became too heavy to be
longer endured, and that her relations with Richardson
throughout were studiously prudent and void of offence.
"As to Mr. 11,1`Farland," she says, " I believe now, as I
have believed for years, that he was a man born to do a
murder. The fact that he was always uttering threats of
bloodshed does not so much convince me of this as the fact
of his temperament, which, partly from hereditary causes,
partly from his nationality, and partly from had educa-
tion, had become one of uncontrollable violence. I believe
he feared this himself." She says much more to
justify the plea of insanity set up in his defence.
From her statement at large, after discovering the
dangerous character of this man, her great mistake was
was in continuing still to live with him. With due
allowances for the vivid colouring of her personal vindica-
tion, we are inclined to think that she was " more sinned
against than sinning," and that to her imprudent friends,
to whom she is so grateful, she is indebted for the un-
happy consequences attending her separation from
ArFarland, and the still more dreadful surroundings of
her marriage with and separation from Richardscn. It
is a melancholy story, but let us hope that the surviving
parties concerned will henceforward go their several ways
in pears.—New York Herald.

THIS MISSOURI DISASTER.---Nineteen persons nave
been killed, and thirty severely injured, some of them, it
is believed, fatally, through the driver of a freight train
" supposing " that he could reach a certain station with-
out meeting an express train, which he knew was on the
line at the time. His supposition turned out to be in-
correct, and the passengers were left dead or dying on
the ground as the penalty of his mistake. Does not negli-
gence such as this amount to manslaughter 7—New York
T ntee.