The Sun.
London, England, 1834-08-09 00:00:00

Learried Sergeant of the entire innocence of the youth that he in-
closed his check to his father for 521. 10s., the amount of his fee,
and said that no case had ever given him so much uneasiness as the
fatal and unalterable decision that had been made against his son.
For as the law stands this pious and excellent youth, who is educat-
ing for the Ministry, can make no appeal, nor can he, as he has as-
certained, indict her for perjury."
The statement contained in this letter showed, he thought, the
extreme difficulty that existed in cases of this nature of prov-
ing the fact of illicit intercourse ; but he knew it might be
said that all danger on this head would be obviated by the
proviso added to the clause in another place, and which was
to the effect that the mere evidence of the woman would not
be sufficient to establish the liability of the father. He did
not profess to be much conversant in questions of evidence,
but he at the same time could not see how in offences of this
nature it would be possible to adduce any other testimony
than that of the woman. With respect to the effect which
his Right Rev. Friend stated this Bill would have on the
morality of the female, he would make a very few observations.
His Right Rev. Friend said that this Bill would leave the un-
fortunate woman nothing to hope, and every thing to fear ; but
how stood the fact ? Why, that by the existing law the woman
had nothing to fear and every thing to hope.—( Hear.) That
was on all hands admitted to be a defect in the present law, and
that was one of the evils which was proposed to be remedied
by. this Bill.—( Hear, hear.) His Right Rev. Friend con-
ceived that this Bill would have the effect of inducing the
woman to commit this offence repeatedly ; but he would ask
their Lordships what imaginable temptation it would hold out
to her to persevere in a course of crime? It was, he con-
tended, the present law, and not that now proposed for adop-
tion, which held out the temptation • for had they not abund-
ance of evidence to show that abandoned women committed
this offence merely for the sake of acquiring such a dowry as
would lead, he must say, not less abandoned men to marry
them? The whole of his Right Rev. Friend's argument, how-
ever, proceeded upon the assumption that bastardy would be
increased rather than diminished by the new law, whereas the
supporters of the measure contended that the effect of the
change would be to reduce rather than augment bastardy.
Another of the fallacies in which his Right Rev. Friend in-
dulged was, that the unfortunate female would be left desti-
tute of all relief; but was it not plain to every understanding
that such would not be the case unless through her own fault ?
—( Hear, hear.) It was true that the relief was to be afforded
to her only in the workhouse, but, as means were provided for
her relief if she chose to avail herself of them, was it fair
to state that the effect of this Bill would be to place her in a
situation of utter destitution.—( Hear.) His Right Rev.
Friend had barely touched upon one evil which he admitted to
be of enormous magnitude, and that was the evil of infanti-
cide. That was a point which he could assure their Lord-
ships had not escaped the attention of the Commissioners,
although they had deemed it right, for reasons that must be
obvious, to deal with it somewhat briefly.—( Hear, hear.)
The same reasons would prevent him from entering at
large upon this part of the subject, and he thought that
their Lordships would agree with him that it would be
neither convenient nor expedient to discuss it at length upon
an occasion like the present. He, however, believed that in-
stances of infanticide were rare, and his conviction was that
this Bill would render them of less frequent occurrence. In
general this certainly most heinous crime was perpetrated, not
under the influence of an apprehension that either the mother
or her offspring would starve, but rather from a sense of shame,
and the desire of secreting from the world the disgrace which
the publicity of the fact that a woman bad given birth to an
illegitimate child entailed upon her.---( Hear.) When the ne-
cessity of going before a public tribunal to affiliate her offspring
was spared to her the door for penitence and reformation would
still be open ; and, as they knew from experience that where
the first indiscretion was kept secret the instances of a second
violation of chastity were few, instead of speculating upon the
mischiefs which might by possibility result from the measure, they
had a right to assume that its tendency would be most salutary and
beneficial to females themselves.—( Hear.) Where the female
member of a respectable family unfortunately deviated from
the paths of virtue secrecy had often been known to afford her
an opportunity of retrieving her character ; but although he
was satisfied the heads of families in which such incidents oc-
curred would entirely approve of this Bill, he was aware of the
delicate ground on which he stood, and by no means wished
to utter a syllable that could be construed into anything like
an attempt to diminish the shame, the real disgrace, attached
to the offence. His Right Rev. Friend had quoted the autho-
rity of some eminent jurists, and referred to the opinions of
others in support of his objections to this part of the Bill ; but,
not having those quotations before him, or recollecting them
with sufficient accuracy, he was of course unable to determine
the weight to which they were entitled. But this he
would say, that, however high the authority of either
Montesquieu, Grotius, or Puffendorff undoubtedly were,
that of the eminent individual to whose writings he
meant to refer was not less deserving of their Lordships'
attention than the opinions of any writer of either ancient or
modern times. The eminent individual whose sentiments he
meant to use on the present occasion was, he could say with-
out flattery, in many essentials, the equal of any philosopher
that ever lived ; and, when he asserted that he was not infe-
rior either in piety, zeal, talent, sagacity, or learning even
to his Right Rev. Friend himself, he thought their Lordships
would at once perceive that he alluded to Dr. Chalmers—
( Hear, hear)—whose incomparable work their Lordships would
do well to master—he meant Dr. Chalmers's invaluable work
called " The Civil Economy of Large Towns." In that book
he found a passage bearing expressly upon the question now
under discussion, and as that passage completely embodied
his sentiments he would trespass on their time no longer than
was necessary for reading it. The Right Rev. Prelate then
read as follows :
" There is a sensitive alarm sometimes expressed lest on the abo-
lition of legal charity there should be no diminution of crime,
while the unnatural mothers, deprived of their accustomed resource,
might be tempted to relieve themselves by some dreadful perpetra-
tion. It might serve to quell this apprehension, and to prove how
nature bath provided so well for all such emergencies as that she
might safely be let alone, to consider the following plain but in-
structive narrative from the parish of Gratney, contiguous to Eng-
land, and only separated from it by a small stream. The Rev. Mr.
Morgan, its minister, writes me that, To females who bring ille-
gitimate children into the world we give nothing. They are left
entirely to their own resources. It is, howeyer, a remarkable fact
that children of this description with us are more tenderly brought
up, better educated, and, of course, more respectable and more
useful members of society, than illegitimates on the other side of
the Sark, who in a great many instances are brought up solely at
the expense of their parishes.'
" This comparison of parishes, lying together in a state of juxta-
position and differing only in regimen, proves with what fearlessness
a natural economy might be attempted; not, we admit, in reference
to cases which already exist, but certainly in reference to all new
cases and new applications. The simple understanding that in
future there was to be no legal allowance for illegitimate children in
a parish would lay an instantaneous check on the profligate habits of
its people. The action of shame and prudential feeling, and fear
from displeased, because now injured and oppressed, relatives, would
be restored to its proper degree of intensity ; would be surely fol-
lowed up by a diminution of the crime ; and as to any appalling
consequences that might be pictured forth on the event of crime
breaking through all these restraints, for this too nature has so
wisely and delicately balanced all the principles of the human con-
stitution that it is greatly better to trust her than to thwart and
interfere with her.
" She bath provided in the very affection of the guilty mother
for her hopeless child a stronger guarantee for its safety and its
interest than is provided by the expedients of law. This is forcibly
illustrated by the state of matters at Gratney, and might help to
convince our Statesmen how much of the wisdom of legislation lies
in letting matters alone."
With this testimony he would conclude his observations ; but
he could not sit down without saying that it was with no or-
dinary pain that he felt himself compelled to differ from his
Right Rev. Friend, whose master mind he fully appreciated,
and whose sentiments on almost all other subjects he bowed to
with the utmost deference.—( Hear, hear.) It was, however,
most satisfactory to him to know that in the result at which
he had arrived on this most important subject he had the
entire and unconditional concurrence of his Right Rev.
Friend, whose name must give authority to any opinion he
might entertain, that these clauses were neither contrary to
• the law of God nor opposed to justice.—( Hear.) The Right
Rev. Friend of whom he spoke was the Bishop of Chester.N
Lord W YNFORD should certainly vote for the amend..
meat. of his Right Rev. Friend. The law as it now stood
threw they whole burden of illegitimate children on the father;
and, without referring to authorities, nature itself proved the
justice of this provision, for he was the stronger and the better
able to provide for them. The question was, whether, if the
father of the child could be found, ought he not to be compelled
to provide for it? The claim upon him was greater, and his
wages were more in proportion to meet that claim. Circum-
stances rendered the mother incapable of providing for her off-
spring, at least for a considerable time after its birth ; and to
attempt to force her to do so, he would not call unjust but in-
human. His Right Rev. Friend who had last spoken, in ar-
guing against the objection respecting infanticide, urged the
finer and more tender feelings of woman as a protection against
this evil. It was certainly due to woman to admit that she felt
most strongly; but who could say whether the very intensity of
those feelings, when changed to hatred, might not render the
danger greater? When her seducer changed from tenderness to
neglect—when he, who promised honourable marriage, and
won her under the pretext, left her to the scorn of an unpity-
ing world—may not those finer feelings change to fierce ones ?
Was it not known that they often did so ? and then might
she not look upon her child as the cause of her disgrace,
connect it with the father's crime and cruelty, and view it
only as a thing reminding her of her misery? Might not
feelings such as these lead to other horrid crimes ; or the
dread of not being able to provide for a coming child, induce
them to resort to means which would prevent the birth ? It
had been stated by Noble Lords not now in their places, that
even where the present law was rigidly acted on, such things
have occurred. Would not the occurrence be likely to be
more frequent under the proposed law ? It had been said that
it was difficult to carry the bastardy laws as they now exist
into effect ; but the cases adduced by the Right Rev. Prelate
rather proved the contrary. The proposed Bill would, as he
believed, increase the amount of the poor rates. The number
of bastards would not be reduced, and the parish should bear
the expense. As to what had been said of this measure ren-
dering the woman more cautious, he did not think it would
have any such effect. He was too old not to know the lan-
guage of seduction—(A laugh)—but he was certain that the
argument with regard to children was not the one resorted to,
a-promise of marriage being of more avail ; and if there were
no consequences to prevent the man—if he were free to roam
• in quest of gratification for his illicit passions, indulging them
• to any extent, the burden on the parish would be immensely
increased.
The LORD CHANCELLOR said, by what had fallen
from the Right Rev. Prelate who had moved the amendment,
it appeared that he laboured under a misapprehension with re-
gard to those clauses, and took it for granted that the clause
Zar which went under the name of the_ Hon. Member for Somerset
. • would be struck out of the Bill. It Certainly was out, as the
tiC , Bill now stood, but the Noble Duke (Wellington) had one or