The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1870-03-20

THE SAv1NI CASE. - There are few
classes of legal cases-which excite more
public interest, or more apt to produce
acrimonious religious controversy, than
those regarding the custody of " Infants"
Generally speaking, these cases arise
when the friends Of the "infants" differ
among themselves in their religious views !;
and III such instances whatever party, Ca
tholic or Protestant, Church or Noncon-
formist, wins the day, it claims the victory
as polemical triumph. And there is no
question but that there have been many
cases in which it was difficult for an i'm
partial judge to decide who were the
parties entitled to direct the religious id-
struction of the infant, whose interests the
court has to defend, or how much weight
must be attributed to thesalleged personal
procivities of the infant. We believe,
however, that in the case of -tSignorina
'Savini, which came before the Court of
Chancery recently, the decision of Vice
Chancellor James must give general
satisfaction. The young lady in question,
whose age is only thirteen, was Roman
Catholic, the daughter of an Italian gentle
Fleming, who appears to have resided in
Italy, and was q convert to the Roman Ca
tholic religion. Lady Catherine died in
1868, at Florence, and by her will made
provision for her adopted daughter, for
whom she appointed Italian guardians, ex-
she should be brought up by the Countess
of DundOnald, the testatrix's sister-in-law.
The result of the matter was that a council
of guardians, technically called a "Pretors'
Court" who by the Italian law had, it ap
peared, the custody of Signorina Savini,
an offer from Lord and Lady Dun
donald to bring up their ward in England,
it being stipulated that her nationality
should be preserved and her religion re-
spected. In pursuance of this arrangement,
Signorina Savini came to England, and was
placed by Lord or Lady DundOnald at a
Protestant lady. We need not go into the
technical way in which the case was brought
before Sir w. James. 1t may suffice to say
that the Court of Chancery was moved, on
behalf of the Italian Pretors' Court, to re-
scind an order which had been made APP
pointing Lord and Lady Dundonald guar
dians of the infant, and praying that she
might either be sent back to Florence, or
placed at Roman Catholic school in Eng
land under the guardianship of Mr.. Hope
Scott and Lady Lothian. 1t seems pretty
clear on these facts, even to the non-legal
parted with the child to Lady Dundonald
on distinct understanding that her re-
ligion was to be respected, that court has Il
right to resume its guardianship if it finds,
as it seems to have found in this instance,
that the condition was so far broken that |
the cnllu was SenG TO I,fOCeSCauC ScnOOl.
The counsel for Lord and Lady Dundonald,
indeed, endeavored to make out that tile
Pretors' Court had abdicated its functions
by delivering over the child; but Sir
William James held, without hesitations
that it had not done so. He therefore ac
coded to the application. Sir William
James, it will be observed, in acting thus,
simply carried out what he conceived to be
the directions of the foreign Court, but he
added that, had he been called upon to ex-
ercise his own judgment, he should have
said that the course taken by Lord Dun
donald was altogether Inconsistent with the
undertaking he had entered into. He de-
clared that it was not respecting the |
religion of child of thirteen years old to
send her to a school of another religion,
and to allow her to attend the services of
different Church from her own. The case
is indeed clear one, but Vice Chancellor
James's very plain spoken decision will
probably form valuable precedent in all
future cases of religious strife about in
fants.-London Daily Ne,cs