The Sun.
London, England, 1856-02-27 00:00:00

THE LA' OF MARRIAGE.

From the Times of this day.)
A strange suit. worthy to be ranked among the
causes caebres of Doctors' Commons, was heard and
determined in the Prerogative Court on Saturday
last. An aged and infirm lady, the widow- of a
, Major in the army, died at Brighton in the month
of Jan., 1850, at the advanced age of 82 years,
leaving behind her an only son, a captain in the
Royal Artillery, and having down to the time of
her death passed as a widow under the name of
Mrs. Major Campbell. The lady was 'a strict
Roman Catholic, was attended on her death-bed
by her Father Confessor, who administered the
last sacraments to her as Mrs. Campbell, and after-
wards performed masses for the repose of her soul
under that name. The son was present at her
death, and followed lAr to her grave, and the in-
scription on her coffin represented her as the relict
of Major Campbell. It seems that by her father's
will her son was entitled to a considerable property
upon her death, sultject, however, to the life in-
terest of her husband, if she left any husband sur-
viving her. She had also personal property of
large amount, to which her son would be entitled
if she died a widow and without a will, but other-
wise her husband would claim it as his exclusive
property in case of her intestacy. After the fune-
ral her son and the friends of the family assembled
to hear her will read, when the person who was
supposed to be her executor stepped forward, an-
nounced himself as her husband, and, as such, as-
serted his claim to her papers and property, to the
exclusion of the son. The friends repudiated the
claim ; but no will could be found, and a suit for
the administration of her property ensued in the
Prerogative Court, in which the son was enabled
to put the asserted husband on the proof of his
marriage. _

The case of the asserted husband was, that six
months before the death of this aged lady he had
taken her in a hired carriage to the office of the
Superintending Registrar of the Marylebone dis-
trict, and in the presence of two witnesses, selected
by him, strangers to the deceased, had contracted
a marriage with her according to the act of Parlia-
ment, which was purposdly kept secret for fear of
her son's anger. One of these witnesses was pro-
duced, and swore that he was not a stranger to her,
but knew the lady, and the signature annexed to
the entry in the book of the registrar was sworn
to be in her handwriting. It appeared further
that her age, her residence, and the name of her
father were wrongly entered ; but the act of Par-
liament does not permit a false entry to invalidate
the marriage. It was in vain for counsel to con-
tend that the marriage in itself was grossly impro-
bable, that the parties never cohabited, never ac-
knowledged each other as husband and wife ; on
the contrary, that the lady always treated the as-
serted husband as a guest at her house, to the last
moment retained the name of Campbell, and
never could have deliberately intended to disin-
herit her only son, in whose amp; she died, as
it was proved that she expressed her warmest
gratitude to a faithful servant who had sum-
moned her sou to her bedside to attend her
last moments, and a host of witnesses spoke of her
as doating upon her son to the last. The asserted
husband produced himself as a witness in his own
cause under the new law of evidence, and swore
solemnly that he was honestly carrying out the
deliberate wishes of the mother in endeavouring to
deprive the son of his inheritance. The Court felt
bound to pronounce that the fact of a marriage
solemnised according to the act of Parliament was
proved, and that such a marriage was attended
with all the consequences of a marriage publicly
celebrated is facie eceesim, and acknowledged by
the parties during their lifetime. The son left the
court stripped of his inheritance, saddled with his
own heavy expenses, and with part of the costs of
his adversary. It may fairly be a question whether
such a state of our marriage law is satisfactory, and
whether it is not a scandal to a civilised country
that the institution of .marriage, which was in-
tended for the protection of the offspring of the
wife, should be cap able of being perverted to its
ruin.

THE VIRTUAL ALLIANCE BETWEEN
FRANCE AND AUSTRIA.

When, some weeks ago, we began to undeceive
the people of this country as to the cordiality of
our Ally, and to pledge ourselves for the accuracy
of the fact, that a virtual alliance bad been entered
into between France and Austria, our statements
wore received with some incredulity. Since then
the Times, in its leading articles, has endorsed
every word we said on the subject ; and yesterday
its Vienna correspondent, under date of Thursday
last, not only does the same, but has furnished
some illustrative details, which are full of signifi-
cance. The first paragraph of his communication
is of so much importance, that we feel that it to be
cur duty to reproduce it in our columns.
" You will, doubtless," says the Vienna corres-
pondent of our contemporary, " before, this, have
learned by the Moiliteitr that that the, Empress of
the French has received the order of the Star Cross

(Stern-Kreuz Orden), and a letter from the Em-
press-Mother, Carolite Augusta, but th 3 official
organ will hardly publish the Impe►ial epistle, al-
though it must have made an extremely agreeable
impression on the Emperor Napoleon. You have
frequently been told that the relations letween
France and Austria were far more intimve than
was generally supposed, and the informatio❑ which
will now be given is well calculated to remove al
doubt on tlLt subject. When it was settled that

!ount Buol should go to Paris, his Majesty
he Emperor wished to give his brother
Monarch some striking proof of the high con-
sideration in which he held him, and it was thought
that this could not be better done than jily treating
his consort as if she had been of Imperial or Royal
descent. The Stern Kreuz' is only. worn by those
ladies whose pedigree has during a long series of
years been without spot or blemish, and it was re-
solved that this high order should be presented to
the Empress of the French. Ix order that the im-
pression produced on the Imperial pair might be
the more agreeable, the badge of the order in bril-
liant.; was accompanied by a letter from the Em-
press Caroline Augusta, who is Protectress and Su-
perior of the Institution, in which it is said that the
attention has beenshown in order to consolidate
the intimate relations already subsisting between
the two families.' The other parts of the letter
were of little moment, but the passage quoted ap-
pears most significant, when it is considered that it
was written at the express desire of the Emperor
Francis Joseph."
We can state, from private communications from
Paris, in the accuracy of which we place implicit
dependence, that Louis Napoleon has so far com-
mitted himself to Austria—winch of course means
t 3 Russia also—that it will be with the greatest
difficulty that even the appearance of the alliance
with us, can be much longer kept up. He is
anxious to avoid an open rupture with Esglancl,
because he knows that it would be ruinous to him
in the present position of European affairs ; but i f
all be true that is confidently stated, he is destined,
ere long, to realise in his painful experience, tke
truth of the adage—that one cannot, at the same
time, both hold with the hounds and run with the
hare.—Morning Advertiser.