The Sun.
London, England, 1856-05-21 00:00:00

As to property, it may be that, while the parties
are united and living together harmoniously,
there may be no necessity for any modification of
the law, although it certainly seems rather unfair
that what the woman has herself brought into
the common stock should be liable not only to
the disposal of the husband himself, but
the claims of his creditors. Not only
the property she h.s inherited, but even the
proceeds of her own industry, may be swept
away, and herself and her children deprived
of the oommeu necessaries of life, in consequence
of acts over which she has no control, and for
which she cannot in any degree be held respon-
sible. But whatever may be said of those who
are living together—what reason can be urged
why a man who has been separated from his wife
in consequence of his own misconduct should be
enabled to turn her out of house and home, to
sell her furniture, andeven to seize on her earnings.
She may be separated by reason of his cruelty
or adultery—and yet she is " homeless, helpless,
hopeless,' almost destitute of civil rights."
She cannot legally enter into a contract ; or, if
if she does so, has no means of enforcing, although
she may possibly be bound. She may be de-
famed, without the prospect of obtaining redress.
The condition of the "Pariah," or the "Slave,"
excites our sympathies. Why should we not look
to the condition of those _nearer home, and for
whom we ought to be more deeply interested ?

In actions for criin. con. the woman is more
deeply interested than either plaintiff or defen-
dant. It is chiefly a question of dawages between
them ; but, althou4h all that renders life valuable
ba at stake, she has no locus stand;,—cannot even
be represented at the trial. She may practically
ba condemned without the opportunity of being
iheard in her own defence. Her oath will not be
received, and she may be condemned and driven
loin society in consequence of a compromise be-
tween those who may be conspirators against her.
All her prospects may be blasted, her home
broken up, her children ' taken away, her
very name rendered a bye-word and reproach.
And yet, in consequence of a legal fiction, that
her interests are invariably identified with
those of her husband, she cannot strive to protect,
herself—even though possessed of friends who
would willingly advance the necessary funds—

for which, by the way, she must be indebted to
charity, as she can offer no security for wha t
may be required to save her from what
a virtuous and high-minded woman would
consider far worse than death.

We trust that the reference to the Select
Committee will produce such alterations in the
Bill as to render it really worthy of acceptance
by the English community. In its present form
it can be considered but little better than " a
mockery, a delusion, and a snare."

The announcement made in the House by Lord
PALMERSTON, on Monday, in reply to the ques
tion of Mr. LINDSAY—" Whether it was expected
that private houses should be illuminated" on
All-British Fools Day,—to wit, the 29th inst.,
properly belongs to that satisfactory class for which
the best acknowledgment under ordinary circum-
stances is—thank you for nothing ! Present
circumstances, however, lend it some degree of
value, for after the tyrannical interference with
the liberty of the subject in the Parks, and the
latent threat of the Noble Secretary of a popular
charily, that, save on certain conditions, the win-
dows of those who don't illuminate may be
brcken, all good subjects are bound to thank the
Government for leaving them to do as they like
without molestation in the matter. Thank you,
most charneleon•like of Premiers—thank you for
that ! Only, with that fine versatile genius of
yours, don't change your mind till after the 29. h.
The British population, then, whose forefathers
used to wait for no vivacious septuagenarian Pn-
mier's directions or assurances as to whether they
should illuminate or not, and who had the most
brilliant and glorious victories to exercise their
discretion over, are now free to take the question
into consideration. Shall their private houses
he illuminated on the day of Governmental re-
kicing or net? All Government toadies—all West-
end traders in money or goods—all that numerous
tribe better endowed with money than wit—will
doubtless return an answer in the affirmative.
What reply may be anticipated from those who are
the pith and worth, the intellect and heart, and
arms of the nation ? The question that will natu-
rally arise in their minds is—What should we
illuminate for ? The mob are not to break our
windows, and what other reason is there ? None
has the hardihood to say we have won a glorious
peace, or that the triumphs of our arms have
been at all commensurate either with the forces
at our disposal or the extent of our resources.
None will say the way in which Government
drifted into war, and carried on the War, was
otherwise than discreditable. Aud who will
assert that the absorption of three entire years
in putting out our strength redounds at all either
to our credit or safety ? None but those who
would hold out far our emblem the blooming of
the aloes, that Governmental plant which rewards
by an ephemeral :flower, of no great beauty, a
century of careful training. What sort of a
peace is it ? An b onourable one 7 Why, it's not
safe. It may be broken next week. An ho-
nourable peace ? Why, the French EMPEROR,
and not we, dictated it—the French EMPEROR
and Austria, and not we, wanted it—the French
EMPEROR and AuErtria, and not we, served their
turn by it. An honourable peace ? What, in
the interests of the tyrants of I.aly ? Honour-
able ? What, in that it betrayed Sardinia ? Ho-
nourable ? I a HEAVEN'S name who shall say
that peace is. honourable that leaves us in
such a pred;Leament—we so low and our anta-
gonist so high that special messengers must
be despatclutd to St. Pe'lersburg to soothe
and Pacify tt ie irate and uselessly deceived Mus-
covite. An honourable peace ? If so, the key to
it is not to be found in the harbour and fortifica-
tions to tb e North of Sebastopol—nor in tint
buried millions of cannon-balls,
hill, norf.n the valleys nor on C Ithcart-
and by the hill-side
where repc rse, in the winding-sheet of a nation's
gratitude and respect, the bravest of our heroic
brave—the c hivalry of the peapie.
Not in Bala-
klava. Not in the Crimea at all. Nor yet in
the Baltic. Turn whither you will, and no other
lesson shall you be able to discover ; but, that
h Lying expet.ded all that was needful for a great
and glorious peace, without having secured the
main objects ,of the War, you left the enemy s
little weakene d as to need an embassy of concilia-
tion, and so i nuch permanently strengthened, as
a full discover y of its weak points can strengthen