The Sun.
London, England, 1868-09-17 00:00:00

THE RE!ISTRATION COURTS.

WO= CLAIMANTS.—The question whether women
should he put on the register has been tried, among other
places, in North Essex. The revising barrister said the
words in the Act were, " every man," and he should
require strong evidence that. Mrs. was a man.
He should not be satisfied with less than ocular demon-
stration. (Laughter.) It was expressly provided that women
should not vote, and it was a waste of time to argue the
question. The ladies must come out. They would next, per-
haps, be claiming to serve on juries, or to be drawn for the
militia. The overseer of the parish said that one of the
ladies told him she should vote for Church and State.
The revising barrister said he did not care about that. If
the lady could vote she would probably be killed going to
the poll. (Laughter.) A Voice : Oh, no ; the ladies
would be sure to be protected. (Renewed laughter.) The
revising barrister then proceeded to strike out the
names of all the females on the Braintree list, remarking
that it was a very painful duty to massacre the innocents
in this way, but it must nevertheless be performed. He
should, with all respect, have struck out her Majesty had
she been on the list.
LODGER CLAIMS.—In Lambeth, on Wednesday, a number
of women were present, and wve admitted to prove that the
lodgings their husbands occupied were worth £lO a year.
Indeed, in some cases the revising barrister courteously
extended the privilege of giving evidence of value to
women who appeared for their neighbours. In
one such case a woman fr.= Cedar-place, Vauxhall, first
of all having proved that the lodgings her husband occu-
pied were of the required value, proceeded to state that she
could prove that those occupied by half a dozen claimants
were all right.—The Revising Barrister : Why, you
are attorney-general for the whole neighbourhood.
(Laughter.) I hope you get your expenses paid. The
woman shook her head, amidst renewed laughter. The
revising barrister, however, admitted the claims, and
asked her whether she bad got all her friends on. Having
curtseyed an affirmative, she left the court.

SIR STAFFORD NORTHCOTE AT
BIDEFORD.

A very noisy meeting took place at Bideford on Tuesday
afternoon. Addresses were delivered at an open-air
meeting by Sir Stafford Northcote and Mr. Walroncl, the
Conservative candidates for North Devon. They were
frequently interrupted, and could with difficulty obtain a
hearing. The audience numbered about 2,000, and the
Liberal element was strongly represented. At the close of
the speeches, which were a recapitulation of the sentiments
previously expressed, Sir Stafford Northcote was asked a
number of questions. The right hon. gentleman said :—I
consider the introduction of Romanising practices into the
Church of England as one of the greatest evils of the day, and
if I can see my way to any remedy for it that does not intro-
duce worse evils I will certainly support the remedy. But
I cannot pledge myself upon any measure of that kind
until I have seen it. 2. The Maynooth Grant must de-
pend upon the course that Parliament takes with regard to
the disendowment of the Irish Church—(hear, hear). My
opinion is that the principles of the present settlement are
right, but if the property of the Protestant Irish Church is
to be taken away, I take it for granted that the endow-
ment of Maynooth must also be taken away. 3. No
proposition ever was made in the House of Commons
for the endowment of any Roman Catholic University.
(A Voice : " Lord Mayo.") No, Lord Mayo never made
any such proposal in the House of Commons as to endow
any Roman Catholic university at all. What he did say was,
that a communication was going on between the Govern-
ment and the authorised representatives of the Roman
Catholic Church in Ireland which might have led to a
proposal to grant a charter for a Roman Catholic 'Univer-
sity in Ireland. My belief is that if a proposal had been
made to the prelates in Ireland and the Roman Catholic
Church by the Government with regard to the matter,
and it had been accepted, we should have been prepared
to have brought forward such a proposition befere the
House of Commons, and should have been prepared
to justify it; because as Roman Catholics pay their share
of the taxes, it is quite right that they should have their
share of the benefit. It was not proposed to endow a
university, but it was proposed—there being a Roman
Catholic university in Ireland which is maintained prin-
cipally by Roman Catholic funds—it was proposed to
give such university the power of granting degrees and
completing the education of Roman Catholics in that
country, provided they would have consented to let the
education be of a lay character, and not of a simple
priestly character. Because it was felt by us that the
great evil which is to be found in the Roman Catholic
Church is not so much as to the doctrines—which really
must not be taken into consideration —but with regard
to the influence of the university over the lay por-
tion of the population ; and what he desired to see
established was, a Roman Catholic University in which
the young men of Ireland could be educated on the
same principles with reference to their own Church
as young men in England are educated upon at
the universities. There might have been a small grant
made to such a university if it had been established. It
would have come out of the general taxation of the country,
of which the Roman Catholics pay a part. Whether it
would have been laid upon tea or sugar I am unable to say.
4. I amnot prepared to vote for the ballot. With regard to
bribery, a bill thereon was passed during the present session
of Parliament, and my name appears on the back of the
bill. It was a very imperfect bill. 5. lam quite prepared to
support some sort of a measure giving the ratepayers a
voice in the disposition of the rates ; but I am not pre-
pared to say what would be the nature of the measure.—
Mr. Pynsent : On the last question hinge all the previous
ones. (" Oh, oh !") Are the electors of North Devon to
understand that any pledges or promises made by you this
day are to be regarded as null and void, provided your
master and teacher educate you to abandon them ?
(Much laughter.) Sir Stafford: I have been perfectly
ready to answer all questions put to me by my friend Mr.
Pynsent, without asking whether he was or was not a
voter, because I believe those questions were put in a
bond fide spirit.—Mr. Pysent : I wish to know whether it
is intended that these promises shouldbefulfilled, or, on the
contrary, treated as those which you made at Southmolton.
(Laughter, and a voice : " You don't pay poor rates.")—
Sir Stafford : I decline to answer that question, simply
because I believe that it is intended as an insult. (Hear,
hear.) Sir Stafford was also asked whether he would vote
for the abolition of the university tests, thereby conferring
tardy justice on the great body of Protestant Dissenters.
The right hon. gentleman answered : I should not see any
objection to the admission of Dissenters to education at
the universities, or to the enjoyment of any endowments
that might be made for themselves; but I should object
to the abolition of tests for the admission of any persons to
endowments that were intended for another communion.
The proceedings shortly afterwards ended with a vote of
thanks to the chairman.

THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF THE HUN-
GARIAN COLONEL BENIEZKI.—A letter in the Vienna Presse,
dated Pesth, Sept. 9, says :—" This morning an official
telegram has been addressed to the Consulate of Pesth,
stating that the body of Beniezki was found yesterday in
the forest of Assad. By the side of the body was found a
note, stating that Beniezki had been kept a prisoner long
enough, and that it was only on the 7th of September he
bad been killed. The note was s'gned, ' The League.'"
The condition in which the body was found corresponds
with the alleged date of the murder.
A VISITOR AT MARGATE DROWNED WHILE
BATHING.— A visitor at Margate, named William Dalby,
was seized with the cramp while bathing from a machine
near the Newgate coastguard station, and drowned. The
deceased was a single man, about 25 years of age, a gilder
Icy- trade, and papers found in his pocket bore the address,
" William the Fourth," Langley. He was bathing with
a friend, and being an expert swimmer went out a con-
siderable distance beyond his depth. Ho was suddenly
seen to sink by persons on the cliff, and the alarm was
immediately raised. He came to the surface a second
time, but was not seen again. His friend rushed about the
water in a frantic manner, and several boats put off to the
assistance of the -young man, including the coastguard
boat, but not knowing the exact locality where
deceased disappeared, and the people on the dill
pointing out different places where to search for him, they
were of no use. A coastguard man named Patience dived
several times after the deceased, but without success. The
drag was then brought into requisition, and after half an
hour's searching the body of the deceased was recovered,
Life was then extinct.

ENI.NG rllusliuMs, &C. ON SUNDAYS. 011
Wednesday evening a public meeting, convened by the
Working Men's Lord's Day Rest Association, was held in
the National School-room, Peckham, under the presidency
of the Tev. J. Hayeroft. The following resolution wag
moved by the Rev. G. M. Murphy, and carried :
" That this meeting would suggest to electors the impor
tance of returning to Parliament representatives who would
exert their influence to secure SUnday as a day of rest to
the working classes, and who would oppose the increase
of unnecessary Sunday labour by voting against any pro,
posal to open the national museums, &c., on Sundays.'
Mr. C. Hill, in seconding the resolution, said that the
Sunday opening party had strong hopes of increasing
their parliamentary influence at the general election, ane
had threatened to renew their agitation for opening
museums, &c., on Sundays " in the first session of OH
reformed Parliament." The best way to meet that agita
tion would be to oppose the election of those candidatei
who would not pledge themselves to vote against opening
Intisening. !M.