The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-19 00:00:00

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(From the _Nam-hotter Guardian.)
Now, waiving for the present all consideration or:
the general principles involved in this decision,
and of what are-likely •to be its practical effectS
this judgmentappears most unjust to the wife 4
M. de The father of this man knew that
he ha.d_gone_ to-England- to- get -married ; the son
himself positively asserted in his letters that the
father consented to the match ; nay, all Pan
envied . the good fortune of the successful Cheri,
and awaited in joyful flutter of expectation the
N:
--arrival of the Wealthy English heiress. Both the
father and son, • too, were lawyers, and therefore
knew what formalities were required by the French
lain to make the marriage binding. Dither, then,
v
m her ust
tshuep: suppose that the
su
pipv
ohsoel
de fsahnei i
had,
of
had deliberately plotted to entrap this girl
ey
into an illegal marriage, in order that they might
ro
d,or de
we .acquit them of any intention to commit such an
act, of villany, we must conclude that Messieurs do
X thought enough had been done to comply -
with the provisions, of the law, and that the plea
fney afterwards set up only suggested itself to
their minds when they wanted a pretext to disem-
barrass themselves ofan impostor. Although, there-
fore; the law may not have been strained by the
Court, it is evident that, whichever of
,
sal . . ons is correct, the Englishwoman is grossly in-
jured by the judgment. It is impossible not to see
that the Court was strongly influenced by the
history of the deceit that had been practised
by the wife. But,-if the-civil tribunals of France
propose to themselves to dissolve all marriages
which are contracted on false pretences, they lxiviiv
undertaken a work which Hercules himself might
despair of accomplishing. What are false pre-
tences ? Are false hair and false teeth included in
the category ? Will a man.. who has married: a
wo-aaan he-believes to be an angel, and who finds
ou't before the honey Moon is over that she has got
• a devil of 'a temper, be entitled to plead for a dis-
solution of marriage ? The preliminary step of _
-neglecting to obtain the father's consent is easy ;
and in our opinion a husband has as much right to
complain that his wife has deceived him in regard
to her looks as that she has deceived him in regard
:'to her fortune. .
_ But this M. de X--- deserved the sympathy of
-the Court no more than a thief does who has had . -
his own pocket picked while he was attempting to
rob somebody else. It is difficult to tell whether •
he is more ridiculous ii account of his silly pride
of family or on AopQt iit. his fortune-hunting pro-
pensities. He his_b_alLin full measure, and..both.
ha itpen rightly _punis,h yly...hyn one remembers
hoed often the Efirith arO'reproached with their
exclimive habits alitl4ltelt s erence for aristocratic •,.
distinctions, one amused -"to find that even in
democratic France the grandmother of M. do
thinks it necessary to inform his intended
wifO that his " family is a very old one, indeed
one of the best noble families in that part
of 'the country; his grandfather was physician
to the King, and his uncle was an officer in the
body guard of Charles X. when he was Monsieur
tb.e Brother of the King." Even M. Brunier,
fne hotel keeper, is of opinion that " from such an
i.gnoble class- of society" as Miss B— belonged to,
" nothing but horrible ideas could emanate ;" and
Cheri himself sends his wife a " little book" to
Make known to her all 'about his family, and suf-
fers almost as much from ;the knowledge: that he
has married a servant. as from the loss of the-pror
petty. It is as a fortune hunter, however, that he
eccels. ' An excuse has lieen Made for him that Irp
-loVed his wife more, than her money because he
wrote her an affectionate letter when he wanted to .
get out :of prisiall but his subsequent Conduct shows
him in his true colours. The fact is, lie thought
Miss B 's-.£4,000- would do nicely to elear-off- -
the incumbrances on Lis „little estate of £lOO a-
Year, and would help him to attain sooner thin he
• otherwiSe would that dignity of sub-prefect which
is the highest object of his. ambition. So he
plunged headlong into matrimony with whom he
supposed to be an heiress, and found that he had
caught-a servant girl. But Miss Ellen B did.
nothing more than turn his own guns upon tb.e
enemy. We do not defend the morality of title •
action ;_ but we are decidedly -of opinion that it
served him right..
• The French court, however, ought. not to have
considered these circumstances at all ; the 'iues-
tion they had to decide-was purely- a legal. one ;
and we cannot but fear that their decision in
this case will give rice to great abuSqs. It '
is hard
_that when a Frenchman . enters into
what he knows to be an illegal niarri:kge. with
a foreigner, the innocent wife should suffer for
his act. - Look • what encouragement • this
judgment gives to designing adventure-i's. Put the
-case that the young Englishwoman ha d really been
posSessed of £4,000, and that the /4usand, after -
_getting the money into his own hands, had come
before the court and pleaded that hie father had not
given his consent to the marriage. If his plea Were
proved, a decree would necessarily- be pronounced
in _ 3-, 222
to English parents, who have, cl,aughters likely to
be fascinated by interesting f.)reigners. It is an
.unnlease,nt.,n reiaiepinent for a lady to be a wife ac-
cording to .e.ngiisn law and a.single woman accord-
ing to French law ; yet, unleSs precaution is taken,
many English girls may be placed in this position.
The high-minded and philosophic Brunierwrites to
his friend M. de X , " after a residence of six-
teen 'ears in England, I have learned of what stuff
English parents' and their marriageable daughters
are made. You cannot imagine what these two
sets of beings are capable of doing—the one for the -
sake of money, and the other to get hold of a hus-
band." It never occurred to M. Brunier to doubt
that it was perfectly honourable in his friend, to.
make a prey of any English heiress who should be
foolish enough to accept him. There are too many
foreigners like M. de X and M. Brunier; and
we trust that, whatever English ladies " are capa-
ble of doing," they will be on their guard in future
against such men, lest - they share the fate, with
sharing the follies, of MISS Alice Ellen 'B

PRICE 4D. STAMPAD, SD.

thanks to the University of Oxford for ii-17"--.7—"ituting
these middle-class examinations.

T.ord INGESTRE seconded the resolution, and it
'WEIS Carried by acclamation. •
After a few-words from the Bishop of CHESTER
and Mr. CimPER.,.M.P., three cheers were given
for Mr. Gladstone, and the meeting separated.

TRADE OF SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE.

The_ quarterly meetings of the iron and coal mas-
ters, which•commenced on Tuesday at Walsall, and
terminated on Saturday evening at Dudley, are the
chief feature 'of the- week in connection with the
trade of-this district. It is satisfactory to be able to
.report that -they indicated an improvement in our
great staple trade, which we could hardly have an-
ticipated a few weeks ago. At the meeting held on
Monday, the attendance was numerous and highly
respectable; including amongst others Lord Hather-
ton, Lord Lieutenant of the county of Stafford, P.
Williams,-Esq., High Sheriff, Mr. Foster, M.P..;
several magistrates, a large number of ;shipping
agents from Liverpool, Hull, &c., and mercharits
from-London interested in the trade. As usual, at
the commencement of the meeting, rumours in fa-
vour of a reduction of the prices were in circulation,
but it soon became obvious from the determination
of those gentlemen who usually- govern the trade,
that the resolution of the preliminary meeting
would be adhered . to, and orders which had been
held back were eonSeqUently given out. Contrary
to expectation many of them were fizrnished by the
American merchants, and this fact on being kiiown
imparted increased confidence to the meeting.
• The reports relatite to the American market were
altogether much more satisfactory than they have
been since the panic, and hopes are now entertaineeA
thatwe may look forward to a speedy. revival tjf
trade in that quarter. lam sorry to-say the demandn
for our railway companies, and for
.building p-ur-
pesos, is very limited; The serious depreciation in:
the railway avidendi preclules- the possibility of
outlay by the directers'be3:
gne,enild'afborsoeilate nore,ccehsasiitrys.,-
band ver~
uilding
wt
heerrdeeirss
liwttelree
doing, and many interests
in this district are vary Seriously affected by the,
unfavourable state of:that important trade. On the
whole, however, the ironmasters have reason to
congratulate themselves on the meetings of thp
week. There were no lieSh embarrassments an-
nounced, and the usual quarterly accounts were very.
Well met: Towards the close of the meeting, Lord
Hatherton and the other magistrates held a pri-
vatedonferenee • relative' to the unfortunate strike
amongst the colliers. It was stated, I believe, that
some of the men had gone in since-the publication
.of the resolutions of the masters, of which I sent
you a copy -last week. • When: the men found that
the document was- signed by nearly if not every
firm of weight and.importance in the district, and
that the alternative of 4s'. a-day, or none at all, was
placed before them, they began to .give way, and
some went doWn into the pits. Offers of a compro-
mise, through arbitration; -were also made by the,
leaders of the men, but not accepted; and I am led to
believe they-will ere long give way.• The poor fel-
lovis have endured. great . privations in the main-
tenance of-what theydeem their just rights, but-it
would seem that-
_time and circumstances are
against them." The demand 'foriron and coal is by
no means equal to our immense powers of produe-:
tion, and the competition between this district and-
the Scotch' and Welsh masters, and I fear We Must
now add- the American masters, is so great as to
render it all but impossible to realise profit upon
capital arid give good wages: Under these circum-
stances all parties are being pinched, the weakest;
as . usual, suffering most severely. The men who
have, not yet gone into work have announced a large
meeting for Monday next, at Westbromwich, and
.their wives and- children are to be assembled in
another part' of the 'district. - The affair is alto,._
gether painful, and the sooner it is. brought to a
termination the better.

In the manufacturing parts of the district the
various trades are rather- imprOting, with _the'ex=
ception of those appertaining to the building trade.
At Walsall the saddlers are better emPloyed than
they were, and the chain and 'cable makers are also
on full time.

In this town the general - hardware trade is
brisker. We have had a tolerably good deinand
for, various articles during the week, princikkilly for
foreign markets . _ _ -

.Tlie military.gun trade.is about receiving another
impetus. An order has been just issued by the Sec-
retary at War to advertise for the Contract for the
manufacture of small arms, &c.,-and the gnnmakers
-will send in their contracts in a few days. Judging
from the large quantity already made; and this new-
order, it would _seem "as if the requirements fei-
-4viiilitlaveng-intT}letßak4,ll4Plinir4FB-
kuse to this town, as many of the works have of late
been on rather short time. The birding branch of
the gun trade has not been of late brisk, and the
men have suffered very considerably from the fall-
ing off in- the American orders.

The stccl pcn r lac c );it inu.es active for the foreign
markets, best .quality being chiefly in demand.
For jewellery, also, we have had increased de-
mand since Monday, and the hands at the large
firms have been on full time. Now that the harvest
is all in, the travellers in the agricultural districts
are enabled to send home some useful order sheets
for second quality of jewellery and other fancy
articles, but from Yorkshire and the manufacturing
districts the accounts are not so satisfactory.

THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY MUSEUM.

This magnificent structure, the first stone of which
was laid by the Earl of Derby in 1855, has made
considerable progress during the long vacation,
and great efforts are being made to complete it by
the next commemoration, when it is understood
that her Majesty will visit Oxford for the purpose
of being present at the inauguration. The con-
tractors, Messrs. Lucas Brothers, have finished
their contracts for erecting the main buildings,
and the workinen are now chiefly engaged upon the
internal fittings. The central tower, with its•Rhen-
ish-Gothic spires, has been completed, as also the
curators's residence, a neat and commodious
structure at the south7eastern angle of the Museum,
where Professor Phillips now resides. Professor
Brodie has taken: possession of the chemical labora-
tory, with its lofty octagonal roof and four tall
chimneys ; and the medical laboratory will be occu-
pied by Dr. Acland in the course:of a few days.
The chief feature of the building—the grand central
court—promises to become one of the most beauti-
ful and striking objects of which Oxford can boast.
It is-128 feet square, surrounded with an upper and
lower corridor of 11 feet wide, and will be crowned
with a glass roof restintr; on light and elegant iron.
pillars, ornamented with representations of the
foliage of British trees, such as the chesnut, oak,
maple; &c. The new roof, designed -by Mr. Skid-
more, of Coventry, at an estimated cost of £5,000,
is being fitted up at the works in Staffordshire, and
is expected. to be completed in January next. The
unfortunate failure of the original roof has some-
:what retarded the progress of the fabric, but in other
respeCts the works are proceeding in. a satisfactory
. manner. A number of artist workmen are em-
ployed in carving the capitals and corbels with na-
tural foliage, illustrating - the natural history of
various epochs, climates, and regions, some of which
,are already finished. - On the corbels around the
central court will be placed statues of the great
founders and improvers of natural knowledge.
Five of these figures have been presented by her
Majesty, namely, those of Bacon, Gallileo, Newton,
Leibnitz, and Oersted, and three of them have been
already very beautifully executed in Caen stone b?•-
Munro, of London. The undergraduates of the uni-
versity have presented the statues of Aristotle and
Cuvier, and 32 are now required to complete the
series. Among the subscribers to this truly national
work are the Earl of Derby, £lOO ; • Mr. W. E.
Gladstone, £100; Mr. M. P. W. Boulton, of En-
stone, £150; Mr. J. Ruskin' , jun., £300; and among
the contributors are Sir'R.l. Murchison, the Duke
of Argyll, the Marquis of Breadalbane, Sir W. Tre-
velyan, Sir S. Glynne, the. Earl of Harrowbv S.
B. Brodie, Sir C. Lyell, Mr. J. Rusldy,
prof. oecig,
wick, Mr. W: ' Miles, M.P., and -many others emi-
nent-in science and art. Among the works of a pub-
lic character expressive of the feeling which is-enter-
tained in the university on the subject of physical
f
education,
we may mention the
and commodiouserection of a new
gymnasium rom a design furnished
of
by Mr. Wilkinson, Oxford, and erected by
Messrs. J. Castle and _Co. It is 85 feet long, 45 feet
wide, and 30 feet high, and the centre of the roof
will be of the form of a dome, surmounted by a lan-
tern. It promises to be a handsome and substantial
building, and well adapted for the important pur-
pose to which it will be devoted. The extensive
works at Exeter College,, upon which £30,000 or
£40,000 has been expended during the last few
_years, are expected" to 'be - finished about Easter
next. • The chapel, which is erected from the de-
sign of Mr, G.-G. Scott,-in -the early English deco-
rated style, of architecture, is a magnificent struc-
ture, and promises to be one of the finest ecclesi-
astical edifices -in Oxford, and reminds those wh.e.
are familiar with Paris- of the celebrated Sainte
• Chapelle,