The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-05 00:00:00

THE LICENSING SYSTEM. IN MANCEES
TER AND SALFORD.

Several very important social questions came up for
discussion at the quarterly meeting of the Manchester
City Council on Wednesday, and we are glad to find that
the evils of the licensing system were especially noticed.
Alderman Benuett, on the part of the watch committee,
recommended that the council should co-operate with the jus-
tices in any efforts to procure an amendment in the laws
regulating the licensing of beerhouses. The majority of
crimes which came before the justices arose out of beer-
houses, and the number of these houses is increasing at an
alarming rate. There are now in Manchester 2,070 beer-
houses, as compared with 482 public-houses, and
the gaols and asylums, as well as the work-
houses, are full of their victims. The justices
had memorialised the Government, praying that an oppor-
tunity should be taken to bring into Parliament a well-
considered measure on the subject, and the watch com-
mittee recommended that the City Council should join
with the justices in that memorial. This proposal was
agreed to without discussion. At the meeting of the Sal-
ford Town Council the same day the licensing ques-
tion was again raised. Alderman Pellett proposed
that the Council should address a memorial to the Govern-
ment on the subject. That they have grounds for this
appeal will readily be acknowledged on an inspection of
the statistics quoted by the alderman. In the borough
of Salford the licenses granted by the justices to
licensed victuallers are 114, whilst the beerhouse
licenses are 543, the proportion of public-houses and beer-
houses to dwelling-houses being one of the former to thirty-
three of the latter. The memorialists are of opinion that
the hours of closing public-houses should he more under
the control of the justices. The adontion of the memorial
was unanimously agreed upon.

THE MAYOR OF CORK AND MR. WI:TALLY.

An amusing correspondence, between Mr. Whalley,
M.P. for Peterborough, and Mr. Maguire, the member
for Cork, has just been published. Mr. Whalley first ad.
dressed a letter to Mr. Maguire, wishing to know whether
it was true that the latter " proposed as a candidate for the
mayoralty-of Cork a person named Sullivan, who was subse-
luently elected, and on being installed in office, displayed a
Fenian flag, and refused to take the oath of allegiance
to her Most Gracious Majesty." To this request Mr.
Whalley appended a challenge to Mr. Maguire to
endorse the opinions and acts of Mr. Sullivan
Parliament. The member for Cork replied that
he had looked over the files of the respectable local jour.
nals, but it did not appear that he had proposed a "person
named Sullivan" to the office of mayor. "There are several
iullivans in this part of the country," concluded Mr.
Maguire. " Perhaps you would define what a Fenian
flag means. I have looked in vain for the word in Walker,
Webster, and Johnson." Mr. Whalley considered that
this answer was a mere fence to his question, and
intimated that, as to the Fenians, Mr. Maguire was
" more conversant with their movements and Trains of
thought" than himself. To this Mr. Maguire re-
joined as follows :—" Cork, January 25, 1869.
" Sir,—ln your letter of the 19th inst., you a'luded
to a person named Sullivan.' This reminds me of a
play I lately witnessed in London in which a party
5y the name of Johnson' is introduced. Though there
are many Sullivaus and more O'Sullivans, I believe
there is only one person named Whalley, but were I
to designate you as such you would properly denounce
me as rude and impertinent. Allow inc to suggest, when
speaking of gentlemen that you designate them by their
proper names and titles. I have now the pleasure to
inform you that Daniel O'Sullivan, Esq., is mayor
of Cork, and is prepared, I presume, to defend his
conduct either in or out of Parliament.—Your obedient-
servant, J. F. TdAa ninE, 111.P."—Mr. Whalley replied
as follows :—" Union Club, London, Jan. 27, 1869.
Sir,—You have still evaded the question I put to
you, and I now beg to inform you that it is my
ntention to bring your conduct and that of the Mayor
of Cork under the consideration of the House of Com.
mons at the neat meeting of Parliament, and I shall
consider myself at liberty to publish the correspon-
dence.—Your obedient servant, J. W. WLIALLEY, M.P."
Wh reupon Mr. Maguire closed the correspondence with
the following brief effusion :—" Cork, Jan. 29, 1869.
Sir,—Your language, though inelegant, is not un-
grammatical.—Your obedient servant, J. F. MAGuinE."

THE CONVEIVT CASE.

The extraordinary action of " Sarnia v. Starr and
Kennedy," which we mentioned yesterday, has been
going on again in the Court of Queen's Bench. The
charge, as we stated, was brought by a sister of a Jesuit
priest in Ireland, a member of the Roman Catholic order
called " Sisters of Mercy," against the Mother Superioress
of the Order. The declaration stated that the defendants
on divers occasions assaulted and beat the plaintiff ; that
they took her clothes and property from her, and impri-
soned her for a long time, whereby she was rendered sick
and ill, and greatly distressed in body and mind. The
second count was a trover for a watch, wearing apparel,
books, and papers. The other counts in the declaration
alleged that the plaintiff, as a member of the order, was
legally entitled to certain privileges and advantages,
and amongst others to board, lodging, clothing, mid
maintenance at the expense of the order, and to the right
of attending certain services of the Roman Catholic
Church in a building attached to the said house ; that the
defendants wrongfully and maliciously conspired together
to compel the plaintiff to cease to be a member by sub-
jecting her to various indignities, persecutions, and
Annoyances, and by depriving her of the food and clothing
to which, as a member, she was lawfully entitled, and by
imprisoning her and keeping her imprisoned, and by pre-
venting her from attending the services of the said church.
It appeared that Mrs. Saurin, the mother of the plain-
tiff, had, in consequence of Mr. Saurin being ill, written
to the defendant Starr, asking that the plaintiff might
come and see her father before he died. From that
time all the letters between defendant and her friends were
intercepted, and the indignities complained of were
hnposed. Yesterdaymost extraordinary evidence was given
by the plaintiff, among which was the following
May Father Mathew came to see me. I had a conversa-
tion with him, and he advised me to write to the biShop and
inform him of all that had occurred. I didso, and received an
answer in the following September. Towards the end of
July 1862, I went to Hull for the ietreat, and the first Satur-
day I was there Mrs. Starr sent for me to her room. She
desired me to take off my outer habit, or usual sister's
dress, and gave me an old one belonging to a sister to
put on. She said she wanted to have something done
to my habit. She returned it to me in the evening. On
the Sunday she asked me if I had written letters to my
uncle without her leave. I got ill during the conversation,
and she desisted. In the evening she called me out of the
hoir, and asked me to write to my uncle to have me
removed to St. Mary's, Drogheda. She brought a slate
and dictated a letter for me to write to my uncle
once. A conversation afterwards took place between
ne and Father Porter about the letters, and in con-
sequence
of what he said I saw Mrs. Starr. She took
me into a private room in the library, where I
acknowledged I had written and sent two letters to my
uncle without her knowledge. I avoided answering her
question on the Sunday because I did not wish to inform her.
It is customary not to send letters to relations without
the superioress's knowledge. She sees all letters that are
sent.. At her request I wrote an acknowledgment of
it, because she said the bishop might require it. I also
wrote, at her request, resolutions for the future. She
embraced me, told me to go to bed, and write the acknow-
ledgments and resolutions on the following day. On the
following day she told me she had mentioned the subject to
the other sisters, and that it would raise me considerably
in their estimation by acknowledging my fault before
them. I acknowledged it on my knees before Mrs.
M`Owen and Mrs. Kennedy. The rev, mother told me to
go on my knees. On the following day she called
me into her room and asked me to sign a second
acknowledgment in her handwriting, giving the same
reason that the bishop might want to see it. I said I did
not write the letters, as the acknowledgment stated, but
that they were notes as stated in my acknowledgment.
She said it made no difference—the past would be for. :
gotten, and everything would be arranged. The next day
was the public chapter for the acknowledgment of faults,
and I asked Mrs. Starr if I was to acknowledge the fault
of writing the letters before all the sisters. She said no ;
they were young, and might be greatly disedified by it.
Up to this time I had never been charged with levity.
of conduct or any fault but the writing of these letters.
After the retreat I returned to Clifford, and I believed my
transgression of the rules had been. overlooked. eore,
however, I returned, Mrs. Starr informed me_ that my
father wished to see me, arid that lie had sent the money
ntoie my expenses, but she had no intention to let
sisters[rs
Ig)oay. I was not then aware that he had been danger-
tuousvi yis 111,1, eoir did r
esnhtels tell
theylt asil'e.".ay
usual for
rS tlaartii
osla,
si
.d oln cbee al i
eyveea m 1
n.iaesnstui
of!
eed itiot forh( r
nal
at to ttoh
this
writet itn tout
iitnayt
Iliad not heard from my Jesuit brother for a long time.
She replied that she received letters front him for me,
but that she withheld them, and on one occasion she
, sent me to one of her drawers, and there I saw some
letters addressed to me from ray Jesuit brother. There
were more than one—a parcel of letters but I don't
'know how many. After my return to Clifford—after
August, 1862-1 was subjected to several
cAlrestrictions. d Atlhras.t
Starr told me before I left Hull that I must consider
myself the lowest of the community a
L was to obey the novice in ali things. She said she had
either given Mrs. M`Owen directions, or would give theta to her, as to my future conduct. She said Mrs. APOwe n
would give me a distribution of time, to which I
must
sdhere. Mrs. M`Owen accordingly aye if
I returned to Clifford. I was put un hen
Fearon.
The further hearing of the MSc ‘ll4B rs.