The Sun.
London, England, 1870-04-29 00:00:00

THE IRISH LAND BILL.

The House then went into committee on this bill,
eluming at the amendment moved by Mr. Headlam, to
Clause 3, which was to insert the following words after the
word " land." " Provided always, that nothing in this
act contained shall exonerate a tenant under lease from
the duty of giving up peaceable possession of the demised
land at the end of the term, nor shall a landlord resuming
possession at the termination of a lease be deemed to be

disturbing a tenant within the meaning of this act."

Mr. HEADLAM said his amendment had been much
misrepresented, and constructions had been put upon it
which were totally inconsistent with its meaning. The
intention he had in moving it was to have it clearly set
out that the clause did not apply to leases, but
only to cases of continuing tenantry where disturbance
had taken place by the act of the landlord.

He contended that there could not be a greater misrepre-
sentation than the assertion that his propo-
sition was contrary to the principle of the
Bill, and he was satisfied that an impartial
observer would come to the same conclusion. He asked
the Government whether they intended to evacuate
a tenant although he might have a money
claim from the primary and elementary duty of
giving up peaceable possession of demisekl land. The
Government ought to decide what leases ought to be
brought within the Act, and what were the leases upon
which the landlord would be liable for compensation, and
what ought to be the amount of compensation. If the
clause were passed in its present form, there was scarcely
a member on either side of the House who could say what
would be the state of the law with respect to leases before
the Act, and with respect to tenancies before and after
the Act. He had proposed his amendment without the
slightest intention of obstructing the measure. His
object from the first had been to assist Her Majesty s
Government.

The ATTORNEY GENERAL, who had been alluded to by
Mr. Headlam, denied that he had ever attributed to that
gentleman any mala fides in the course which he,he had
adopted. The misapprehension on his (the Attorney
General's) part was shared in by a large number of
persons, both in and out of the House, and by a portion
of the Press.
Sir F. HEYGATE was much struck in the first instance
with what appeared to be the soundness of Mr. Headlam's
amendment, but subsequently it seemed to him that it
aimed at the principle of the bill.

The Committee then went on disposing of the various
amendments ou the paper at a moderately fair rate of pro-
gress. The first which gave rise to much discussio❑ was
moved by Sir J. Gray, with the view of omitting " con-
acring," without the consent of the landlord, from the list of
offences which are to deprive a tenant of his right to com-
pensation. It was accepted by the Government.

Afterwards much time was consumed in the discussion of
an amendment moved by Mr. Kavanagh, relieving from the
penalties of sub-letting the letting of a portion of
land not exceeding half an acre to agricultural Labourers
bona fide required for the cultivation of the holding. In
the end it was rejected by 284 to 218. Mr. Kavana2.ll,
however, subsequently carried an amendment, with the
assent of the Government, limiting the privilege to hold-
ings of 25 acres and upwards in extent of tillage land.
To comrnitttee reported progress five minntes before ono
o'clock; and Mr. Gladstone fixing the bill for Monday.
The Naturalization Bill was considered, as amended, and
agreed to.

It was just upon two o'clock when the Order of the Day
was reached for nsuming Mr. Nowdegate's motion for a
Selent Cpmmittee on Monastic Institutions. After au angry
discussion the debate was adjourned.

The House adjourned at 2U minutes past three o'clock.

The Rev, H, W. K. Parkinson, of Rochdale, divides
the religious forces of England into three classes, each of
which is distinguished by a different " note." The word
"note," it may be taken for granted, is used (as it is by
Father Newman) in the sense of pretension or actual f
ture. In Mr. Parkinson's first class of religious organisa-
tion is the Church of England with the note of "order."
The second division is the Congregational, having for its
note " doctrine ;" and the third is the great Methodist
family, whose note is "feeling."

Figaro finds plenty of opportunity for exercising
its characteristic wit respecting the plebiscite. Names,
it says, are undoubtedly matters of predestination, and
therefore we need not be surprised to find the Central
Committee, Republican and anti-plebiscitary, has fixed
its tent in the street of bears." In another place
Figaro tells us that the great question of the day is, after
all, only a difference of medical opinion. All admit that
France is sick, but the Empire is the sovereign remedy,
the Republic the Radical cure,

The Central Plebiscitary Committee in Paris i*
displaying extraordinay activity, but in the Government
circles it is doubted if the success that is obtained will
assume the desired proportions. The administrative figure
is six million suffrages, and it would be looked upon as a
failure if only five million odd were obtained. The tele-
graph is worked with such activity between the Central
Government and the prefectures that private individuals
have little chance for their messages, which gives rise to
may complaints.

PRISON MINISTERS.

THURSDAY.

The select committee appointed to inquire into the
operation of the Prison and Prison Ministers' Acts with
reference to .the facilities afforded to Roman Catholic
priests in the gaols, resumed its sittings this afternoon,
when

The Rev. Mr. Keens, the Roman Catholic priest
attending the city prison at Holloway, was examined and
detailed the circumstances attending his application to the
Holloway Gaol Authorities for leave to visit the Roman
Catholicprisoners collectively instead of those individuals
who expressed a wish to see him. He drew the attention
of the Board to the discourtesy with which he was treated,
and the refusal of his application which was criticised un-
favourably to the authorities in the Pall Medl Gazette.
He thought it-a great hardship for the Roman Catholic
prisoners to be locked up in their cells on Sundays when
the Protestant prisoners were allowed to assemble for
public worship. It was a great inducement to them to
express a wish to attend the Protestant service.
W. en Roman Catholic prisoners entered the gaol they were
so registered, but they were told that if they wished they
could attend the Protestant services, and no doubt, many
of them would be desirous to break the monotony of
their cell by so attending Protestant worship. He
had made an application to the Court of
Aldermen for a small grant to supply the
Roman Catholic prisoners with books ; but he
was not allowed anything, but was told that there was a
regular supply of books to all the prisoners, and that he
was at liberty to exclude any of them to which he
objected from the cells of the Roman Catholic prisoners.
Tne books furnished to the Roman Catholic prisoners
were such as he could not conscientiously permit them to
read, such as " The History of the Inquisition," " The
Great Apostacy," " The Lives of the Popes," Sunday at
lieme, and other books, which all contained matters highly
deprecatory of the principles of the Roman Catholic
faith, and which he could not allow Roman Catholics
under his spiritual care to read. Those books were fur-
nished to the Catholic prisoners in Holloway Gaol,
and when they brought them to him he told them
that they were not to read them. Some of them did read
them out of curiosity, and in fact they were glad to get
any kind of books to read in the monotony of prison life,
but the majority of Catholic prisoners would -certainlynot
read them. The Roman Catholicprisoners had complained
to him over and over again, of such books being put into
their hands. He did not repeat the application, which he
made to the authorities for some allowance for the pur-
chase of proper books, because he considered it useless,
and thought it would be better to use his influence alone
with the ilnisoners. He was quite sure that if he was
allowed to assemble them together on a week day and on
Sundays for Divine service, the result would be bene-
ficial to the Roman Catholic prisoners.
At the conclusion of this witness's examination the
committee adjourned.

THE MORDAUNT DIVORCE APPEAL.

THURSDAY.

In the Divorce Court, before the full court, composed
of the Lord Chief Baron, Lord Penzance, and the Hon.
Justice Keating, Serjeant Ballantine replied to the
case advanced by Dr. Deane, Q.C., on behalf of the
respondent.

The learned Serjeant, after thanking Lord Penzance for
the suggestions he had thrown out as to what part
of the case should be argued, went on to say
that his friends had treated a lunatic as if she were a
nonentity, and in doing so he thought they were wrong.
In many will cases there was insanity which would upset
a will, but which would not interfere in other matters.
It was obvious that whilst a person might be unable to
instruct an attorney in a complicated case, still he or she
might be able to understand what was meant by the ser-
vice of a citation. Lunatic evidence was often received,
and it was only the other day that the testimony of a
lunatic was put against a warder who was convicted on his
testimony only, corroborated by the surgeon deposing as
to certain marks on the body.
Justice Keating asked what was the exact finding of
the jury.
Dr. Deane said that on the day the citation was served
Lady Mordaunt was not in a state of mind to instruct
her attorney, and had not been so since.
The Lord Chief Baron said that was sufficient to sup-
port the order of the judge ordinary if it could be sup-
ported.
Serjeant Ballantine said that there had been rules for
the appointing of guardians, laid down by the court,
though not mentioned in the statute. He would again
refer to Borden v. Borden, and there the judge ordinary
said that the case was a different one to what it would
have been had the lunatic been a petitioner. As to collu-
sion he (Serjeant Ballantine) apprehended that a very
advanced lunatic would understand what was meant;
but in other matters the lunatic might not be able
to understand anything. Suppose their lord-
ships decided against him, it would amount to
this that a lunatic might charge adultery, but not be
charged with it. He now came to the part which had
been put so seriously by the learned lord. He did not
think they ought to consider much the injury done to one
Hparty or another, but look at the comparative injury.
ere was the case :—A man came into the court asking
for a remedy, to which he was undoubtedly entitled, for the
most grievous wrong ; and it was said that he could not
because the other person could not bring charges against
him. The only thing it seemed that prevented
the case corning to finality was that charges might
be brought against him. His friends had
treated a woman's adultery as a quasi criminal
offence. If so, he was entitled to argue that connivanco
was also a criminal affair, and morally more criminal than
even adulttry. Every person was to be presumed inno-
cent, and in dealing with the case of a respondent, he was
to be presumed prima facie to be innocent of any charge.
Here they had a man seeking his remedy who was told he
could not have it. Why? Not for anything that he had
done, not that anybody said he had done wrong, but
simply because a certain person 'might say that he had
done wrong. Supposing it was suggested by the other
side that there had been wrong done by the petitioner,
the wife might be a moat important witness, still as a rule
there were other witne.;ses of it. _ _

Mr. Justice Keating observed that as he understood
Sergeant Ballantine to argue, the case stood that the per-
son accused when insane could not recriminate.

Sergeant Ballantine said that the petitioner must be
considered innocent till found ,ouilty.
Mr. Justice Keating said the intendment would apply
also to the respondent.
Sergeant Ballantine did not think so ; but doubtless a
criminal stood in a different position to a person charged
with adultery. They might call many things quasi crimi-
nal ; but nothing was an actual crime unless it was a
matter that might form the subject of indictment. They
had cases every day where there were moral crimes which, if
they went a step further, would be crimes in a legal
point of view. As far as he saw, none of the precedents
named by Dr. Deane shewed that in a civil court a
person's status had never been affected by idiotcy. The case
of an idiot being made a bankrupt was a case directly in
point as shelving that the Court had altered the status of
a lunatic. A judicial separation affected a status ; and it
gave every privilege as if the woman was single except
one—that of marrying again.
Lord Penzance asked if there was a case where a judi-
cial separation had been decreed when the respondent
was insane ? _ _

Serjeant Ballantine was sorry to say that he could not.
He would refer to the standing of the court. It was
eminently a civil one, and had no power to deal with
crime, The proceedings were of a civil character, and the
rules were on all fours with those of the other courts of
justice. They had the same privileges as the judges in
other courts. He would draw their lordships attention to
the case of a lunatic witness. The court might adjourn
the case ; but could it stop the trial? He should say de-
cidedly not, as the evidence ought to be all that would be
essential to a defence. He would excuse himself for not
quoting precedents, as there were none ; but he had
endeavoured to point out analogous cases ; on the part of
the gentleman he represented, he challenged any inquiry.
Lord Penzance : What course do you say the court
ought to take.
Serjeant Ballantine said that the order ought to be
abrogated or it left to his side to go on, so as to force the
other side to bring aalavits, to entitle the respondent to
ask for further postponement.
Lord Penzance said that he understood the Serjeant to
mean that if the order were abrogated, the respondent
would be entitled to come forward with of aavits for a
further pcstponemeat if necessary.
Serjeant Ballantine said that was so.
The Lord Chief Baron We will consider this case.

THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE ALBERT
LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY.

THURSDAY.

To-day a; meeting of policy holders in the Albert
Company was held at the City Terminus Hotel, Cannon
Street, London, to consider the plan of reconstruction pro-
posed by the committee appointed to draw up a scheme,
providing for the eventual payment of 95 per cent. of all
claims, namely 85 per cent. as the claims arose, the re-
maining ten per cent: being reserved for deferred payment
until the calculations upon which the reconstruction is
founded shall have been tested, and calls of shareholders
4nd 234,000 subscribed by shareholders in excess of their
liability: This left a total balanee to be provided for of
2260,000, reduced ultimately by promises of subspOptions
to 2160,000. This sum it was proposed to 'diVide equally
between the shareholders and the policy-holders the latter
g:ving their half by the proposed reduction of 5 per cent
Upon the premiums,
A resolution approving of the scheme, subject to such
molifications and alterations as may be expedient and
may be sanctioned by the Court of Chancery was carried.

The Hereford " Festival of the -Three Choirs" is
fixed to open on August 22nd, and the Dean and Chapter
of Hereford have not only granted the use of the cathedral
for the purpose of the morning oratorios as usual, 1)4
they hay e this year inade a further copcessign in perOttini
its use on the evening of the first day for performan.o6 0
Sacred music.

The funeral of Field-Marshall Hess took place at
Vienna on Easter Sunday. It is reported that nearly the
whole population of Vienna turned out on the occasion,
and there were present five brigades of infantry, each of
three battalions, two regiments of cavalry, twenty-two
batteries of artilleri, besides several of the special corps
quartered in the neighbourhoocl of Vienna,

A. meeting of Conservatives was hold at Bristol, in
reference to the petition against the return of Mr. E. S.
Robinson. Resolutions approcing the step were passed.
The Chairman called for three cheers for Mrs. Hutchings,
who had put down £250 towards the petition, and whom
he described as one of the pluckiest women in the city of
13ristol,