The Sun.
London, England, 1851-04-02 00:00:00

THE SU'N,

77" t, 7,171, :"7r, en7l-7!,71,14 rn.
forms in its institutions, so ebsentiallv necessary, would be
fearlessly and impartially carried out, and the general welfare ,
of the colony better advanced under your Lordship's admi-
nistration than under that of any strawrer.
"Your Lordship has already been thanked by almost the
entire independent European population, for the speedy ter-
mination put to the late rebellion, which at one time
threatened destruction to all holding any stake in the colony,
although some
parties have endeavoured to make it appear
as
"a mere village brawl. We have to notice the much improved drainage and
cleanliness of the towns, and throughout the country we no-
tice, with great satisfaction, the successful introduction of
the road ordinance, which must prove ultimately of vast im-
portance to the colony, and we trust that the peace and pros-
perity of our island will be insured by your Lordship still re-
maining amongst us.

(Signed)

" We have, &c.,
" D. Wilson, A. W. Heale,
W. Thompson, C. Shand,
James Swan, George Alston.
James Smith, J. S. R. Shand,
Ritchie, W. Mackwood,
G. A Makenzie, A. Reid,
J. Walker,
J. B. Alston,
J. 0. Halloran."
Upon the fact being known of his 'ntention to quit the co-
_lony, he received the following
'" ADDRESS FROM PLANTERS IN THE CENTRAL PROVINCE TO
VISCOUNT TORRINGTON.
" MY Lord, " Kandy, August 17, 1850.
We, the undersigned European inhabitants
ovfigeacentral province, beg to intrude upon your Lordship
have deemeda"pression of our regret at the course which you
it of
to adopt in the resignation of the
government of this" Putting
colony.
Minor
toward aside entirely 'all considerations which from
causes may have at any time influenced our feeling
. s you, we now beg to express our sincere regret: that
Lordship
should have rendered it necessary for your
Lordship to withdraw from among us.
„ "We believe that such a step on your Lordship's part atd
tatne present juncture will not he attributed by the nativean
.tsed population to the right cause, consequently the feel-
ingswhbicehiagactuated your Lordship in tendering your resig-
nation
capable of misconstruction by designing andlt
disaffected persons, the course which you have now deemed
Proper to adopt will have a most prejudicial effect upon
he minds of the people and the future welfare of the colony.
" Your Lordship has shown a consideration for the interests
Or the agricultural community, to which under former Admi-
nistrations it has been a stranger, by various ordinances cal-
culated to reduce the enormous expense of coffee cultivation
11.51 U transport, viz.—by the abolition of the export duty upon
_
article of commerce, and the opening up of the country
0Y the road ordinance.
uP By the latter, bandy roads and bridle paths have opened
What were formerly almost inaccessible tracts of country ;
and even in its infancy we can foresee the vast benefits
whfch must accrue to the country when carried into lull
operation.
4," The thanks of the inhabitants of the central province for
.141,n prompt measures by which your Lordship destroyed 12a
the bud a rebellion, which, judging from the history of this
4„B„ialtcl, would otherwise have been both disastrous to the loyal,-
'`"Pa,nful and protracted to the insurgents, are already on re
cord ; but we take this opportunity of again tendering our
lat ne!hanks to your Lordship for a piney which protects the iso-
,
d and solitary planter from outrage at the hands of tne
rebel, and his property from destruction at a time when a
tinivealial monetary catastrophe had already reduced too
Inan3r to the verge of bankruptcy.
0" We beg to conclude by expressing our regret, that
rtan n at the moment when your Lordship's improvements
th,e colony were beginning to operate, and the benefits
t", be hereafter reaped from them to draw upon the public
circumstances should deprive us of your Lordship's
'wager sojourn amongst ns.

" We have, &c.
(Signed) " GEORGE ELPHINSTONE DALRYMPLE
and 350 other persons."
Nith'attt, then, making any extraordinary claim on his part,
he might repeat that he expected some consideration at
!heir Lordships' hands, from the fact that his administration,
'Joni 'beginning to end, had met with the universal appro-
elation and concurrence of all classes in the colony. Ire had
now stated the material points of his case, he hoped fairly
and boldly. He believed that he had thus taken the most
laightforward and manly course in coming down to the
i ouse upon the present occasion. and making the statement
their Lordships had just heard.—(Hear.) Unaccustomed as
he wa s to address their Lordships, he hoped that they would
afford him their indulgence in respect to the mode in which
he had acquitted himself. If any Noble Lord had anything
.
complain of in reference to the propriety of his conduct,
`e'; hoped that such Noble Lord would but do him the jusitce
Reexpressing his opinion openly upon the present occasion.
he,d heard it stated out of doors that his conduct was
'3llll as demanded judicial investigation. He was ready to
meet_ such investigation, for he courted the fullest inquiry.
:Hut the motion put forward by Mr. Baillie did not go that
I:nogeth. He could have wished it had. After two years of
3211.,!ti0 examination into his conduct, Mr. Baillia's
nothi: was simply censurable of his conduct, and
suing else, In no one instance did the Committee concur
o'uattott view of the case. They had in a manner pointed
servants e Secretary of State certain disputes amongst public
the tho which they said demanded attention. He might,
(Lord confidently appeal to the Noble Lord opposite
country Staple
Noble 1,--m?u who was at the head of a great party in this
appealed to the colonial experience of that
44. d, and he would ask him, whether in the difficult
410 which he (Lord Torrington) had been placed,
fearfully artassments in the
by certain ugrnented by the discharge of his duty were not
in the be eourse which had been pursued
Parties in this country? He felt that he acted
and the manner for the preservation of the public weal
mighty interests involved • and, having been
would character th
I supported by f ' .
caoi
rl o
on
ry ,
übset
' would ask theeveNrYoblPeersLe weter it wase
'that he should have been thus. censured in such unmeasured
'terms, and his public conduct in the administration of the
ffairs of Ceylon held up to the greatest obloquy?—(Hear,
)
r• He had now done what he felt to be his duty,
;and he
is _appealed to the Noble Lord for an expression of
.eUrPinton. He had only two other subjects to bring
ceder the consideration of their Lordships. It was stated,
:!_,lodmindustriously circulated, not upon the evidence of the
4%edTittee in the other House of Parliament, that he had
Itaguage of a peculiar character at the execution of a
certainawith He had had the good fortune of having
:h; him, at the time this alleged language was uttered by
un, two gentlemen, Colonel Brown and 'his (Lord Toning-
/ too's) no
r t
tt; bat n
.4 Muted to
L-eerY, and they both concur with him in stating
expressions had been used by him as were at-
; and he 'said now, upon his honour and
ord, that he had never uttered them.—(Hear, hear.) He
ti_t it: one other subject to allude to. In opening his address to
sir Lordships he had to complain of his confidence being
yitaolated, and his private correspondence being published. It
,_ a not for him to make any comment or to pass any censure
nsln gentlemen of high character and honour. He would
l'ot, however, shrink from expressing his opinion of the im-
P folniety of making pu`„lic letters that were written in the
ecresy of implicit confidence. He bad, however, to ac-
fis howledge the authorship of the letter dated in May, 1849.
; le admitted that letter, and at the same time he was ready
stt )cacknowledge the impropriety of it.—(Hear, hear.) No-
1. mg could have been more improper. He was now willing
confess that he had then committed an act of impropriety
'll the expressions he then used, for which he was very sorry.
Z't Hear, hear.) He considered that he had done a great
,131 ustice to gentleman by writing that letter, and he was
'skEt only sufferer by that act, for he had lost that office which
L.,% le as his pride and happiness to possess. Expressing his
tßai eep, contrition for that single act of indiscretion, he now
tesd patiently for their judgment.—(Cheers.)
u IA GREY—I do not wish to prolong I
the discuss
to ion on
cue Matter, except to say what It hink am bound say
21 ree'vence to the statement which has just been made by
by Noble Friend.—(Hear, hear.) Like my Noble Friend, it
;Could l'se more satisfactory to me if the ground of accusation
irought against him could have been stated in this House in
nch a way that I might have an opportunity of answering
; but as this is not to be the case, as the Noble Lord oppo-
te (Lord Stanley), on the present occasion at all events
Ind it is no more than I expected), will not take up this
ase against my Noble Friend—as this case is not brought
1 Ward on the other side, it would ill become me to enter into
the details of it.—(Hear, hear.) But this much I must say,
tha t I think my Noble Friend has taken the fitting and
Prof ter course in making to your Lordships the statement he
at just made. He reminded your Lordships of the circum-
ta ees in which he has been p aced. For two years and a
al! he has been the mark for all the shafts of calumny in
e°"lvs and newspapers, showing a degree of malignancy
a a
disregard of truth that are a disgrace to the press of
s''''untrY, and which have not ceased to be brought for-
ward against him. And more than that, proceedings have
"`"e11 place in the other House of Parliament calculated to
give hacreased currency and effect to these calumnies, while
t,st_the same time there was not the means of meeting them.
kllear, hear.) To show the sort of position in which myZoble Friend was placed, let me mention this one circum-
tanee, and this one circumstance only. During the first
t fi
I lar of the inquiry, the year 1849, much evidence very hos
sul° my Noble Friend was brought forward. At tend
~„e session a motion was made (this appears from the
ti "ne votes and proceedings of the Committee) by one of
re Ie members of the Committee, that the evidence should be
e;\ Ported to the House, and of course published to the
_ i.ld, The motion was rejected by a majority of 9to 1. I
not sure of the majority, but I am sure of the minority.
s motion was supported only by a single voice, and the
tion was rejected on the avowed ground that the evidence
ipiast my Noble Friend only had been heard, and that it
the
unjust it should be made public until the evidence on
tke other side had been heard also. Did that decision of
b
Venanaittee answer the purpose for which it was intended
toe Committee? No ; it would have been better for
Itri? Noble Friend to have the evidence published complete in
emantry. Though it was decided that the evidence
• 'eh had been given should be kept back and not published
10 this 'country, garbled extracts that could legitimately be
°IIIY in the possession of a member of the Committee were
sclent to Ceylon and published in the newspapers there, to the
theB of my Noble Friend.—(Hear.) My Noble Friend
'aid, how was it possible for a Governor to carry on
1„,-, government of a colony when his conduct was the sub-
-11,—" of inquiry and of statements of this nature ?—( Hear,
'hear.) I say
if an inquiry were conducted as it should be,
Persons having a due sence of the responsibility of the
111,at Powers entrusted to a Parliamentary Committee, that
Public ser-
OuirY may be conducted without injury to the
ble e, and frequently with great advantage; but if the mem-
,,,e4 of a Committee are to disgrace themselves by permitting
efcrbled evidence, or extracts from evidence, to b. e published
ii
the colonies to injure persons whose conduct is under in-
and if every person for whom a command has been.
11TPlied and who has been refused, or for whom anl appoint
s
Vent h been asked and refused. or if some irregu
kind is
h
hostility to
e.' _ell Punished, and if every individual of that to be
ttatitled to come and state his case and show his
k°leo,eirfernor, then indeed I do admit that inquiries?' thisl
beoou an scarcely be carried on.—( Hear, bear.) Having
Itiiis the object of this kind of inquiry, and conducted. in
„., spirit, Ido think my Noble Friend was right in bring-
Vg the case before your Lordships.—( Hear, hear. ) He
the waited patiently for many mouths; while he believed
other
ei was to come regularly under discussion in the
bee,rre "°use, he most properly abstained from bringing. it
aerie. Your Lordships•• but when the notice given was in-
. the lit,elY Postponed, when those calumnies of which he was
0 ject were allowed to circulate in this manner, I think
ahVeS,,Voiew to his own honour he should state to your Lord-
ships 14,2 d! facts he has to-night stated.—( Hear, hear.) Being
should ef this House it was n, a becoming of him that ne
orb 'a make this vindication of himself through the press,
add Yo any other means than he has done.—( Hear.) I must
Dr4errtword. I was prepared to maintain, whenever the
rierai ~,14,11.1e had come, that ray Noble Friend's acts and ge-
his o.,,r_unlie administration of the colony redound greatly to
-The
colony
credit, and have proved eminently advantageous to
tl)Prostjal7 itself; that he found that colony in a state rapidly
stertaQ c'ag to bankruptcy • that in spite of the commercial
th .847 and 1848, 'Which no place felt more sever.eilsy
te;Cort„T4.7Oll, he brought the colony through that ,
hlishm—e,,,‘,uefinances, and contributed much to the re-esta-
(Rear, hoar')'l oel as well as of financial.prosperity.-
IMte co He has shown that the rebellion proceeded
Rested of discontent of long standing, and which had
ath;„,_ loftg previous to his assuming the Government, and
-.*‘‘k Ron)
oPzei4ed by the energy QI the measures ho

-1-rt-1.-(11---, ) A"d I will not hesitate to express
my opinion that true humanity was consulted by the mea-
sures of my Noble Friend.—(Hear, hear.) Ha was not
the only party on whom responsibility rested ; for though
the Governor is indeed responsible for proclaiming
martial law when he thinks a sufficient case for it exists,
yet having proclaimed it, it rests with the officers by whom
that law is carried into effect to administer it with humanity
as well as firmness.—(Hear, hear.) I say the whole of the
evidence which has been taken goes to show that the
officers to whcm those great powers were entrusted have
shown throughout that they acted with a high feeling of the
great responsibility that was thus imposed upon them.—
(Hear, (Hear, hear.) It was their most earnest object and desire to
use those powers as promptly as they could to restore p.eace
and tranquillity, to protect her Majesty's peaceable subjects
by punishing as small a number as was possible under the
circumstances of the case. - (Hear, hear ) Tosay ebus
had taken place during the existence of martial law is, as
my Noble Friend stated, more than any man can take upon
him to assert. We know that in time of
war and periods of
rebellion, when the ordinary administration is necessarily ar-
rested, and the restraints that curb the pal passions of man-
kind are to some extent withdrawn, it is impossible to sup-
pose that abuses must not some time take place. The
Noble Duke knows that.—(Hear, hear.) To check such
abuses the Noble Duke was obliged to adopt measures of
great severity and of wholesome rigour. In the same way,
when the Noble Lord first adopted the course he did in Cey-
lon, it was possible abuses did take place; but it is equally
clear that whatever abuses did take place, it was against his
desire and wish, and that nothing was left undone that was
in his power to check and prevent such abuses —(Hear.)
There is but one more observation that I have to make.
There is one paint I am bound to allude to, painful as it is.
It is that to which my Noble Friend has referred at the con-
clusion of his speech.—(Hear, hear.) My Lords, lam sure
all of your Lordships must have been touched by the candid
and manly—(Hear)—admission which my Noble Friend has
made.—(Hear.) Undoubtedly I (lid feel that I never ex-
perienced so much pain in my life as with respect to that
matter.— (Hear, hear.) Having found that my Noble Friend
came out triumphantly of the ordeal of such an inquiry as
never before I suppose was instituted into the conduct of
any public man in reference to his public acts of administra-
tion, it gave me more pain than I can tell when the disclo-
sure as to that letter was made, which made it evident to me
that my Noble Friend was placed by that letter in a position
with regard to other persons holding official situations in the
colony of Ceylon, which rendered it impossible that he could,
with regard to the public service, or with satisfaction to him-
self, continue to administer the affairs of the colony.—(hear,
hear.) I felt mote strongly that the disclosure and publi-
cation of that letter was something I for one must deplore.
( Hear.) How the gentleman to whom that letter was ad-
dressed could have disclosed it—still more how the Com-
mittee could, not only have allowed, but I may almost say
required the publication of that letter—how they could have
taken that course, more especially as it is admitted that the
letter was totally and entirely irrelevant to the subject of the
inquiry of the Committee—how they could have taken that
course I am for one utterly at a loss to understand.—(Hear,
hear.) I can only say that those who did take it entertain
totally different notions from those I hasai been always taught
taondbotldh
ewmitahnrneesrpeicnt twohtiliche stahcereindnteerscsouorfseproif pvatreivcaotnefildifeenbcee:
ts,een one gentleman and another should be carried on.
(Hear,, hear.) More than this I will not say.—(Hear.)
The Duke of WELLINGTON—My Lee ds, as the Noble
Earl has referred to my conduct in respect to the results of
martial law, I beg leave to trespass upon your Lordships'
attention for a moment or two while I make an observation
on the subject.— (Hear, hear.) I will not make any comment
upon the conduct of the Noble Viscount; but I must say that
i . is utterly impossible for this House at the present time to
pronounce any opinion upon the case brought under our
consideration by the Noble Lord.—( Hear, hear.) In the first
place, we have not a single paper before us i elating to the
matter. We know nothing about it.—( Hear, hear.) The cor-
respondence to which the Noble Lord alluded in some detail
may have come regularly before the public, but I declare
that I have not read a word of it. I think that the Noble
Lord might as well have avoided making any observations
on that correspondence until the House had it regularly in
their hands.—(Hear, hear.) But what I rose for particu-
larly was to reply to the appeal made to me by the Noble
Earl. I contend that military law has been, and is, nothing
more nor less than the will of the general that commands the
army. It is no law at all. The general who pretends to
carry such a law into execution is induced to lay down such
rules and regulations as he pleases. I have seen an enemy
in a country compelled to submit to the government of mar-
tial law—that is to say, I have governed a large portion of
the country by my own will—what does that mean? Why,
I thought that the country ought to be governed by its na-
tural laws, and I governed that country accordingly by its
own natural laws. I have, however, consulted the circum-
stances of the country, and the services of a government
were performed under my direction. The rightful judges of
the courts of law have conducted the business of that coun-
try under my protection. I must here protest against being
called into any comparison whatever with my Noble Friend.
(Cheers.) [The illustrious Duke became unusually ex-
cited while making the last observation, and struck the table
with great vehemence.
Earl GREY—I thin the Noble Duke did not perfectly
hear the reference I made to him. 'What I mean to say is,
that in times of war and confusion those who act under the
authority of a general or a governor cannot be always pre-
vented from being guilty of abuses.—( Hear, hear.) I did
not mean to say that the Noble Duke so exercised the
powers of martial law, but that when the Noble Duke was
carrying on that memorable and glorious contest for which
his name will be ever illustrious, there were cases of soldiers
and officers acting under him being guilty of abuses contrary
to the Noble Duke's wishes, and which the Noble Duke found
it necessary to prevent.—(Hear, hear.) So, I said, there
might also be abuses in Ceylon of which my Noble Friend
the Governor of Ceylon knew nothing, and my Noble Friend
was more ready than any other person to punish those abuses
when they took place.—(Hear, hear.) That is all I said in
reference to the Noble Duke, and I shall merely add that I
was glad to hear what the Noble Duke said with reference
to what is the true nature of martial law. It is exactly in
accordance with what I myself wrote to my Noble Friend at
the period of those transactions. lam sure that was not
wrong in law, for I bad the advice of Lord Cottenham and
Lord Campbell, and the Attorney-General, and I explained
to my Noble Friend that what is called proclaiming martial
law is no law at all, but merely, for the sake of public safety
in circumstances of great emergency, setting aside all law,
and acting under the military power; a proceeding which
required to be followed by an act of indemnity.—(Hear.)
That is all I have to express.
The motion having been agreed to, their Lordships then
adjourned.

LONDON,

LAW IN TEMA GE_
COURT OF CHANCE. Et*/ Aptfr
MISS TALBOT'S C.ISF..--DOYLI v WRIGHT:
At the conclusion of the SoLicrroa-Ceiettatee's argumentee
The LORD CHANCELLOR, in giving judjement, said the cir-
cumstance under which this case came Word him rendered it
almost impossible to dispose of every pah of it satisfactorily.
The case had travelled very widely, but the dlficulty was
how far the Court could on some occasions interfere in order
to limit the course of the argument to what was the real
point on which the judgment of the Court was to be pro-
nounced. In all cases in which feelings were embarked that
became very difficult; statements were made on one side cal-
culated to produce impressions which were disliked on the
other, and it did not seem just to restrain the answers to
them, though both the statements and the answers were
beside the real point in the case. The petition before him
he had found, in the last half-hour, was much more limited
than the petition he had supposed was under discussion.
The petition upon which he had to pronounce the conclusion
at which he had arrived prayed that a ward of that Court
might be removed from a convent named in the petition, and
placed under the care of such person as should be deemed to
be proper, and that the petitioner, Mr. Berkeley, might have
access to the ward at all reasonable times; and that the costs
of his petition might be paid out of the fortune of the ward, or
that such order should be made as to the Court should seem
ment. It did not often happen, and when it did, he appre-
hended that it ought always to be looked at with consider-
able restraint, that under the general words of the prayer
of a petition some substantial distinct subject for relief was
advanced. There were occasions in which that might be
done, but, independently of those general words, the petition
consisted of a prayer that the lady should be removed from
the convent, that Mr. Berkeley might have access to the
lady, and that he might receive the costs. That was the
prayer. The petition was very short in substance. It con-
sisted, in part, of recitals of previous proceedings, and then
passed to a statement that the young lady having been taken
from the convent in the year 1850, and become an inmate of
Lord Shrewsbury's, her uncle's, a marriage was proposed to
her repugnant to her feeling, that the gentleman was dis-
agreeable to her, that there was a desire to force her into the
marriage against her will, but that she had the firmness to
refuse it ; that upon that she was put into the convent by
way of punishment, and to coerce her to take the veil. That
was the whole statement of the petition, independent of the
recitals ; there were no other facts upon which the Court was
called upon to adjudicate. He found, as he had before men-
tioned, that the prayer of the petition had been altered from
that which was its form when he had the communication with
Mr. Berkeley, and the Learned Counsel who appeared for
that gentleman had informed him that the amendment or
alteration of the prayer had arisen out of the communication
made by him (the Lord Chancellor), but he could not help
feeling that the judgment that led to the alteration of the
prayer in consequence of that communication might have
led much more distinctly to an alteration in the body of the
petition ; inasmuch as the petition was limited to what he
had stated—an imputation to coerce this young lady by
those who were so nearly connnected with her, and who were
under the most imperative duty to protect her • that not only
had that protection been withdrawn, but that the power
given for the purpose of protection had been abased into
that of coercion in a way repugnant to and inconsistent with
every honour able feeling; that, passing by everything like
affection and duty, they who had thus abused the power
given for the benefit of the individual were afterwards ac-
tuated by such m ,lignant feelings, that totally regardless of
the best and permanent interests of the person thus com-
mitted to them, they had, in a sense, forced her into a con-
vent with a view of compelling her to abandon the world at
her age, and take the veil and dedicate herself to a religious
life. He could not conceive a charge more deeply affecting the
character of a man of rank and education and high station—
s charge more seriously affecting the moral character and
honour and feelings of an individual than that. Such was
the substance of the petition. That petition had been, beyond
all doubt, answered—answered in part; but the knowledge
which he could not reject, though he had acquired it in a
private capacity, also assisted him in forming an opinion
upon it. He could not forget, whenihe was communicating,
certainly under the sense of official duty, with the young
lady, though at Lord Shrewsbury's as a visitor, that when
he heard the subject of marriage mentioned, and some gene-
ral statemen s made about it which would come before him,
he did think it right to call the young lady's attention to
some circumstances connected with that marriage, which did
not appear to him to give her the fair prospect she was
entitled to. It would have been impertinent for him as a
visitor to have entered fully into the question, as he felt,
from his official character, that only a short time
would elapse before the matter was brought into court, and
that he would be the person to decide upon it. But, hav-
ing acquired that knowledge under the circumstances
which he had mentioned, he could not reject it, nor
help its influencing his judgment on the present oc-
casion. Now, there was an entire absence of evidence in
support of the allegations of the petition. It was true there
was not an answer negativing those allegations; but the
parties who almost alone could have made that answer were
Lord and Lady Shrewsbury, and theree was a physical
and
possibility to their having presened uch an answer ; and,
moreover, when such grave charges were made the onus was
not upon those who had to answer, but upon those who made
them to support them. There was, however, the personal
knowledge which he (the Lord Chancellor) had acquired, as
he had before stated, and he had been told that his repre-
sentations had been o far acted upon as to lead to an altera-
tion in the prayer of the petition, allowing, however, the
substance of the petition, which was the most serious part
of it, to remain unaltered. Such was the state of things.
There was a short petition—short, but the subject-matter
of it most important—containing an imputation to force
a ward into a marriage against her will, and on her re-
fusal placing her in a convent, where under no circum-
stances ought she to have been placed, and placing her
there with a view the most important. The petition was
not supported, but was repelled by the circumstances he
had mentioned. Such, however, was not the whole of
the case. The effect of this petition had been to bring
to the knowledge of the Court a state of things which
called on the Court imperatively to act, and the result of this
petition he felt had been not unaccompanied altrgether with
some disadvantage, but upon the whole of great advantage
to the ward.—(A slight murmur of applause.) He thought
the Court had derived considerable benefit from it—he
thought the ward had derived considerable benefit from it.
What effect that ought to have in a case such as he had de-
scribed, when a petition containing grave charges against
honourable absent parties not supported, but satisfactorily
repelled, and which could not be otherwise, for the reason he
had stated, satisfactorily. answered,—how far, he said, the
benefit the ward had derived or the assistance the Court had
derived from this petition ought to operate on the ultimate
decision of the Court might be matter of grave consideration.
Now, in the course of the discussion a great deal of matter
had been brought forward. First, much had been said in
respect to what occurred in 1843. He owned that his mind
was not impressed with the importance of what had oc-
curred in that year to so high a degree as were the minds of
some of the Learned Counsel. All that took place then
—atl that took place antecedently to the subject-matter
in the petition, only bore qn the petition on which
he had now to form his judgment, so far as it tended
to give a collateral colour and support to that peti-
tion; in itself it was net presented in a form properly
to be the subject-matter of charge and complaint. Now,
the view he took of what had occurred in 1843 was this—lt
appeared that there had been an arrangement made for the
ward, under which there was to be an allowance for her of
between 5001. and 6001. There had been a previous discus-
sion, to which he did not think it necessary to advert, as to
the disposition of the ward; but in 1843 the young lady re-
mained under the order of the Court, by which a sum of
500/. or 600/. was allowed for her maintenance; and that
maintenance having been regulated at a time when she
was under different circumstances from those which sur-
rounded her in 1843, a petition was presented, in which
he did not discern any complaint with regard to the previous
management of the ward. It was true, it was said that the
lady was in a convent; but it appeared to him that the main
substance of that petition was relative to the reduction of the
allowance—a thing desirable to be attended to all times, and
which the Court must always desire, consistently with the
comfort o' the ward, seeing that it was placed with regard
to infants in the character of a trustee; at the same time,
the guardian had not come to the Court, as he (the
Lord Chancellor) thought, in strictness, according to his
duty, he ought to have done. When an alteration
took place in the position of his ward which rendered
an allowance which was adapted to one state of cir-
cumstances more than was required for the advantage of
the infant in another, it would have been proper for him to
have come to the Court to reduce the allowance • but, consi-
dering the manner in which the guardian dealt with the
amount, and that there was an entire absence even of in-
sinuation that he acted under any corrupt motive, and that
he had invested the surplus fund, he (the Lord Chancellor)
could not say he looked on his conduct with any great de-
gree of censure. In the petition of 1843, the fact of the
lady's being in a convent was mentioned, but only inci-
dentally. It prayed that an inquiry might be made whether
the convent was a fit and proper place for her; but that
was not the result of any charge of its being unfit and im-
proper; it appeared to be only part of the inquiry when
any alteration of the scheme was made part of the prayer,
but without any serious objection on that ground. But a
discussion took place on that occasion, terminating in an
order of the Court. How was he to deal with that order?
In a matter in which the future conduct or management of
the ward bad rendered necessary a change for her secu-
rity or happiness, was he to suppose that the order was
not properly drawn up, or was he to suppose that the
solicitors, according to their judgment and respective
views of what the interests of the ward required, per-
formed their duty to their clients and the Court by
taking care that all proper matters were embodied in the
order ? He must suppose that those matters were so em-
bodied. He was well aware that orders were perhaps oc-
casionally drawn up that did not precisely correspond with
what was understood on the occasion ; but when that was
ascertained an application was made to have them corrected,
and seldom was there any difficulty in that respect; but no
application was made to correct the order of 1843. It ap-
peared to have been an order made after a good deal of
altercation and discussion ; and therefore it was the more
reasonable to suppose that it embodied all that the parties
deemed to be right. Then it was said that, as to that
order, no matter hew obtained, or whether it contained all
that it ought to contain, so as to carry into effect the inten-
tion and agreement between the several parties—or, as it had
been called, the understanding—there was matter connected
with it now brought before the Court that bore seriously on
the decision of the petition now under consideration. That
order was founded on the unde-standing that Lord
and Lady Shrewsbury would undertake the manage-
ment
of the ward, subject to the interposition of
the testamentary guardian. It was said that the infer-
ence to be drawn from that older was, that the ward
was to be an inmate of Lord and Lady Shrewsbury's.
He did not draw that inference. Looking to the
whole order, he did not think that the inference was war-
ranted. In the first place, "care and management" did
not necessarily import any such thing.' What he understood
by that was, that Lady Shrewsbury, a lady of rank and in-
telligence, the ward being a femaleo was to control and
direct the acts of the guardian—what should be the course of
education,: what should be the course of management. Some
impression had arisen in the present case, from the frequent
occasion there was to advert to the word "convent," which
would not have arisen if the word ",school" had been ap-
plied instead of convent ;" but he perfectly well knew that,
from the difficulty of Catholic children being placed and edu-
cated with those of the Protestant religion—the difficulty of
a school being conducted according to the diversified senti-
mentspupils—according to the religious principles of
parea of thetsgenerally—Catholic families had not that advantage
for the education of their children which Protestant fami-
lies enjoyed; Catholic families, too, deeming the spiritual
education of the.r children more important than
their temporal education. What, then, was the course
with respect to Catholic families? It was well known
that ladies of considerable intelligence and attainments
devoted themselves to a religious life, took the veil, and
deemed it . a part of their duty to, assist in the work of
education ; and therefore attached to convents were esta-
blishments for the education of the children of Catholic pa-
rents. Upon this occasion it appeared that near Taunton
there was a convent, to which was Attached a school, and
they had beard mentioned the names of ladies there compe-
tent enough to undertake the task of educating the children
who were placed in the school. Lady Shrewsbury either