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

LAW AND POLICE.

ALLEGED FENIANISH.— At the Guildhall, Augustus
Byrne has been charged with being in possession of fire-
arms, supposed to be for an unlawful purpose. The
apprehension of the accused occurred in a somewhat sin-
gular manner. The prisoner's wife was on a previous day
charged with stealing calico from her employers,
and on her safe being searched a tin of ammunition was
found. On the husband's apartments being looked over
there was discovered a quantity of firearms and ammuni-
tion, an Irish Times, &c. On being interrogated, the
prisoner said that he was a revolutionist, and had been so
all his life. The case was remanded.
THE ALTRINCHAM MITEDER.—At the Altrincham Police-
court, Patrick Madden, Michael Paddon, John Paddon,
William Carr, Patrick Fowey, and Michael Donlan were
charged with the murder of Mr. Thomas Jenkinson,
brick and tile manufacturer, at Bowdon. The only evi-
dence was that of the police superintendent, who stated
that at midnight on Saturday parties of Irish labourers
were returning home, some of them being the worse for
liquor. When about two miles on the way, they seemed
to have possessed themselves with bricks and torn-down
rails, and commenced to attack everyone they met with.
They came upon Mr. Jenkinson and two boys who were
about to avail themselves of the brilliant moonlight to
gather mushrooms. An attack was made on them, and
Mr. Jenkinson's skull was battered in, and he died almost
instantaneously. As the prisoners had been identified as
belonging to the attacking party, the remand asked for was
granted.

THE FEMALE BARMAN AGAIN.-At the Worship-: treet
Police-court, Mary Walker, the " female barman," was
charged with refusing to fulfil an agreement that she had
entered into with Parrott, the landlord of the Duke's
Head public-house, to serve him in the capacity of bar-
maid for twelve months. It will be remembered
that Miss Walker preferred a complaint against
Mr. Parrott for having assaulted her, and after two days'
hearing the summons was decided against her, and
Miss Walker, who had then left the present complainant's
house and was serving in a house in the Whitechapel-road,
refused to return, and hence the present summons. Owing
to some informality in the summons it was withdrawn.
ATTEMPTING TO THROW A WIFE OUT OF THE WINDOW.
—At Marylebone Police-court James Redman, a house-
keeper, was charged with attempting to throw his wife out of
the window. It seemed that the accused was of a very jealous
disposition, and had not been married more than a week
when he was jealous of a single man lodger that resided
with him. On that occasion, in a fit of passion he struck
his wife, and was bound over to keep the peace ; since then
he has frequently been summoned for similar offences.
From the wife's evidence it appeared that on the previous
evening she went out with a friend, and the house was
visited by the accused during her absence. On her return
Redman assaulted her, broke up the crockery, and con-
cluded with attempting to throw her out of a window that
was partially open at the time. After hearing the evidence
the magistrate decided on 'Sending the case to the Central
Criminal Court.

THE CAB STRIKE.-At Westminster Police•court a cab-
driver applied to the magistrate for a summons against a
cab proprietor under the following circumstances. Appli-
cant said he was engaged to carry two ladies from Cre-
morns to Victoria on Monday, and as he passed the water
side two carts with cab bills on them chased him. In the
narrow he kept them at bay, but when the road got wider
one of the two drove against him and ran him upon the
path, and nearly turned the cab over. The ladies in the
cab screamed, and one fainted. A policeman procured her
some water, and as she recovered he went on to Victoria.
The cab proprietors in the carts used very abusive and
threatening language. Mr. Selfe granted a summons
against one of the offenders, whose name and address were
known,

MB. JEFFERSON DAVIS.—Mr. Jefferson Davis
has arrived at 36, Clarges•street, Piccadilly, from a visit
to the earl of Shrewsbury, at Alton Towers.

It it( reported that a descendant of the doges Fos-
cari has lately been discovered at Venice, in the capicity of
porter in the palace of his ancestors, and that a subscription,
headed by Victor Emmanuel and his family, has been opened
in Italy to ameliorate the condition of this obscure descend-
ant of an illustrious house.

THE NEW INVENTION FOR OBTAINING WATER.—
We are given to understand that George Watson, Esq.,
of the firm of Watson and Baker, Southwark-bridge-road,
and Shadwell, has undertaken to procure water at almost
any depth by his newly " patented " artesian well tube,
and that an experiment is about to be tried before a
number of the most eminent scientific gentlemen con-
nected with her Majesty's Government, on the grounds
attached to Richmond Villa, Upper Plaistow, when
the principal rositionte i tile district will be ac 11410941,4
ticket'.

CANON M'NEILE AND CANON LAW.

The following letter has been addressed to
the Guardian by the Rev. Mr. Skinner :

SIR,—I am afraid that these two propositions
are not convertible ; and that the energetic
Canon of Chester has ventured into a country
where, having lost his way, he only flounders
about hopelessly. It is a pity that " gasconad-
ing talk" is so different from solid learning.
Canon McNeile might else have aspired to
fill the vacant place of Dean Goode in " the
Evangelical party," as well as in the Chapter-
house of Ripon.
I do not wish to interpose between so able
and vigilant a critic as Mr. Haim of Wigan
and the " great and good" Canon ; but all
your readers may not see the Times ; and
you may agree with me in thinking that, if
fairness is of any value in controversy, it is
only right that Dr. McNeile's claim, to alarm
the country with the " canon law," should be
fairly estimated by as many intelligent people
as possible. I ask, leave, therefore, to point
to the exact position in which the Canon's
final answer to Mr. Haim leaves that claim.

We are threatened in England (according to
Dr. McNeile, writing, for an electioneering
purpose, to the Times), with that " terrible
decree" known as "de coercendis licereticis,"
" contained" in the Decretum Gratiani; be-
cause we are threatened with " the canon law"
in England ; for whatever is in the Decretum
Gratiani is canon law !
Mr. Haim suggests. that Dr. McNeile can-
not know the Gratiani Decretum ; for there is
no such " decree" as " de coercendis Hoereticis"
under the reference Pars ii., Causa xxiii.,
Questio vi.; and he asks " the secret"—whence
does the Canon of Chester get this alarming
information ?

Dr. McNeile accepts a " compliment to his
honesty and fearlessness," and " will not keep
the secret." " The passage is in the genuine
text." It is true that " Questio vi." was a
misreference. But "it is in Gratiani's summing
up of Questio v., very near the end of it." The
words are these—" Si ergo viri sancti et
publicce potestates bella gerentes non fuerent
transgressores illius mandati, non occides,
quamvis quosque flagitiosos digna morte per-
tinerent ; si miles sum potestati obediens non
est reus, homicidas et venenarios punire non
est effusio sangainis sed legum ministerium;
si pax Ecclesim mcestitiam consolatur perdi-
toram ; si illi qui zelo Catholicte matris accenis,
excommunicator interficiunt homicithe non
judicantur ; patet quod malos non solum fiagel-
lari sed etiam interfici licet." " This," says
the Doctor, "is literatim from the genuine
text, and contains every one (sic) word of the
terrible decree,' the horrible passage,' which
I said might be found in the writings of
Gratian."

Finally, in the exuberance of learning in
canon law, he " adds farther—what is of more
consequence"—" a letter of Pope Urban I. to
Bishop Godfrey" (sic) "instructing the Bishop
how to deal leniently with such as kill excom-
municated persons." And he leaves Mr. Haim
and the subject with an air of having " done
it."

There are two things very apparent which
I desire to state publicly, with all due defer-
ence to Canon McNeile. First, that he seems
to be entirely ignorant of the place of the De-
cretum Gratiani in the canon law. Secondly,
that he misrepresents wholly the character of
the passage in the Decretum to which he appeals.
And I add that it is hardly possible to exagge-
rate the loss to the truth which such controver-
sialists, through such ignorance and misrepre-
sentation, are certain to bring, sooner or later.

1. The Decretura Gratiani is not " the canon
law," though Dr. McNeile seems to think it is.
Gratiani (considering his age) could hardly,
help himself; but, with all his wonderful dili-
gence, he committed the gravest errors. He
took his documents not from original sources,
but from the lying collections of Burchard and
Ivo, and others who, in their turn, drew from
the untrustworthy fountain of Isidore Merca-
tore. He quotes the false decretals just as if
they were true ; he confounds the canons of the
Quinisext Synod with those of the Sixth
General Council ; he confuses the opinions
of individual fathers with the decrees of Popes
—one Council with another—and one Pope
with another ; blunders over the names of
places and writers; and exhibite supreme igno-
ranee of antiquity and of Greek.

The rule of the canonists concerning the De-
cretum is (1). that it has no authority in itself
—nullum per se habet publicam auctoritatem;
and (2), that the documents contained in it
rest on their own merit—" que in eo reperi.
untur tantum valent quantum valerent, si ea
non collegisset Gratianus, ita ut nulla ipsis
ex collectione ipsa supervenerit publica aucto-
ritas. I quote from one of the highest autho-
rities, a treatise On the Principles of Canon,
Law, published by command of the present
Pope, by D. Bouix, 1853.
If Dr. McNeile had known this, he would
hardly have committed himself to the De-
cretum Gratiani, with that triumphant security
which he exhibits of having found therein a
" terrible decree" of the Canon Law, which
he hurls at the heads of Mr. Gladstone and
those who support him.
2: But where is this terrible decree ? The
Gratiani Decretum contains no such decree.
There is no such title it the book as "de
coercendis Hcereticis. Mr. Haim said hE could
not find it, neither can I. The editors of St.
Augustine's Epistles classify some of his letters
under this head, and Gratian refers to letter
50 under it. But Dr. McNeile evades the ques-
tion, " Where did you find this title ?" Of
course, Mr. Hains knows where to find Gra.
tian's " summing up" of the argument de
homicidis better than Dr. McNeile. What he
wanted to know was, where is the " decree"
de coercendis Hcereticis ? And Dr. McNeile
cannot tell.

He quotes the summary of Gratian, and
says that it " contains every word of a decree."
The summary contains no decree, and it has no
sort of authority. He professes to quote "every
one word," and leaves out the passage which
explains the whole ! But as to the decree
"de coercendis Hcereticis," he has not a syl-
lable to say. Can misrepresentation go fur-
ther ?

The simple facts are these :
Gratian quotes a supposed letter from Pope
Urban IL to Godefred. Bishop of Lucca (whom
Dr. McNeile calls " Bishop Godfrey"), which
he heads with this title—•` Non cunt homicide,
qui adversus excommunicatos zelo matris Ecele-
sice armantur." The Bishop wanted to know
how he was to punish those who killed certain
(quosdam) excommunicate persons ; and the
Pope gave him for answer that, in a righteous
cause (as the glos has it), the crime was not
murder; but that, nevertheless, mortal sin might
enter into it, and therefore that a suitable pen-
ance must be enjoined.
Gratian gives the letter verbatim from Ivo,
using the " Decretum" and the `• Pannornuo
Ivonis." Dr. McNeile blows his trumpet over
this discovery, as if he had now fastened the
" terrible decree" upon the rightful author.
I will not discuss the genuineness of the letter.
I will only say it is at best but a letter of Urban
11., and, as such, it has no canonical authority.
It would not rank beyond a " rescript," of
which the canonists say that it is not a " de-
cree of law." " Inter decreta Pontificia jus
facientia reponi 120 M debent litterre illa clue
rescripta dicuntur, et gum pro privata aliqua
persona ant negotio aliquo transitorio decer-
nunt."—Bouix pars. ii., sec. 2, cap. 8). If
the Canon cm Chester had known this, he would
hardly have imposed his flourish upon Mr.
Hams, or any more learned body of hearers
than the Lancashire working men.
But Gratian refers the whole subject-matter
to the decisions of St. Augustine and St. Am-
brose. He sends those who consult him to St.
Augustine's letters to Boniface and Marcelli-
nus ; and to St. Ambrose's Book u. de Cain et
Abel.

Of this Dr. McNeile says nothing. Either
he did not know it, or he concealed it.

Grafi= concludes his summary of the subjec