The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-19 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON', FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRLTARY 19, 1869.

THE CONVENT CASE.

- IIIETI?,OPOLITAN GOSSlP.—Thursday.

At last there are signs of the end. The Hull Convent
case commenced on the 3rd of the month, and will probabl3
be concluded on Tuesday. Interest in the proceedings is
naturally declining, and for two days past the Court of
Queen's Bench has been much less crowded. Yester•
day the examination of Mrs. Florence Mary Kerr was
proceeded with. In answer to Mr. Russell, she said :
The defendants did not suggest my writing to the bishop
in August 1865. (Witness's deposition was put in and
read. She commenced it by stating that from her first
acquaintance with the plaintiff she was impressed with
the idea that Miss Saurin was a most dangerous person—
very vain and worldly, and in order to gratify her vanity
and her dislike of the reverend mother, she had recourse to
inventions and falsehood, and that she felt that Misa
Saurin's remaining in the community would undermine
their religious life from her constant murmuring, disobe-
dience, and the false representations she made of the
reverend mother. In many things Miss Saurin was a
great actor, and she would lead the community to believe
that the superior's conduct was whimsical, tyrannical,
and partial. Her conduct was such that she (the
deponent) had to withdraw as much as possible
from intercourse with Sister Scholastica.) My de-
position was made in good faith, and in the honest
belief of its truth. After the plaintiff's dismissal she was
fed the same as the community. (Witness corroborated
the main circumstances deposed to by the previous wit-
nesses for the defence which came under her observation,
and which were in contradiction of Miss Saurin's state-
ment.) The witness appeared to wish to get in advance
of the questions of the learned counsel, when Mr. Russell
asked her if she had ever had to do penance for being
impetuous.

One danger is safely past—Ministers have got over the
difficulties presented by the Irish question, so far as to
prepare a Queen's Speech—Message, rather, for the day
of Royal Speeches is gone by—and to meet Parliament
with an unbroken front. Not the less, however, are
there prophets of evil, who predict that this same question
will yet break up the party, even should it not break up
the Cabinet. Strange to say, it is Mr. Bright, a Noncon-
formist of Nonconformists, who is now supposed to be the
chief advocate of the levelling-up system. His religious
friends are whispering anxiously about him ; they
fear that he is not " loyal" to the great principle of sepa-
ration of Church and State; and certain rabid anti-Roman
journals are calling attention to the fact that in the recently
published volumes of speeches by the President of the
Board of Trade, one letter is included, that letter containing
a proposal for giving each of the three chief communions in
Ireland a million sterling out of the Church revenues.
Why suffer this letter to be republished, say the critics,
if Mr. Bright does not mean it to be understood
that he holds the same views as he held 17
years ago ? Is it not because Lord Russell
knew well he had a powerful ally in the Cabinet that he
published his third letter to Mr. Chichester Fortescue,
embodying the same proposal as Mr. Bright's ?
While there is doubt as to the Ministerial intentions,
doubt to be solved now in eleven days from this time,
there is necessarily uncertainty as to the tactics of the
Opposition. But already some sort of scheme has been
traced in outline. Needless to say that for it to have any
chance of success, it must command the support of a por-
tion of the Liberal party. A Conservative campaign
fought under the old " No surrender" banner is not even

The Lord Chief Justiee : You are not bound to answer
the question.

thought of by the Conservative leaders. The Irish Church,
in its present form, is not so much precarious as past

Witness : I think I have one now, my lord. (Loud praying for. The only hope of warding off total disesta-
laughter.)blishment and disendowment (which, being interpreted,
Mrs. Starr never asked me about my confes-
sions. There was only one sick sister in Miss Saurin's means the only hope of the Conservatives regaining office)
room, and that was the sister who sprained her knee. I lies in concerted action with the old 'Whigs, who are sup-
never knew of any ill feeling towards Miss Saurin. posed to be alarmed at the Radical programme. The
Cross-examined by the Solicitor-General : A copy was present id ea is to relieve Roman Catholics from contributing
taken of the letter she wrote to her brother Patrick when to the MI pport of the Protestant C hurch, j ust as Conservatives
she was in the bath-room. Mrs. Kennedy did not dictate proposed to save church rates by relieving Dissenters from
that letter. She objected to the first letter, and Miss that impost; and when that is done, to continue the
Saurin wrote the second one. Except having a sister to go relations between the Protestant Church and the State,
about with her after her dismissal, she was perfectly free by maintaining the supremacy of the Crown, the right of
to go where she liked. She was treated the same as the other the bishops to sit in Parliament, and the jurisdiction of
sisters with reference to the ordinary comforts of life. Her the Privy Council in matters of doctrine and discipline.
I
secular dress and clothes were good. I don't consider In this scheme the fine Roman hand of Dean Stanley can
her stockings were the veriest rags and tatters a scare-crow be traced, and scarcely less legible is that of Arch-
was ever dressed up in. (Laughter.) I know she had a bishop Tait. I have reason to think that it
good pair of stockings given to her on the 12th of February, would be supported by the Bishops of Oxford and
but I cannot say if she put them on. The sisters wore Peterborough, and it would certainly be viewed
their stockings as long as they will hang together. with greater favour at the Court than last year's
(There was a slight manifestation of opinion by the " thorough." It is, in fact, the scheme of the Erastian
public, which partook of the character of subdued party in the Church. This explains the strange rumour
hissing. This had occurred on one or two former circulated a little time ago that Lord Westbury would
occasions. The Lord Chief Justice stated that if heard lead the High Church party in the House of Lords. The
any more of such noises—whistling or hissing—he would truth is, this scheme is far more likely to break up the
clear the whole body of the court.) High Church party than the Liberal party. There are
Witness : Silence is enforced in the schools. We teach High Churchmen and High Churchmen ; there are some
the children self-control and to learn to hold their tongues. who, belonging to the old-fashioned school, consider the
Speaking when at needlework is prohibited ; and to avoid union of Church and State as the one " sacred " principle;
speaking we use signs, such as putting the finger to the and it was of these that Mr. Disraeli was the spokesman last
mouth to enjoin silence on the scholars. We might have year. There are others, the neo-High Churchmen, who
had strawberries, but never strawberries with cream. hold that the union with the State is tolerable only because
What made me so suspicious was her covering it up. I of the material advantages which it brings, and that if
thought it was very had from what I had been taught. these are to be surrendered that ought to be annulled.
The Solicitor-General : Was eating strawberries mala These High Churchmen would denounce as Erastian any
in se ?
such scheme as I have shadowed, and although it is likely
Witness : I don't know what you mean. that a sop will be offered to them by extending to the
The Solicitor-General : Bad in itself. It was not a sin . Irish Church the right of synodical action which was con-
Witness: No, it was not a sin. It was not a sin to eat ferred by Lord Westbury's bill upon the colonies ten years
an apple, but a great deal of harm came from it. ago, they, are not at all likely to accept it. I know as a
(Laughter.) matter of fact, that the editor of an influential Conservative
The Solicitor-General : Not in the apple itself, but from and High Church paper has told his friends that if disen-
doing what was forbidden. When miss Saurin muttered dowment is resolved upon he will "go in" for disesta•
about black and mouldy bread, I thought she did it as a hlis'onent—for " free " Church, that is.
matter of complaint. Ido not think it was an appeal to Ministers certainly have their work cut out for them.
our sympathies. The reverend mother made me leave out Although primary legislation, the codification of the law,
of my depositionwbat she thought was too strong. I always and tenant right are omitted from the programme, there
felt great sorrow and compassion for her. are measures enough to occupy, and more than occupy, the
The Solicitor-General : You wrote this more in sorrow session. Even were there no Irish Church stopping the
than in anger ?
way, there would be an embarrassment of riches
Witness : I used to fret about her, thinking how she with secondary education, the equalisation of the
was throwing her life away, after she told me that her poor rates, county financial boards, bankruptcy reform,
will was turned to evil, and that she had no power to the prevention of crime, the reform of the Reform Bill,
change it. The rev, mother used to try and hide Miss and the like. It is to be regretted' that some of these mea-
Saurin's faults from me. sures are not to be first introduced in the House of Lords.
Mrs. Theresa Collingwood, examined by Mr. Charles Lord Cairns very justly complained that the Upper House
Russell : lam a lay sister, known in religion as Sister had nothing to do for the first half of the session, and was
Mary. I did not come much in contact with Miss Saurin. overwhelmed daring the second half. Why was not the
I saw something of her in 1858. I was a pupil in the day Banksteadroufpbtcyysißrinllot:aekretncoinlliehra?nd by Lord Hatherley, in-
school, and the plaintiff occasionally taught needlework.
She did not observe silence. She frequently spoke about her re
and, I think, by no means commendable plan of
family, and allowed the children to talk. She used to ask the old
me about my friends. I dictated my deposition to Mrs. communicating the contents of the Queen's Message to the
p Kerr. I bad previously told Mrs. Starr what I knew aboutublic journals in advance has been revived this year.
blissstated
whatauri n .s h
ek (Thene
knew
deposition s
her,i tio
and
wasd tthat
a t putstedrforofer ainlid,Na.o.ortudhneil. The Daly News (which, by the way, has been enlarged to
n fifty-six columns on those days in which there are
k
o her
g
a
itamalcrineieregranl
ont,
down,
.eNtet'tro'
desk.
oaeekhnns
the
heart,
thlrs,tl she eoiaddalimsialt
Plaintiff
mentioned
tii
weomaosne:;evneda i t long debates) affects to doubt this, and assumes that
things.) In
to try and excuse her, saying she bad the articles written by its Liberal contemporaries were only
g
ith
happy, or scarcely happy, guesses. As a matter of fact they
inhda,
Motley,arnm
and
nadi
will
said
aldli etiosmuee
In 1858 or 1859, Father Mother was
itiNnsoro
rhh. were not, but were based upon information supplied
from the best of sources. The Times, the Telegraph, and
t
the Star had each a different informant. I could mention
(alindynomteareppuenatril to hear hieiaadr
gone
Navnitdhthheenr.sh: the name in each case, but am not at liberty to do so.
sclommuel otlideo This selection of particular journals for these confidences
your
afterwardsouun rs
dceopnodsuliltceitao.
deposition,
d, his lunch was ready, It :as different to is rather invidious, and it is to be hoped that the precedent
will not be followed. In this case the information, though
,Theyshe aredre
drew
generally roely,
andgrave e n c
ea
unrda
gsedate.
Cross-examinedabout y theyoung
m en
w otod Solicitor-Generalgo an y:
lengths,Y u sa say
ni
dn authentic, was a little misleading, for it is said now that
the Speech underwent considerable modification at the last
to speale
never seemed weary moment.
blushed that I should have - The Owl has made its appearance ; but is no longer the
dowyoiutnmesesa:nlbywatlataat?f lis t listening
anything
thatl haveabo u
to
if
tt.e,n,
1v since
ha t bird of brilliant wit and special information that it used
to be. The old original Owl has for some time ceased to
be connected with it. The little sheet owed its name as
pupil in the school at the time, and well as its existence to him. The title Owl was chosen
because the initial and final letters were the initials
iltflilssinStaeunrdiendutsoedmtaorrasyk;
tmheeirifeml
pwlasoyananenatd,maigree,raonfdmwehne—re of Mr. Laurence Oliphant's name transposed. At that time
he was the favoured of society, and had princes for his
they lived.
friends. He had been one of thegreatest travellers and
The Solicitor-General :What was there in that to make g
you blush ? he was
ene of the best talkers of his time. He entered
Parliament, and every one expected that he would rise to
Witness: My answering her these questions. It is con. a high, if not the highest post at the Foreign Office.
asked.
trary to a religious life, and not what a young girl sheuld be Two or three winters ago he went to the United States,
and visited, I believe, some of those communities
The Solicitor-General: Whose words are those I have which Mr. Hepworth Dixon
quoted—yours or Mrs. Kerr's 9 " New America." He returned an altered man ; shunned
Witness: They has described in his
are Mrs. Kerr's, I told herthesubstanoe. the salons, was supposed to he affected by religious melan-
It is not my composition.
choly, dissatisfied his constituents,
a mso that they requested
The Lord Chief Justice : What
age were you at this him to resign, and then disappered from the face of
tune?
" Society." It is now stated that he has betaken himself
to one of the American communities above-mentioned,
where he, the spoiled darling
ng of fashion, seeks for
I There is a good story now current wofoarkin nemg iantetnhtecloouonmsel
whose name has been conspicuous in some notable cases
lately.p n
lise in
has
a g
"fodr fees, but is rather apt
thoaf oprigeetstlleai tilling
trtaoliil apostolic maxim, maxim, " He that will not work,
-
neither shall he eat." Knowing his laxity on that point,
an attorney having occasion to retain him marked his brief
with eighty guineas, thinking that such a hand-
some honorarium would secure the attendance of
this (lake far niente counsel. He attended
the consultation on the eve of trial, faithfully
' promised attendance the next morning, but unfaithfully
failed to put in an appearance. The case went against
the attorney's client. Thereupon attorney, in great
eworuantsh, erasnd taking
ehamber is,uhpbracliideendt
hwi
mi
nhdi msa,i wentd tod o
notm e eminentan
to leave this room until I get the eighty guineas back."
Eminent counsel protested that such a thing as returning
a fee was never heard of, that it was wholly unprofessional,
and much else to the same effect. Eminentcounsel, though
clever enough at browbeating a witness, found
that browbeating an attorney was a very different matter.
Attorney remained firm, counsel continued indignant and
obstinate. At last attorney said, by way of clenching the
matter, " I mean to leave no stone unturned to recover
this money, and shall, in the last resort, memorialise the
Lord Chancellor." That threat was effectual. A cheque
for £B4 was signed and delivered, and the unfortunate
client left his treacherous counsel's chamber rejoicing that
though he had lost his case, he had regained his money.
The matter did not end there. It came to the ears of
Lord Chancellor Cairns, who sent for the counsel and
expostulated with him: " Really Mr. —," said his lord-
ship, "if this sort of thing goes on we shall be having a
Parliamentary inquiry into the relations between counsel
and client." Mr. promised good behaviour in future,
and being pre-eminently a "funny" counsel, the interview
concluded with good humour and jest on both sides.
I must talk about the weather again. The long spring
time, which has lasted ever since the autumn, continues.
The trees are fast coming into leaf ; the almond trees are
a sight glorious to see. I have never seen such a display
of colour before ; the pear-trees at Kew are in full blos-
som. The thrushes and other verrnivorous birds are
rejoicing in a banquet of worms, and the sheep have more
grass than they know how to get through. This warm
season is in direct contradiction of the popular idea that
an abundant display of holly-berries means a cold winter.
Never was there a more brilliant blaze of scarlet in the
holly bushes than there was at the beginning of December.
I suspect that a hot summer has always more to do with
this than a cold winter. Nature is not a weather
prophet.
Londoners are essentially conservative in some things.
For instance, they so strongly prefer the old-fashioned
narrow two-horse to the roomy three-horse omnibuses,
that where the latter have been tried they have been
given up. It was a common thing to see the
wretched " Citizens," as the yellow Paddington omnibuses
are called, crammed, while the large and well-built vehicles

Witness : 21. I entered the convent in 1861, three
years afterwards.
The Lord Chief Justice : Did you ever speak of these
things to any other sister?
Witness : I once said a word to one of the other sisters,
and she so sharply reproved me for it that I never again
said a word.

Mrs. Mary Agnes Fearon, known in religion as Sister
Mary Evangelista, was examined by Mr. Charles Russell :
lam a choir sister. I entered the Hull convent in 1860.
I had frequent opportunities of seeing Miss Saurin, both
at Hull and Clifford. I have known her to directly
refuse to obey the superior by performing work she was
forbidden to do. She showed great deceit. Her manner
was exceedingly noisy, and she only observed silence when
she could not possibly get any one to speak to. I
have known her neglect the school for ten or.
twenty minutes, and even for half an hour, in unneces-
sary conversation with the mothers of the children.
I heard her speak to a lay postulant before
mass, a time of strict silence, and I saw
the postulant crying in consequence. Miss Saurin
was given to telling falsehoods. She has denied
conversing with persons, and in my presence, when she
knew I had seen her. I have seen her examine
the children's dinners, break off small portions
and give them to the child, retaining for herself
the remaining portion. At other times, when she
did not go to dinner, I have seen her take the chil-
dren's dinners from them and break off portions and give
to them, and keep the remainder. I never mentioned it
until I was asked to write my deposition. I considered
her treatment of the children very rough, and in some
cases cruel. I saw her pull the hair of a child
until he screamed, and on another occasion
she pinned the pinafore of a little girl over
her head, place her on a high stool, and exclaim,
"Now roar again, my beauty." (Laughter.) I never
saw Miss Saurin treated differently from the other sisters.
Miss Saurin never had to wash the stone steps:
She hsd to see it done. Besides the detes-
table mutton, I have known her to have pork,
bacon, veal, and fowl. She seemed to be fond
of strong bacon, and in carrying out Mrs. Stare's direc-
tions I kept some for the plaintiff's special me. Mrs.
Starr seemed to me to be quite Miss Sraurin's
dupe, and not to have her eyes open to her
faults. Between August 1364 and January 1866
I was at Hull with Miss Saurin. Her conduct there 'was
the same with retard to the children's dinners as at Calf-
ford. A little girl complained to me daily for three weeks
that part of her dinner had been taken from her basket.
At dismissal time I once saw Miss Saurin with part.of the
child's dinner in her hand.

The case was adjourned over to-day till to-morrow.

The testimonial to Mr. J. A. Roebuck has nov(
reached about £3,000. Mr. Roebuck will preside ;It till
Sheffield School of Art on the 17th of March, and the pre
sentation will take place two days after. The prteial atiel
will be made at a public meeting of the subscribe re,
fade
a
banquet will be given to tho learned gentletua
!La. faille
eveninc.

of the Manchester pattern were empty. For some tim
past the latter have been withdrawn.
Sir John Coleridge's " Life of Keble " is selling
faster than the binders can supply copies to the pub-
lishers. The editor of the London, Quarterly _Review
has lost one of the ablest members of his staff by the death
of Mr. Monsell, a brilliant writer, whose long residence on
the Continent enabled him to deal in a masterly manner
with Continental politics. The next number of
that review will, I believe, contain an article
by Mr. Edward Spender, on Dean Milman's " Annals
of St. Paul's." The concluding verses in the current
number of London Society are by Mr. Henry Frith, of the
War Office, a constant contributor to Judy, and who will
also, I believe, have some verses in the next number of Under
the Crown. Nisbet is about to publish the life of Caesar
Malan, the well-known Genevan minister, written by-one
of his sons. Mr. Fowler, M.P. for Cambridge, has in the
press "Thoughts on Free Trade in Laud." Sir Edward
Creasy's History of England will be published by Walton.
Lovers of art will be glad to learn that an exhibition of
the late Mr. Wehnert's pictures will be held in April.

OILSCELLANEOUS IVEIVS.

OUR MERCANTILE ➢IARINE.

A notice has already been placed on the boolcs of!
the House of Commons re:Teeth-1g the nesletz.sary
amendments in the laws relating to our merchant
shipping. Mr. Candlish will on Monday next ask
the President of the Board of Trade if he expects,
this session, to bring in a bill with that object. A
correspondent of the Times, a member of the Liverpool
Chamber of Commerce, has explained at some length
the chief grounds for the existing dissatisfaction.
Our list of wrecks is not only very heavy, but is
annually increasing at a much higher ratio than the
increase of our shipping. There is no room to doubt
that the unseaworthy condition of many vessels, the
incompetence of their commanders, the insufficiency
of their crews, and the absence of proper appliances
for navigation afford the explanation of the greater
number of the catastrophes. The interference
of the Legislature is needed to remedy the
inefficiency of the ships and the inferior
quality of the nautical instruments, while
for the improvement of the officers and crews we
must look to more gradual measures. The writer of
the letter we have referred to suggests several
methods of securing a better supply of trained sea-
men. Another point on which Parliament might
with advantage interfere is the licensing and
official inspection of sailors' boarding-houses—
a reform the men themselves desire. It
has been proposed that a small voluntary due of
id. per ton should be levied on all the shipping
entering our great ports for the benefit of educational
and charitable objects connected with our mercantile
marine. Such a rate if levied on the shipping
entering the Mersey alone in 1867 would have
produced £5,540.