The Sun.
London, England, 1869-06-12 00:00:00

LIFE IN ETAT'.

The Pacific Railway is likely to disturb the quietude and
seclusion of life at the great Salt Lake. The correspondent
of the Standard, who is " doing " the line, passed through
several canvas towns of railway builders on the way, and
at one of these, wonderful to relate, be met with
a decent woman. Her story, he thinks, will
often be repeated now that the Pacific Railway affords
facilities for flight. She was a fugitive from Utah. Her
parents, who reside in Wales, became perverts to Mor-
monism, and though they did not choose to make the pil-
grimage to Utah themselves, they sent their daughter out
as the wife of a leading Mormon—not wife number one
the • correspondent inferred. She, however, had
soon become sick of her existence among the
saints, but had had not had an opportunity of leaving
them till a " Gentile " mechanic offered her honourable
marriage if she would run away, and she gladly did so.
The Mormons simply repudiated her, and expelled her
from the Church. She said that hundreds of other girls
would run away but for the strictness with which they;
are watched, and knowledge of the outer world kept from
them. Whether the woman's story be true or not—
and the correspondent was evidently impressed by it—it is
quite clear that the Pacific Railway will place the doctrine
of polygamy in some jeopardy. It is hardly likely that
women will consent to be the twenty-sixth spouse of soma
saint, when hundreds of prosperous sinners in the Western
States want wives and cannot find them.

- -
In the United States Circuit Court, at Boston,
May 25, an interesting case was decided growing out of
the work of the rebel cruiser, the Alabama. The plaintiff,
W. A. Caldwell, a citizen of South Carolina, was in 1861-2
part owner of the bark Lamplighter, one of the early vic-
tims of the Alabama. Of the other owners three were in-
habitants of States in rebellion, and the rest of Massachu-
setts. When the bark was destroyed, John Payne, the
master of the vessel collected the insurance and accounted
for it, and for their share in the earnings to the Massachu-
setts owners, but nr.t to the Southern owners, for obvious
reasons. Afr. Payne died just at the close of the war. The
plaintiff now brought suit against Mr. Payne's adminis-
trators, to recover his share of the insurance and earnings.
The decision was for the plaintiff, the court overruling the
chief point of defence, that as a citizen of a rebel stato no
legal contract to pay money could be ma, to with him, on
the ground that, though a good plea during a state of war,
its merits were annulled by the r*turn of peace.
Among the items that were received by the first
through freight train over the Pacific Railroad were three
barrels of choice California wine ; one of them was ad-
dressed to the President of the United States, another to
an ex-Senator from California, and the third to Vice-
President Huntington of the Central Pacific Railroad
Company. The wine was a present from B. N. Bugbev of
the National Vineyards, near Folsom, who has one of the
most extensive vineyards on the Pacific coast, located on
the Pacific Railroad lands, and is a largo manufacturer of
wine and raisins. The consignment wouldreachWashing-
ton in 13 days Iran §a.cramento.