The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-10 00:00:00

THE LAW OF MARRIAGE.

It has often been a subject of wonder not un-
mingled with regret to those who are the best,
because the most thoughtful friends of our consti-
tutional polity, that the condition of our Royal
Marriage Law should have been so long suffered
to remain where it was left by the unwise and un-
patriotic Parliament of 1772. In a fit of chagrin
at the marriage of his brother, the Duke of Cum-
berland, with the daughter of Lord Irnham,
and of the Duke of Gloucester with Lady Walde-
grave, George 111. insisted upon the introduction of
the well-known Marriage Bill, and succeeded,
though not without considerable difficulty, in hav-
ing it carried through both the houses of the Legis-
lature. By its provisions any marriage, however
solemnised, is declared to be ipso facto void which
shall be contracted by any descendant of King
George 11. without the consent of the Crown previ-
ously signified under the Great Seal ; save in the
case of a descendant who, being above the age of
twenty-five, shall give twelve months' notice to the
Privy Council, and shall not have been forbidden
during that time to enter into such contract by the
joint address of both Houses to the Throne. An act
was indeed passed during the present reign to pre-
vent the premature marriage of a King or Queen
during the period of minority; but this was so uni-
versally acknowledged at the time to be a wise and
useful enactment, and is still regarded by all who
have ever thought about the matteras so manifestly
politic and just, that it may be omitted altogether
from any inquiry into the reasonableness of main-
taining the existing Law of Marriage as it affects
other members of the Royal Family. Two ques-
tions are involved in the prohibitory statute of 1772
—the one a question of moral equity, the other of
political prudence. They are essentially distinct,
and ought to be considered separately. Is it just to
a junior member of the Royal House to fetter arbi-
trarily his or her conjugal choice in a manner to
which the legal condition of other persons in the
community affords no sort of analogy ? And if just,
is it for the advantage of the Crown or of the realm
that such peculiar disability should subsist ? These
are questions which we should have hesitated to
discuss a few weeks ago, when the possibility of a
personal application of general remarks would have
embarrassed the liberty of the journalist. The
announcement of the engagement of the Princess
Alice and Prince Louis of Hesse, and the public
congratulations which have been tendered them on
the event, by obviating misconception of the ten-
dency of our remarks, restore our freedom.
The position of the younger sons of a constitu-
tional sovereign is no doubt in many respects
anomalous. As members of the House of Peers
they are called upon to exercise political duties
without the same presumption of independence, as
regards the monarch and the people, which is
required by the theory of a hereditary senate. They
are naturally supposed to have interests and feel-
ings not altogether unbiassed in favour of the
Crown ; and nobody expects it should be otherwise.
The instances in which Princes of the Blood have
signalised themselves in taking a prominent part in
parliamentary opposition are not for the most part
of au edifying character,though there are memorials
of manly and consistent conduct like that pursued
by the father of the present Queen when Duke of
Kent, and by the late Duke of Sussex, which the
popular mind still loves to look back upon with
affectionate regard. It cannot, however, be denied,
t tat the exigencies of their political and social
positio!i render it peculiarly desirable that the
younger branches of the Royal Family should have
the solace, the sympathy, and the support of those
social connexions which may fitly tend to nationalise
and liberalise their thoughts and feelings. Ming-
as they are certain to do, with the members
of tne ancient and opulent aristocracy, they are
likely to form attachments of love or friendship as
other men do ; and about the best that could be
wished for them would be that such preferences
when disinterestedly formed should be hallowed by
the pure and ennobling sanctions that are invoked
by all other orders in a Christian State. Why
should their affections be statutably frozen, or
their inherent rights of choice and of com-
panionship for life be subjected to the will of
others ? Was it justifiable as a question of
morals to endeavour to prevent the late Duke of
Sussex from living happily with Lady Augusta
Murray as his tiue and lawful wife; or, failing
that, was it morally right for a series of years
solemnly to deny the marriage, and impute to a
faithful and affectionate wife—for wife in the
sight of God she undoubtedly was, as much as
any duchess in the land—the reproach of living in
concubinage ? It is vain to pretend that the sic volo
sic jubeo of Crown or Parliament can make wrong
to be right or change right into wrong. Public
opinion, it may confidently he said, never ratified
the Royal Marriage Act of George 111. It was
attributed to narrow-minded prejudice and pride
on the part of that pot very sagacious monarch,
and to party meanness on the part of his Ministers
and their majority in Parliament. The best man
in the realm protested against the measure at the
time; and the national feeling sought vent in a
long-continued rain of ridicule, pasquinade, and
caricature.

But is there no solid, or subtle motive of policy
in the restriction to compensate for its immoral
tendency ? There may be considerations, into which
we need not enter here, why an heir apparent or
an heir presumptive should be statutably bound not
to marry without the consent of his responsible
advisers of the Privy Council, or perhaps, of Par-
liament. We should be sorry to see the door opened
to intrigues and cabals, such as those by which, in
Tudor times, Northumberland endeavoured to clutch
the crown for his son, or those by which, in the
days of the subsequent dynasty, the daughter of
Clarendon was secretly wedded to the next heir to
the throne. But with regard to the junior branches
of the Royal Family, public opinion, we are per-
suaded, would heartily approve of material relaxa-
tions of the present law, if not of its abolition.
The nation recognises no advantage to itself in the
perpetuation of a system whereby all the Princes
and Princesses of the Blood are compelled to mate
with the members of foreign reigning houses. A
very strong impression exists, on the contrary, that
as the titled aristocracy instinctively seeks to recruit
its strength by intermarriage with eminent indivi-
duals of the Commons, and adds in no small degree
to its stability by so doing, so it were well if the
less prominent branches of Royalty were permitted
to unite with the sons and daughters of the princely
houses by which on all sides they are surrounded.
During the greater portion of the national history
they were so permitted. The restriction has
nothing of antiquity about it which could give it
in the eyes of any a claim to veneration ; and we
are certainly not aware of any particular good
that has ever been even pretended as the fruit of
our experience during the last ninety years. It
was notoriously set at nought by more than one of
the persons whose conduct it was intended to
regulate during the reign of the Sovereign who was
its author. In the childless reigns of the two suc-
ceeding monarchs the case did not arise ; and it is
only of late that during the present reign contin-
gencies of future royal marriages have been recalled
practically to our recollection.—Daily yews.

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THE FREN,CII FLEET AT GAETA,

Crowned heads are allowed more than the usual
tights of repentar ice. The patience of the world is
remarkable when the errors of a sovereign are to
be judged. The subjects of his brother potentates
are scarcely less complaisant than his own. For
many weeks every' nation in Europe, and none more
than the French, has been speculating on the ob-
ject of the French i../niperor's policy at Gaeta, while
in Italy itself the evils which this perverse con-
duct inflicts on tha country- have caused a feeling of
very strrong resentment. Yet so exalted is Monar-
chy, and so forgiving are we who look up to it,
that the Emperor Napoleon, by yielding at the last
moment, and permitting whit he ought never to
have prevented, may not only reinstate himself in
our good opinions, but cause us to be called upon
by his followers for p mans of admiration. As prac-
tical men we shall not refuse any complimentary
language which is agree able to the Imperial party
and not inconsistent with truth. We may there-
fore say that his Majesty will show his wisdom,
and deserve the approbation of the world, if he ful-
fils the promise -which has been held out by the
Ministerial press, and withdraws his fleet from Gaeta
after giving 15 days' notice to the Bourbon King.
We may also say that this is the course which we
have always anticipated he would take as soon as
the arguments used by the friends of Italian liberty
had been weighed by his unerring judgment. Let
us, then, forget the weary weeks of this unneces.
sary siege, the men and money which it has cost,
the reactionary tumults to which it has given rise.
the disquiet which it has inflicted on Italy; Austria,
Germany, England, and France itself, by prolong-
ing the term of suspense, and causing men to fear
that another war must precede the settlement of
Italy.
Let us forget these things, that is, if the policy
of thelEmperor becomes once more intelligible and
loyal. He is bound by obligations as sacred to a
high-minded ruler as any treaty to abstain from in-
terference in the affairs of Italy, except so far as
relates to Rome and the country surrounding it.
On the faith of a friendly understanding, and,
indeed, of actual promises, the British Government
has treated the Tuileries with excessive confidence,
and entered into a commercial treaty which must
seriously embarrass our finances, if distrust and
stagnation of trade should be the rule within the
next year or two. We cannot but think that the
Emperor will appreciate the good will which the
English people have displayed, and will show this
appreciation by allowing Southern Europe to have
rest. But even at the present moment, though it
is pretty certain that the Emperor is about to with-
draw his fleet, no one can tell what terms he intends
to impose on Piedmont. Some speak of a notice to
Francis 11. to leave his stronghold on pain of being
left to his fate, which would then assuredly be to
become the prisoner of either the hostile General or
Admiral. But it is said that there is another course
more attractive to the Emperor's imagination,
a!though we cannot see its advantage to any one.
This is to impose on Victor Emmanuel a truce for
a long period, three months or more, and then to
call a Congress at which the affairs of Italy should
be debated. The love of the Emperor for Con-
gresses would seem to be a passion as incurable as
it is unintelligible. Why a Prince who, in his
own dominions, and even 112 his own Cabinet, is
unwilling to allow any one to have a voice but him-
self should delight in drawing together obstinate
Plenipotentiaries from all parts of Europe is a
thing we give up all hope of understtoiding. Act-
ing alone, he is, from his superior military strength,
the arbiter of Italy. Acting in conjunc:ion with
England, he has the power of helping a rei2owned
and gifted race to establish its freedom, and of
giving France a powerful ally, while he insures
for his own name a high place in the annals of
this century. Indeed, Napoleon 111. has achieved
a position which, if he uses it well, may cause
some future Plutarch to compare him not disad-
vantageously with his uncle. To make France
great by developing instead of overthrowing or
suppressing the nationalities which lie about it,
to carry French ideas to the ends of Europe, and to
spread the fame of the French arms without using
them to devastate the world, is in the power of
this fortunate ruler, and yet he would abandon all
these privileges in order that one of his favourites
may sit at the top of a green table with two rows
of star-spangled diplomatists at the sides.
Without pretending to penetrate the secrets of
Courts, much less the hearts of Sovereigns, one
may form a fair notion of the influences which have
acted on the French Emperor during the last few
months. He is by the nature of his position placed
between legitimacy and liberty, and is drawn
towards one by the very fact of his believing that
he has conciliated the other. He has done so much

during the last two years for the Italian cause and
for the English alliance, that be thinks his brethren
who are opposed to thests herpsia. have some claim
to his consideration. How anxious all of these are
to withdraw him from his liberal courses, and to
make him one of themselves, is shown by the way
in which they have applauded the useless and im-
potent interference at Gaeta. Russia, Prussia, and
even Austria hare exulted over the return of the
sheep who had gone astray. The Pope on New
Year's-day congfatulated General Goyon on the
support which his master was giving to a just and
holy cause. The Legitimists are certainly thankful
for small mercies, but still the rate at which they
value the Emperor's courtesies is an inducement to
him to keep them in good-humour. Add to this
that he has the French clergy to conciliate, who
are not the less discontented because they are more
quiet than a year ago, and it will be understood
why, after having delivered Lombardy himself,
and suffered Garibaldi to deliver Naples, he should
desire to display himself in a conservg.tive atti-
tude. To do the Emperor justice, we believe he
looks upon the English and the Italians as his
natural allies, and is resolved eventually to satisfy
them, but he would have it appear that he is
forced by circumstances to submit to the vic-
tories of liberty ; he would act towards those
whose cause he favours as he acted towards Sar-
dinia four mouths ago, when he protested at her
invasion of the Papal States, withdrew his
Minister, and then let her alone. By the Congress
after which he labours he probably desires to
give a proof to his brother Potentates of how mode-
rate are his own counsels, and how completely they
are frustrated by the revolutionary impulses of the
Italians.
In this state of things the path of English policy
is clear. We desire nothing more, and shall accept
nothing less, than the oftel2-repeated doctrine of
non-interference. A Power like England owes it
to its own dignity to maintain the Principle which
it has once adopted, and which has- peen acquisced
in by France. Happily, we have in ti.`is case the
sympathies of every party in France, ezcept the
Ultramontanists. The Imperialist journals are as
much puzzled and irritated by the vagaries at Oaeta
as is the ,Siecle or any other Liberal paper. Their
manner of speaking of the Emperor's acts is more
expressive than if they used their newly acquired
privilege of hostile discussion. They are sure the
Emperor will act loyally to his unfortunate friend
Francis 11. They are sure that he will not leave
him and his family to fall into the hands of the
Piedmontese. Now that the King of Naples has
done all that honour requires, it is for him to con-
sider whether he should not retire ; and he may
count on receiving in France the welcome due to
his courage under misfortune. At any rate, the
French fleet ought not to leave, and will not leave,
without warning him that the protection which it
has hitherto given to his person and family is to be
withdrawn. All this means clearly that the French
people, even those most attached to the present
dynasty, do not wish it to be thought that their
country is fighting against the liberties of a
struggling nation. On the Italian question, at
least, the alliance between the English and French
nations is complete.— Tunes.

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THE ADUL7E.RATION OF FOOD ACT.

Dr. Letheby, the medical officer of the City, in
his quarterly report, says :

" In the matter of the Adulteration of Food Act, I have
had but four applications for analysis. These are one for
milk, two for bread, and one for mustard. The milk was
delivered in the ordinary way to a householder in Martin's-
lane, Cannon street, and it was adulterated with water.
One of the samples of bread was adulterated with rice and
alum, and contained about 44 per cent. of water. Tho other
sample was genuine bread, of good wheaten flour. The
sample of mustard consisted of mustard meal, wheaten
flour, and tumeric ; but considering that the proportion of
wheaten flour was not excessively large, and that it is
common and necessary practice to dilute the meal of mus-
tard in order that it may be used as an agreeable condiment,
I do not think that the mixture was an adulteration, and
therefore I certified that it did not contain anything injuri-
ous to health. lam very anxious that the practical work-
ing of this act should be of advantage to the public, and
should be brought fully and fairly into operation within
the City. This, however, must be effected by the energy
of the citizens themselves; for however desirable it may be
to expose the frauds and dangers of adulteration, the act
has not contemplated that the exposure should be brought
about by the offices of the common infotlier. In every
case therefore the public must initiate the inquiry by a fair
and open purchase of the articles suspected to be adulte-
rated. Of the many classes of adulteration that deserve
attention, there aro none so serious in their consequences as
those which affect the stamina and 'health of the people.
The adulteration of bread, for example, with materials that
lessen its nutritive value, is not merely a fraud on the
pocket, but also a fraud on the constitution of the con-
sumer; for that which diminishes the flesh-forming con-
stituents of so important an article of diet must necessarily
be a means of impairing the growth of the animal fabric,
and of weakening the force of labour. In some cases of adul-
teration the practice of it has a far more extensive relation
to the affairs of the community than at first sight appears.
To take the sophistication of beer and porter as an instance,
it is well known that the publicans, almost without excep-
tion, reduce their liquors with water after they are received
from the brewer. The proportion in which this is added
to the beer at the better class of houses is nine gallons per
puncheon, and in second-•rate establishments the quantity
of water is doubled. This must be compensated for by the
addition of ingredients which give the appearance of
strength, and a mixture is openly sold for this purpose. The
composition of it varies in different cases ; for each expert
has his own particular nostrum. The chief ingredients,
however, are a saccharine body, as foots and liquorice to
sweeten it ; a bitter principle, as gentian, quassia, sumach,
and terra japonica, to give stringency; a thickening mate-
rial, as linseed, to give body; a colouring matter, as burnt
sugar, to darken it; coculus indicus, to give a false strength;
and common salt, capsicum, copperas, and Dantzio spruce
to produce a head, as well as to impart certain refinements
of flavour. In the case of ale its apparent strength is re-
stored with bitters and sugar-candy. Now, apart from the
question of how much injury is done to the health of the
consumer by this practice, or how large is the fraud on the
pocket of the purchaser, it a matter of interest to know
what is the effect of it on the revenue. There are, I believe,
about 6,200 publicans and beer retailers in this metropolis.
Supposing that each, on an average, has a sale for only silt
barrels of beer and porter per week, and that the degree of
dilution is but to the extent of five gallons of water per
barrel, in the aggregate there would have been used 186,000
gallons of water per week. This, if properly and honestly
brewed into beer, would have required about 1,722 quarters
of malt ; and as each quarter of malt pays a duty of 225. 6d.
to the revenue, there is a fraud of rather more than £1,931
sterling per week, or nearly £lOO,BOO per annum. In like
manner almost every such fraudulent practice of trade has
a wider relationship to the public interests than the mere
act itself would imply. I will not, however, pursue this
further at present ; and in leaving it, I venture to express
a hope that, as the public interests are so largely concerned
in the general application of this act of Parliament, its
execution will be faithful and vigorous."

COUNTRY MARKETS.

SHEFFIELD-JAN. 8.

At the market to-day there was a good attendance' and
an active business was done in wheat, which was at fully
late rates for the better qualities. Flour advanced kl per
stone. In oats, beans, barley, and other articles there
was no change. The following are the quotations :
Red wheat, per load of 3 imperial bushels...24s Od to 28s Od
White f) ), Od to 28s 04
New red , 71 ...20s Od to 258 Od
New white ~ ...24e Od to 26s 6d
Beans ...20s Od to 228 Od

............ 77 77
Peas, per qr -.
- 84; Od i,; 55; Od
Grinding barley, per qr
Malting ditto, ~ ..
Oats 7, 2ss 6d to 34s Od
Millers' prices for flour-2s sd, 2s 7d, and 2s 9d par
141 b.