The Sun.
London, England, 1870-04-28 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 23, 1870.

SHARE' LIST.

RAILWAYS-ORDINARY SHARES AND STOCKS

Closing Business
Paid. Name. Quotations. done.
St Bristol and Exeter lOO 78 80
St Caledonian 100 734 744
St Cambrian lOO 1.5 20
2U Cornwall all 24 •84
St Dublin and Belfast Junction 100 . . . .
St Dun, Pah, and Aber. June 100 70 72
20 East London all 4 6
20 Do
20 Do
St Glasgow and S.Western 100 116 117
St Great Eastern lOO 42 424
St Do East Anglian, No. 2 100 64 74
St Great North of Scotland 100 13 16
St Great Northern 100 121 122 1214
St Do A 100 126 127
St Do B. lOO 126 128
St Gt. So. and West (lreland) 100 98 100
St Great Western— Consolid 100 71 714 724
St Do South Wales 100 68 70
St Do West Midland—Oxford 100 44 45
St Do do Newport 100 36 38
St •Lancashire and Yorkshire 100 130 181
St Lond, Bright'n, and S.Coast 100 43 434
St Loud, Chatham, and Dover 100 144 15f 154
St Do Metrop Extension A 100 9 11
St London and North Western 100 1264 1274 1274 8
St London and South Western 100 884 894 914 1
St Mauch, Shef, and Lincolnsh 100 51 514
St Do New, issued at £5O die 3O
St Metropolitan lOO 794 80 774
St Do Preferred... lOO ...
St Do Deferred 100
10 Do Redeemable
St Metropolitan District 100 37 38 38
St Midland lOO 1244 125
St Do Birmingham and Derbyloo 92 91 964
St North British. lOO 34 •35
St Do Edit), Perth, and Dunde 100 13 15
St North Eastern—Berwick 100 1264 1274
St Do Leeds 100 894 904 904

St lio York
St Do Stockton and Darlingta 100 178 180
St North London 100 120 122
10 Do New, 1868 64 11 11
St North Staffordshire 100 59 61. 62
St North and So. West. Junct 100 102 105
St Rhymney lOO 52 54
St Shropshire Union
St South Devon 100 46 48
St South Eastern 100 761 771 771
St Do Preferred ...100 1094 1104
St Do Deferred... lOO 41. 414
St Staines, Wok'ham, & Wok'g. all 124 134
St Taff Vale
10 Do C 6 3 6
St Waterford and Cent. Ireland 100 ' ... ...
10 Waterloo and Whitehall 6 ••• •••

SPIRIT OF THE PRESS.

MARRIAGE WITH A DECEASED WIFE'S SISTER.

The Times is glad Sir Roundell Palmer protested with
such strength against the retrospective action of the Bill
for legalising marriage with a deceased wife's sister. It
would be instructive to obtain a return of the number of
persons for whom this example of dispensation would be
established. An inquiry was made twenty years ago,
and, as the House was reminded, the number of such
marriages was found to be very small, and was lowest of
all among the poor. A majority of widowers, so large
as almost to represent the whole body, experienced
no difficulty whatever in finding suitable wives without
infringing the moderate restrictions of the law. If
the reader will refer to the Prayer-book, he will
find that the whole number of prohibited degrees is but
30, and as this includes grandparents and grandchildren,
the number of women practically excluded from a
widow's choice can never be insupportably large. The law
can hardly be, as Mr. Denman represented it, " a bur-
den grievous to be borne." In point of fact by the
present law a man is excluded from only a single family
in choosing his second wife. Are there so few women
in the world that this restriction dooms him to perpe-
tual- widowhood ? This, in short, is another of
those questions on which it seems time to ask
whether majorities have not rights as well as
minorities. There cannot be a doubt that in the
vast majority of families this Bill would create a painful
disturbance of intimate relations. It would sow reserve,
if not jealousy, where the full confidence of family life
now prevails. Why should all this widespread annoy-
ance be occasioned in order that a very few perverse per-
sons may enjoy the privileges of " natural freedom?"
Where the minority can have their way without injuring
the minority, by all means let them be gratified. But
where the choice lies between 'general disturbance and
limited inconvenience, there cannot be a doubt that the
interest of the majority ought to preponderate.

THIRD EDITION.

The Third Edition of The Sun of last Evening was published
in time for delivery in town at 7.15 p.m.

SUN OFFICE, 7 o'CLocK.

FOURT EDITION.