The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-27 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENIN9, MARCH 27, 1861.

-17:1ELAND.

DUBLIN, TUESDAY MORNING.
Last i'lleat a large and influential meeting was
held in thr3 Metropolitan-hall, " To consider the
present at ate of the law affecting the celebration of
marriage sin Ireland, and to petition Parliament
for such alterations therein as shall bring it into
harmony with the interests of public morals and
with the civil and religious rights of all classes of
the community. The Rev. Dr. Millar, Vicar of
Belfast, and the Rev. J. Macnaughton, appeared as
a deputation from Belfast.
The chair was taken by Mr. Alexander Hall.
The general terms of the advertisement did not
convey the distinct object of the meeting, which
was to petition Parliament for the removal of cer-
tain grievances which affect the Protestant Dissen-
ters eV this country in connexion with the Marriage
Law of 1844. The Yelverton case and the Bill of
the Lord Chancellor to legalise mixed marriages
performed by Roman Catholic priests have led to
the movement.

The Rev. Dr. MILLAR, who moved the first reso-
lution, contended that they should have the same
law for all—even-handed justice for all who paid
taxes—equal privileges and advantages for
Methodists, Dissenters, and Churchmen ; all should
be amalgamated as one people, all should sail in the
same boat. The present state of the Marriage Law
afforded great facilities for clandestine marriages.
Certain forms calculated to ensure publicity were

imposed on the clergy of the Established church,
but priests could marry the members of their own
Church at any hour of the day or night, without
any registration. He wanted one law for Protes-
tants and Roman Catholics. He felt for the disabili-

ties of his Wesleyan and Dissenting brethren ;
and as a minister of one of the largest

parishes in Ireland, profiting daily by the pri-
vileges he enjoyed as a clergyman of the Estab-
lished Church, he was willing to share the advantages
with Dissenting ministers, and appeared therefore
on that platform as a disinterested advocate on
their behalf.
The Rev. Dr. KIRKPATRICK, a Presbyterian
Minister of high standing in this city, next ad-
dressed the meeting. He was glad to see the union
of all denominations on that platform for the
purpose of obtaining equal rights for all. The
Marriage Law which was passed 15 or 16 years
ago had been passed in a season of great public
excitement, when there was a great deal of bitter
feeling between the Established Church and the
Presbyterians. But since that time education and
the progress of enlightened opinion in the com-
munity had wrought a great change for the better,
and the people of all classes were in a capacity to
seek an improvement of the law upon sound prin-
ciples of civil and religious liberty. The Presby-
terians had privileges which the Wesleyans,
Independents, and Baptists did not possess, and of
which there was no reason that they should be
deprived. While Episcopalian clergymen were
free to marry all classes, Presbyterian ministers
coud not marry unless one of the parties was a
member of their own communion. Still they were
better off than their Dissenting brethren. With
the single restriction as to mixed marriages, Ro-
man Catholic priests enjoyed a freedom in this
respect granted to no other denomination. They
were met to discuss a great social question, of vast
importance to the best interests of the country.
They wanted to secure for all denominations legal
validity for the marriage contract, with preliminary
notices, publicity in the celebration, and correct
registration.
The Rev. Dr. URWICK, an Independent minister
of 35 years' standing in Dublin, pointed out the
evils of the Marriage Law of 1844. Before that
time the state of the Marriage Law in Ireland was
the worst possible. Any minister, whatever might
be his creed or character—come from what quarter
he might could perform a valid marriage, without
notice or record, in any place, at any hour of the day
or night, This state of things led to the passing of an
Act unworthy of the British Legislature, in viola-
lation of the principle of religious equality; and he
wanted to know what the Independents, Baptists,
and Wesleyans had done to deserve the degrading
brand. He stood there for liberty and equality—
equal rights for all who bore true allegiance to the
Throne.
The Rev. T. SCOTT, of the Established Church, in
seconding the resolution, expressed his concurrence
in the views that had been presented by the pre-
vious speakers.
The Rev. R. MASSAROON, who said that he had
been a Wesleyan minister in Ireland for 50 years,
could testify from his own experience as to the per-
nicious operation of the Marriage Law. By it the
body to which he belonged had been degraded,
nonressed. trodden down. Degrading, painful,
awful results had flowed from the state or the law.
Wesleyans could not be married by their own be-
loved ministers ; they must be united in wedlock by
the registrar, who noted on the register "Married
by me." The minister might be present and sign
the register, but only as a witness. If he performed
the ceremony without the registrar he would be
guilty of felony and be liable to be transported. On
one occasion he went to the chapel with a highly
respectable couple, persons of position in society,
after due notice. The registrar was not there ;
half-an-hour—an hour—an hour and a half passed,.
and no registrar. The lady blushed deeply, then
became deadly pale. At length he (the minister)
ran to the other side of the town for the functionary
in question, who said that he had forgotten all about
it. On another occasion the registrar died the day
before a marriage, his son personated him, and
wrote, " Married by me." The marriage being null
and void; the ceremony had to be repeated when
the discovery was made. Mr. Massaroon indignantly
complained that Wesleyans should be degraded by
being obliged to have their marriages published in
the poorhouse, which the present law required.
Why should he who never troubled the Poor Law
guardians be obliged to appeal in forma pauperis
at the most dignified period of a man's life, when
he was going to be married ? He felt that by the
law they were degraded, especially when he con-
trasted the position of the Wesleyans with the pri-
vileged position of the Roman Catholic priests. As
to the present Marriage Law, he would have it
abolished. It was like an old Irish jaunting-car,
the more you try to mend it the worse it gets.
The most important speech of the night was
delivered by the Rev. J. Macnaughton, who re-
presented the Presbyterians of Belfast as one of the
deputation. He described the four modes of per-
forming the marriage ceremony recognised by the
law—by the Episcopalians, who can marry all deno-
minations; by the Presbyterians, who can marry
only when one or both of the parties are members
of their own Church, and who must sign five or six
documents, as if the Legislature wished to create
facilities for blundering in their case ; by the regis-
trars, who marry not only infidels who object to
any religious ceremony, but Wesleyans, Indepen-
dents, and Baptists, who object to the ceremonies of
the Established Church and the Presbyterians ;
and by the priests, who if the parties belong to their
own church can marry without any restriction
whatever. It was disgraceful to the Legislature to
have passed such a law as the Act of 1844; but it
was almost equally disgraceful to those by whom
the degradation had been tamely endured. Why
should they submit to have their names read out
before the board of guardians ? It was a state of
things which could not, which must not, be borne
longer. Had the Independents and Baptists lost
the spirit of freemen ? Where was the old Puritan
blood that flowed in the veins of the heroic
founders of their churches ? Why do they not
agitate till they shake the country to
its centre, till they obtain equal privileges
with the rest of their fellow-citizens? His own
Scottish blood was fired at the thought of their de•
gradation, and of the evils which the infamous
marriage law inflicts upon society. It was a par-
tial enactment to meet certain evils, but inflicting
other evils still greater. The Lord Chancellor's
Bill, now before the House of Lords, is one of the
same character. It is simply meant to legalise mixed
marriages by Roman Catholic priests, brought in in
consequence of the Yelverton case. But neither in
that bill, nor in the Registration Bill of Mr. Card-
well, nor in the bill on the same subject brought in
by Lord Naas and Mr. Whiteside, is there a single
line designed to free Nonconformists from their
galling and insulting disabilities. Friends as the
Dissenters are of Liberal statesmen in England, re-
presented by so many able men in the House of
Commons, he (Mr. Macnaughton) could not under-
stand how their dearest interests are negi.ected and
overlooked. But if Parliament would not do them
justice he advised them to go to the foot of the
throne, and plead their cause with the Queen, who,
as a wife and mother and the most exemplary of
Sovereigns, must sympathise with their grievances.
The meeting was addressed briefly by the Rev.
Robertson Scott, Mr. Edwai d Wright, LL.D., the
Rev. John Manley, and Mr. George Foley.
Resolutions in accordance with the tenour of the
speeches were passed unanimously.
The large assembly seemed to take a lively inte-
rest in the proceedings.

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MURDER.

A fearful crime was committed yesterday morning
at the Militia Barracks, Kingston-upon-Thames.
The victim was a fine young woman, only 20 years
old, named Diana Wickens, and while asleep she
was murdered by her step-sister, a married woman,
the wife of a sergeant-major in the 3d Regiment of
Royal Surrey Militia, who while in that state nearly

severed her head from her body, dividing the right
carotid artery, the jugular vein, and the windpipe

with a razor: It would seem that the husband of
the wretched woman, who is highly respected by
his officers, had left his bed about 7 o'clock in the

morning, and gone out into the barrack-yard, leav-
ing his wife in her own bed and the unhappy
deceased in an adjoining room, where she slept upon

a temporary bed, made up for her upon a sofa, and
hiS wife must have got up almost immediately, taken

one of her husband's razors from the drawer in

which it was kept, and then proceeded to the ad-
joining room, where the unhappy deceased was
lying. There appears to be very little doubt that
at the time she was asleep and lying on her left
side, and while in that position the murderess in-
flicted a dreadful wound upon the right side of the
neck, which was uppermost, thus causing the
injuries above described. Instantaneous death
would not appear to have been the result, for there
is very little doubt that upon the first sensation of
pain the poor creature raised one of her hands, and
in so doing received a severe injury upon the fin-
gers. She then got out of bed and staggered for
about six feet in to the adjoining room, where she
fell dead, literally covered with blood. Dr. Cory
and Mr. Sndlow Roots, surgeons at Kingston, the
latter gentleman being surgeon to the police force,
were speedily in attendance, but all human aid was,
of course, unavailing. After committing the dread-
ful deed the wretched woman went out to the barrack-
yard, where she met a sergeant belonging to the
regiment named Oates, to whom she at once stated
that she had murdered her sister, and she then went
to the pump and washed her hands, which were
covered with blood. A constable belonging
to the V division of police was then sent for,
and the prisoner was taken to the police station,
where the charge was entered by Mr. Armstrong,
the inspector on duty. It may naturally be
imagined that the occurrence created the most
intense anxiety in the town, and, as is usual in
such cases, there was a variety of rumours as to
the cause of the dreadful occurrence, among which

was one that the deed was committed through
jealousy; but, so far as the evidence which was
given before the magistrates went, there does not
appear to be any ground for such a supposition, and
at present the motive for the commission of the
dreadful crime appears to be entirely a mystery.
At a sitting of the Borough Bench of Magistrates
the prisoner was brought up for examination. Her
name on the police sheet was stated to be Martha
Bradish, 46 years of age, and she was charged with
the wilful murder of Diana Wickens. The magis-
trates present were Mr. S. Grey, mayor of King-
ston • Mr. S. Mason, Mr. F. Gould, Mr. E. Lowe,
and Mr. E. H. Pricker.

Mr. Phillips, the clerk to the bench, conducted
the prosecution ; and Mr. Guy, of the firm of Guy
and Wilkinson, solicitors, of Kingston and West-
minster, appeared for the prisoner.
The accused is a very tali, powerful, and rather
plain-looking woman. She appeared to be in dread-
ful distress mind, and she repeatedly interrupted
the proceedings by hysterical sobs and the most
distressing ejaculations. She was seated at the end
of the magistrates' table during the proceedings.
Her husband. a very respectable-looking man, sat
by her side all the time, his wretched wife clasping
one of his hands tightly in hers during the whole
period of the examination, and entreating him in
agonised tones not to leave her. The Town-hall
was crowded during the proceedings, and the deepest
interest was manifested by every one present. -
The following evidence was adduced :
Alex. Oates said—l am a sergeant in the 3d Royal
Surrey Militia. This morning, about 7 o'clock, I was
going towards the quarters of Sergt.-Major Bradish,
the prisoner's husband, which are in the barrack
yard, when I saw the prisoner come out from them
very excited. She came up to me and said, " Come
in, Sergeant Oates ; I have murdered my sister."
I observed at this time that the prisoner's hands
were covered with blood, and she went to the
pump and washed them. Seeing her excited
state, and knowing that her husband was not in
his quarters, as I had observed him go out a minute
or two before, I thought something had happened,
and I went into the prisoner's room, and the first
thing I saw was a young woman. lying on the
floor with her throat cut. I saw her limbs move
and she was covered with blood. I immediately
ran out and fetched the prisoner's husband and then
went for a doctor, and when I came back the de-
ceased was quite dead. I did not know at this time
who she was.
In answer to questions put by Mr. Guy, the wit-

ness said—When I first saw the prisoner she was
only partially dressed, and the deceased had nothing
on her but her chemise. Ido not think theapri-
soner's husband had left the house more than a
minute when the prisoner came to me in the man-
ner I have stated. There were only two rooms
occupied by the prisoner and her husband, one of
which was ordinarily used as a sitting-room, but
since the deceased has been there she slept in that
room on a sofa. There was only a wooden partition
between the two rooms. The deceased had only been
with the prisoner and her husband a short time.
The prisoner here wildly exclaimed, " Oh, it is not
true ! it cannot be true 1"
Mr. Cory said—l am a surgeon, and reside in St.
James's-road, Kingston. The last witness came to
fetch me this morning, a few minutes after seven
o'clock, and I accompanied him tathe quarters of
Sergeant-Major Bradish in the Militia Barracks.
Upon entering the first room I saw the deceased
lying dead on the ground.
The prisoner here again exclaimed in a tone of
agony, "Oh, no, no, no !it cannot be true ! Oh
God ! oh God !"
Witness continued—She was dead, but the flesh
was quivering and she was quite warm. I observed
a large wound on the right side of her neck, which
completely divided the carotid artery, the jugular
vein, and the windpipe, and on the ring finger of
the right hand I also observed a lacerated wound.
The prisoner was in the room, and when she saw
me she said, " Oh God, doctor, if I had had your
advice before this would never have happened."
I looked about the room to see if I could
find any instrument with which the injuries had
been inflicted, and then asked the prisoner how
she bad done it, and she took a razor from
a drawer and handed it to me. It appeared to have
been recently washed.
The inspector, Mr. Armstrong, here handed to
the witness a razor, which he identified as the same
he had received from the prisoner. It was an ordi-
nary tortoiseshell handled razor, and appeared to be
very sharp. While this was going on the prisoner
again wildly exclaimed " No, no—yes—a dream, a
dream."

In cross-examination the witness said—l at-
tended the prisoner in June last for a diseased
liver. She had been, I believe, in the West Indies,
and this had caused the malady from which she
was suffering. She was very ill at that time, but
she recovered, and I advised her to keep herself
quiet and free from excitement.' When I saw her
this morning she appeared to be in a state of dread-
ful excitement, her hands were cold, and her coun-
tenance was quite horror-stricken. She told me
that she had taken the razor out of her husband's
drawer. I do not believe that the death of the de-
ceased was instantaneous, because it was evident
that after the wound was inflicted she got out of
bed and walked, or staggered, to the place where I
saw her lying, which was five or six feet from the
sofa. In my opinion the whole of the injuries to the
neck were inflicted by one violent cut with a sharp
instrument, such as a razor. A blunt instrument
would not have done it. There was blood upon the
sofa where the deceased had been lying.
James Davidson, suiff-sergeant in the regiment,
said—l know the prisoner and her husband. They
occupy quarters in the barracks. I have seen a
young woman with them lately, within the last
fortnight. She was the same young woman referred
to by the previous witnesses, and I believe that her
name was Diana Wickens, and I have heard the
prisoner say that she was her step-sister. I went
into the prisoner's room this morning when the
alarm was given, and saw the young woman I have
referred to lying on the ground with her throat
cut. Her knees were burnt up, and there was a large
pool of blood on the floor. She was not dead when
I first saw her, but shedied while I was in the room.
In cross-examination the witness described the
position of the two rooms, and said that there was
a screen in the bedroom occupied by the prisoner and
her husband, which would prevent any one lying in
bed from seeing whether any one went out of the
house or into the adjoining room. The deceased
never spoke, and she appeared to him to be about
19 or 20 years old. The prisoner seemed to be dread •
fully excited, and he beard her say, " I have mur-
dered her," and immediately afterwards she said,
" Oh, I didn't do it, I couldn't do it," and she ap-
peared to be hardly capable of knowing what she
was doing.
Elizabeth Baker, the wife of a police sergeant,
proved that she searched the prisoner at the police
station, and found some blood on her stockings,
which was caused apparently by her having walked
through blood on the floor NN ith no shoes on.
John Gunner, police constable 361 V, said—This

morning, in consequence of information I received, '
I went to the Militia Barracks, and saw the bodyof
the deceased lying dead. The prisoner was in the
same room leaning on her husband's shoulder, and
when she saw me she said, "I have cut that young ,
woman's throat, and you must take me to the sta-
tion." After this I heard Dr. Cory ask how it had
been done, and the prisoner gave him a razor. I
found some articles of female apparel hanging upon
the rail of the prisoner's bed, which I produce, and
upon which there are stains of blood.
The prisoner at this stage of the inquiry again
exclaimed in a wild tone, " Oh, it i 3 not true! it is
not true ! It cannot be—it is a tale of fiction, and
not of reality. If it is true, pray for me, pray for
me ! Oh, let me retrace my steps to my home ! I
am sure it cannot be !"
In cross-examination the witness Gunner said he
did not ask the prisoner if she had done it, but the
moment he saw her he suspected it, from her wild
appearance. She was crying and very excited, and
appeared hardly to know what she was doing or
saying.
Inspector Armstrong said—l was at the police
station about 9 o'clock this morning, and I entered
the charge against her upon the police sheet.
When the prisoner first saw me she said, " This
is a shocking thing I have done." I imme-
diately cautioned her, and told her that whatever
she said would be given in evidence against her,
and I begged her not to speak, but to leave the case
in the hands of her legal adviser. After I had
given the prisoner this caution she said; " I must
have been insane, or I could not have done it to a
sister I loved so well." I again requested her not
to say anything, but she repeated the observation
that she must have been insane, or she should not
have done it.
Cross-examined—The prisoner at this time ap-
peared to be deeply afflicted, and exhibited the
utmost horror and repugnance at what had taken
place.
This being the whole of the evidence,
Mr. Guy addressed the Bench, and said he felt
that the evidence against the unfortunate woman at
the bar was such that' the magistrate had no alter-
native but to commit her for trial. He should not
even ask for a remand, but, on the contrary, he
thought it would be the better course that she
should be committed and removed as speedily as
possible from the scene of horror.
The prisoner was then formally ordered to stand
committed to take her trial at the ensuing Summer
Assizes for the county of Surrey.