The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1869-05-06
WHOLE NO. il4s.

eTA case of great interest il now
| pending in the English Court of Queens
Bench. ltisthat of an Irish nun. who,
having been dismissed from her con-
vent on account ofalleged disobedience
of rules and grave faults of character,
has entered herself a plaintiff in a suit
agsinst the mother superior Of said cons
vent for maltreatment and conspiracy.
The daily papers devote considerable
space Of each issue to the proceedings,
which drag along at a slow rate, owing
to the complicated nature of the char9.
es and counter charges, and the appar-
ent difficulty Of forcing the truth, and
nothing but the truth, and especially
the whole truth, from the witnesses for
the defense.
1t is useless as yet to attempt to an
ticipate the verdict-which, whatever
it may be, will be given in great meas
ure upon purely legal questions, and
will be received with different degrees
ofapprOval or disapproval, according to-
preconceiyed opinions and prejudices;
it is also unnecessary to 60 into the de-
tails Of the trial, many of which have
been well characterized by the lord
ehiefjustice as "mean and contempt
ible''; but there are several conclusions
to be drawn from contemplation Of
the circumstances which may prove to
be not uninteresting nor useful to-
Thoughtful readers.
For one thing, it is well to have had
the veil Of mystery and romance With
drawn from convent life, and all its un-
natural restrictions and bellttling ten.
eencieS fully exposed. Young persons,
especially those who are not too much
dazzled by the pleasures of society, are
apt to become dissatisfied with the rou-
tine Of this work day world, and to
dream fondly of tine sacred repose, the
exalted occupations of the cloister.
Thanks to the practicalities of legal
cross-amination, we now have the sys-
TEN of the cloister rendered into plain
English. Fer the long course of hard
ships and indignities which are consid-
cred by the plaintiff in the light of cruel
persecution and malicious conspiracy
are sworn to by the defendants as in
part the ordinary experience of the
community, and in part an allowable
and in this case necessary discipline.
1t would, indeed, seem that the rules,
to which each member subscribes on
entering the convent, might be made
to coyer any degree of injustice and se-
verify; and the practical result Of irre~
sponsible power in the governing par
ty, and impossibility of defense on the
part Ofthe goverend, has been in this
case exactly what might have been ex-
pected. Nor is it speaking too strong
ly to say that in these secluded socie.
ties the power employed for their gov
ernment is irresponsible, and that the
victims of authorized oppression have
no means of defense. For the appeals
made by the plaintiff to her bishop were
treated with Indifference, or counteract.
ed by the representations of the super
ior; and when through the intervention
of influential relatives, her affairs had
created so much disturbance that COM
mission was considered necessary, no
witnesses were called, and the testimony
of persons hostile to the plaintiff was
received in writing, only part of
which was read in her hearing, while
her own complaints were not allowed
atteranoe. As might have been fore
seen, the commission decided against
her; and then followed an order for
her dismission from the convent, includ-
ing the remission of her VOWS as nun.
1t was only after this last punishment
had been deereed-the greatest that
can be visited on "religious"-that
the issue was accepted by the plaintiff,
and an appeal made to common law.