The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-16 00:00:00

ENDOWMENTS OF THE CLERGY.

Dr. M'CAui. brought forward a motion, of which
he had given notice, that his Grace the President
should be requested to direct the appointment of a
joint committee of both houses, to consider whether
any, and what, means might be devised to promote
the adequate endowment of the numerous incum-
bents for whom a competent maintenance was not
provided.
The resolution was seconded by the Rev. Mr.
MASSINGBERD and carried.
MARRIAGE WITH A DECEASED WIFE'S SISTER.

The Rev. Canon WORDSWORTH brought for-
ward the following motion :—" That this house
deprecates the changes recently proposed in the
law of marriage as to the degrees of kindred and
affinity, especially that alteration which would
enable a man to marry his deceased wife's sister ;
and that this house dutifully requests their lord-
ships in the Upper House to exert their best
endeavours to avert such changes in this
respect as would bring the statute law of the land
into collision with the law of the Church, to which
the clergy are bound to conform, and this house
earnestly hopes that in case any proposal for sach
alterations should be brought into the House of
Lords, their lordships, the bishops of the Church,
will think fit to give it their strenous opposition in
their place in Parliament." He contended that by
the canon law, the common law, and the statute lA w,
marriage with a deceased wife's sister was inces•
tuous ; and he asked, would not a grave and serious
responsibility rest on those who now sought to in-
fringe the law, and thus would bring down the laws
to their bad practices, instead of bringing bad prac-
tices up to our laws. It was contended by those
who advocated marriage with a deceased wife's
sister that the 18th verse of the 18th chapter of
Leviticus sanctioned it, for it is said that a man
should not take a wife to her sister to vex her be-
side the other in her lifetime. So it was said that
a man might take the wife's sister to be his wife
when she who had been his wife was dead. They
should not, however, take the Jewish interpretation
of the Holy Scriptures and desert the plain letters
of the Christian law. Nothing was more easy than
to take up a particular text and thus override the
Holy Writ. By the same chapter of Leviticus a
man was forbidden to marry the mother or the
daughter of his wife, or of her son, or of her daugh-
ter, because they were part of her flesh who had
been made flesh with him. Also, a man might not
marry the sister of his father, because she was of his
flesh. So, comparing things spiritual, he would
affirm that a man might not marry his wife's sister.
A woman could not marry her deceased husband's
brother. Then, let them look besides at the social
aSpect of the question. Suppose a man had his
wife's sister residing in his house during his wife's
lifetime—suppose that the wife's sister had minis-
tered to and attended on the wife on her deathbed,
what would be her position afterwards if this pro-
posed change should become law ? (Hear.) By this
act of charity, mercy, and relief, such would be
driven from our houses. (Hear.) Then, by the Di-
vorce Act, a divorced wife's sister would be the same
as a deceased wife's sister. Suppose then—because
they must look at this question from all points—
suppose the case of a wife who, from old age or
bodily afflictions, was not able to command the es-
teem of her husband, and suppose that the wife's
sister became the tempter, and that the man should
yield, the wife would be left to sue for a divorce,
and would be left to see her own sister lying by
her husband's side in the wife's own bed. (Hear,
hear.) Then suppose there were children ; would
they not feel that their mother had been dishonoured
and that their father was the cause of their disgrace.
If this could be, then would all charity be sapped,
and there would be no such thing as a happy home
in England. (Applause.) He believed that this
question would depend upon the votes which the
bishops would give, and he trusted this house would
earnestly appeal to them to give every opposition
to that measure which those who broke the law

thought would be an act of charity, but which, in
his opinion, would be an act of cruelty.
The Rev. Mr. MAsSINGBERD seconded the reso-
lution in a few words.
The Rev. Canon BANKER fully concurred in the
enormity of the social evil which would result from
marriageiwith deceased wives' sisters, and on which
Dr. Wordsworth had thrown a new light, but it was
not clear to him that there was a divine prohibition
against such marriages. Ho would vote for the
resolution. _ _

The Rev. Canon WOODGATE did not think that
the house, in dealing with this question, should go
upon wrong grounds. He had always thought
they should not take as a rule the chapter of Levi-
ticus. There were certain states of life which con-
science itself declared to be sin.
The Rev. Sir GEORGE PREVOST contended that,
as the doctrine of the Church of England declared
that as the law of the Jewish Church was moral,
we were bound by it.
Archdeacon RANDALL supported the resolution,
and cited the opinion expressed by Lord John Rus-
sell during the debates in Parliament on this ques-
tion, that if once we overstepped the limit by
marrying a deceased wife's sister, we should not
know where to end. This was altogether a matter
of inference. How could a man be prevented from
marrying his own daughter? That was a matter
of inference, but it could not be shown in the
Bible that he could not do so.
The Rev. Mr. MILDMAY remarked that if these
incestuous marriages were sanctioned by law, the
only deliverance for the clergy who conscientiously
objected to perform them wculd be that marriage
must be made a civil contract.
Dr. M'CAuL addressed the house, referring to a
pamphlet which he had written on this subject,
and admitting that the opinions which he had for-
merly held had undergone a change. It was most
painful to him to differ from many whom he es-
teemed and loved, but he esteemed the law of God
more. (Hear, hear.) If it could be proved by
inference that marriage with a deceased wife s
sister was contrary to the law, of God, he would
give up the question ; but the whole analogy of the
Mosaic law proved that a wife's relation was no
relation. He did not find such marriages prohi-
bited by our Blessed Lord or the Apostles; and if
such warnings were not found to be forbidden by
the law of God, those who condemned them used
hard language towards those who believed that
they were not fio forbidden. (Hear, hear.) If he

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Rear-Admiral of the White Robert Smart, K.H.,
Commander-in-chief of the Channel Fleet, embarked
yesterday on board his flagship, the Princess Royal,
91, screw, Capt. Charles Fellowes, lying at Spit-
head, the Pigmy steam tender conveying the Admi-
ral from the dockyard to the ship's anchorage. At
6.12 p.m. the Princess Royal had got her anchor
and was steaming out for the Nab, on her way to
Plymouth Sound, where she will call for the pur-
pose of being docked in Devonport or Keyharn
yards.
Admiralty orders have been received at Chatham
dockyard for a squadron of five steam frigates and
other vessels of war to be built at that establish-
ment, in addition to the several line-of-battle and
other screw steamers which are now in progress.
The following are the names, number of guns, and
horse-power of the new vessels :—The Boadicea, 51,
600 horse power; the Pactolus, 22, 200 horse power;
the Diligence, 17, 200 horse power ; the Selamis, 4,
250 horse power; and the Albatross. 4, 200 horse
power. The above ships of war will be commenced
immediately the vessels now on the stocks, several
of which are in a very forward state, are completed.
The ships building at Chatham are the Bulwark,
91; the Royal .Oak, 91; the Belvidera, 51 ; the
Rattlesnake, 21; the Menai, 21 ; the Reindeer, 17;
and the Myrmidon, 4.
The Lords of the Admiralty have decided on
naming the large iron mail-clad steamer about to
be commenced at Chatham dockyard the Achilles.
The new vessel will be an improvement on those of
the same description recently built, and her dimen-
sions will be somewhat larger. Her engines will
be nominally of 1,250 horse power, but they
will be capable of being worked up to considerably
over 2,000 horsepower. She will be pierced for 40
guns, all of which will be the long-range Armstrong
guns. •

The Royal paddle yacht Victoria and Albert will
be removed from the steam basin in Portsmouth
dockyard to day, and will complete her refit at
harbour moorings. It is expected that the yacht
will be required about the middle of next month to
proceed to Madeira and bring home the Empress of
Austria.

The Hussar having been completed at Chatham
for a target ship at Shoeburyness was to have been
put out of dock yesterday, but a barge belonging to
the contractors for lengthening the first dock acci-
dentally sank close to the entrance of No. 2 dock,
and prevented the Hussar leaving the dock as was
intended. A number of shipwrights accordingly
recommenced working on her yesterday.
The stranded screw steamship Queen Victoria
was floated off Cremyl beach, Plymouth, on Wed-
nesday evening at high water and proceeded to the
Great Western Docks with her own steam up. She
was aided by the Government tug Confiance and the
merchant tugs Wellington, Queen, and Princess.
A party of riggers and labourers entered on duty
in the Devonport dockyard on Thursday morning,
before the usual hour, and put the Endymion into
No. 4 dock, vacated by the Liberty, 12. The En-
dymion will be overhauled, and if found fit, will be
repaired forthwith.
The screw steam gunboat Nimble, 5, fitting at
Plymouth for a tender to the Nile, on the North
American and West India station, will be out of
the hands of the engineers on the 17th inst.
The screw steam gunvessel Penguin, 5, tender to
the frigate Narcissus, 51, Capt. Risk, flag of Sir
Baldwin Walker, took on board men belonging to
the frigate on Wednesday, and in the afternoon left
Plymouth Sound under canvass for the Cape of
Good Hope.
The crew of the screw steam troopship Himalaya,
Capt. John Seccombe, at Plymouth, are to be paid
off, and she will probably undergo a thorough

repair.
The screw steam frigate Phcsbe, 51, which was
cut asunder and lengthened in the Devonport dock-
yard, having been overhauled, caulked, and sup-
plied with steam engines and machinery, was put
out of No. 2 dock, Keyham steam yard, on Thurs-
day, and placed under the sheers.
The paddlewheel steam storeship Dee, 4, Master
Commander J. C. Pullen, having landed engine
gear for the frigate Liverpool, 51, and Defiance, 91,
at Keyham, was hauled on Thursday to the South
Jetty, where she will complete with coal prior to
proceeding to Glasgow with boilers for the iron-
plated ship Black Prince.
The paddlewheel steam sloop Geyser, 6, Com-
mander J. Jackson, at Plymouth, was removed on
Thursday from her moorings, and towed by the
tugs Zephyr and Confiance to the sheer hulk Kent,
to receive the jury masts, yards, and heavy gear
for bringing the Defiance, 91, from Pembroke to
Devonport.
On Thursday the screw steamship Royal Albert,
121, was put into No. 2 dock at Key ham steam-
yard, vacated by the screw steam frigate Phebe,
51. Report says that the Royal Albert will be
cut down.

The following appointments were made yesterday
at the Admiralty :—Henry Piers, surgeon, to the
Ajaz ; John W. M. Burnett, second master, to the
Colossus, for the Coastguard ; Robert J. Norman
and William E. Grigg, acting third-class assistant-
engineers, to the Indus, as supernumeraries ; Mr.
Murray Gladstone and Mr. Thomas S. Brand, have
been nominated to naval cadetships.