The Sun.
London, England, 1860-06-06 00:00:00

WAKEFIELD ELECTION.

Capt. JERVIS moved " That whereas by the act 17 and
18 Viet., c. 102, s. 14, it is expressly enacted that no person
should be liable to be prosecuted for any offence committed
against the said act unless such prosecution shall commence
within one year from the date of the said offence, this house
is of opinion with reference to certain prosecutions com-
menced at common law against divers persons at Wakefield,
for offences committed at the late general election against
that act, but which prosecutions have not been commenced
within the time prescribed by that act, that such prosecu-
tions should be abandoned." As the hon. and gallant
member was proceeding to explain his object in bringing
forward hie motion, an hon. member moved that the house
be counted.

The house was counted accordingly, when it was found
there were just forty members present—the number requi-
site to constitute a house—and

Captain JERVIS resumed—He said he had tried to
make himself acquainted with this subject, although
he was no lawyer, and since the reign of George 11., al-
though many persons had been prosecuted by the Attorney-
General for bribery, he had been unable to discover a single
instance of any person being so prosecuted unless he had
been served within a year after the alleged offence was
committed with notice of the intention to prosecute him.

An Hox. MEMBER here moved that the house be counted,
which was done, and there bling only twenty-nine members
present,

The house adjourned at twenty-five minutes to eight
o'clock.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.—June 5.

VICE-CHANCELLORS' COURTS.
(Before Vice-Chancellor Sir J. Stuart.)
NOTTIDGE V. PRINCE.

The hearing of this cause was resumed.
Mr. Malins, for the plaintiif, said that the defen-
dant Prince was educated at Lampeter College, in
Wales, with the view of becoming a minister of the
Church of England, and he had been accordingly
ordained deacon and priest. In the year 1840 he
became the curate of Mr. Starkey, then rector of
Charlwich, in Somersetshire, and continued such for
about two years, when, in consequence of his inter-
ference with neighbouring parishes, he was deprived
by the Bishop of the diocess of his licence. He
then obtained a curacy at Stoke, near Clare, in
Suffolk, in the neighbourhood of which place the
late Mr. Josias Nottidge lived. Mr. Prince there
became acquainted with that gentleman and his
family, which consisted of his wife and four daugh-
ters, and succeeded in acquiring great influence over
the daughters. Of that curacy likewise Mr. Prince
was deprived by the Bishop of Ely, at the end of
1842, or early in 1843. From Stoke Mr. Prince
went to Brighton, where he took a chapel, which
he called Adullam. Thither he was followed by
the four Misses Nottidge, Louisa Jane, Harriet,
Clara, and Agnes, with whom he had in the mean-
time kept up his influence by means of letters
written as well to them as to servants of his own
whom he had left at Stoke, the letters to
his servants having been written by him with
the express view of their being read to the
Misses Nottidge. He remained at Brighton until
May, 1845, when he persuaded the young
ladies, whose father had in the meantime died,
leaving them sums of between £5,000 and £6,000
.picoo, to leave Brighton for the purpose of accom-
pany him to Charlwich, where he contemplated
opening a new chapel. In the course of their
journey to Charlwich the whole party went to
Taunton, at one of the inns of which placo the
Misses Nottidge lodged, Mr. and Mrs. Prince and
Mr. Starkey lodging at an adjoining inn. All the
expenses, however, of the whole party were, at the
express direction of Mr. Prince, defrayed by the
young ladies. On the morning of June 10, 1845,
the party being still at Taunton, Prince sent a mes-
sage from his own inn to Miss Harriet Nottidge
requiring her presence, and upon her entering the
room in which he and Mrs. Prince and Starkey
were sitting he informed her that she would give
great glory to God by marrying his friend, Mr.
Lewis Price, and, such consent having been ob-
tained, he directed Miss Nottidge to withdraw, and
to keep entirely secret what had passed at their
interview. A second message of similar import was
immediately after received by Miss Agnes Nottidge,
and when she got into Prince's presence he told her
that God was about to confer on her an especial
blessing, which the Spirit directed him to make
known to her, but that, before hearing what that
blessing was she must make a solemn promise to
do whatever was required of her. After some reluc-
tance on her part Miss Agnes Nottidge gave such
promise, and was thereupon informed that the bless-
ing in question was that she would be married to
Brother Thomas in a few days. Miss Nottidge ob
jected to the marriage taking place before a settlement
should have been made for the purpose of providing
for any family which she might have. Prince and
Starkey immediately replied, " There will be no
need of anything of that kind You will have no
family. It will not be in accordance with your
present calling. Your marriage will be purely
spiritual, to carry out the purposes of God." Miss
Agnes Nottidge then withdrew. On the same day
Prince dined with the young ladies, in company
-with Messrs. Price and Thomas, and during dinner
informed those gentlemen that Harriet and Agnes
Nottidge had, in obedience to the will of God, con-
sented to.become their wives. In the course of the
same afternoon Prince informed the two intended
brides that it was the will of God their marriages
should be solemnized at Swansea, and proposed
that they should all at once proceed thither for that
purpose. The young ladies demurred to this course,
upon the ground that it would cause great sorrow
to their mother if they were to be married without
first returning to see her. Prince, however, told
them that they must not allow any such feelings to
divert them from the path marked out for them by
God, and that if they read the Book of Jonah they
would see the effect of acting contrary to God's
commands. Two days after Harriet and Agnes had
consented to marry Thomas and Price, Prince ex-
torted from Clara a promise to marry William
Cobbe, another of Prince's followers. On the 9th
of July, 1845, the three marriages took place in the
parish church of Swansea, Starkey giving away
the brides, who by Prince's express directions
were all married in black dresses. Prior to Mrs.
Thomas's marriage she received a letter from her
intended husband relative to her proposal that her
property should be settled upon her, from which
the following is an extract :
"2, Windsor-terrace, Brighton, June 21, 1845.
"My beloved Agne 3, -I must write to you just what the
Spirit leads me to do ; this I do with the more confidence,
because I believe you have an oar to hear what the Lord
may say unto you through him that loveth you. You men-
tioned your desire to have a settlement of your property
upon yourself ; this, I assured you, would be very agree-
able to my feelings, and is so still, but last evening, in
waiting on God, this matter quite unexpectedly was brought
before me. I had entirely put it away from my thoughts
—leaving it to take its course so you might be led to act ;
but God will not have it so. He shows me that the prin-
ciple is entirely contrary to God's word, and altogether at
variance with that confidence which is to exist between us,
who are one spirit. This desire on your part must be aban-
doned. Give it up to God, and show that you can trust His
faithfulness, and I can assure you the confidence you re-
pose in Him will not be disappointed. I knew God, and I
know that none who trust in Him shall ever, can ever, be
confounded. He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear.
As regards the promise you made your parents, I would
merely say that any promise made when you were uncon-
verted, and which was not in accordance with the Word of
God, you are not bound, neither would it he right in you,
to adhere to. I must bid you farewell, and believe me to
abide, in mph love,—Yours affectionately, in the everlast-
ing covenant, "Brother THOMAS,"

No settlement was made of the property of
Harriet and Clara, any more than of Agnes's
property. When the marriages took place
Thomas and Priv, were in indigent circum-
stances, and Cobbe had a sum of his own of about
£l,OOO. Early in August, 1845, Prince left Swan-
sea and went into Somersetsbire, leaving Thomas
and his wife at Swansea. After a short interval
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas went to Ilfracombe, where
the former received a•summons from Prince as fol-
lows:
" Brother Thomas—l command you to arise and come
to Weymouth. Amen."

Thomas at first, at the instigation of his wife, be-