Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1882-03-15

Our European Letter.
LONDON, Eng, Feb. %, 1882.


If there is one thing of which the people
of England have cause to be proud, it is
the federation which for years has distin-
guished them in all matters religious.
Here as in your own country every man
is at liberty to worship the God Of his fa-
Tiers in whatsoever manner he chooses,
or to refrain from all worship entirely if
he so desires. The recent refusal to allow
Mr.. Bradlaugh to take the oath in the
House of Commons seems to all thinking
men to be great downfall in the matter
of liberation and going back to the old
test act of two centuries ago. l am not an
admirer of Mr.. Bradlaugh, either as
politician or as the exponent Of agnosti-
cism; but l cannot help admiring that
freedom of representation, for which many
noble people have suffered and bled, at
which the present test is leveled. i I'M
ag inc, too, that man who, like Mr.. Brad
laugh, hasno religious opinions whatever,
is much less likely to overturn existing
beliefs than man who holds some 80
called hetero dox creed. 1t is not at Mr..
Bradlaugh that the blow is aimed it is at
his constituents and at parliamentary rep
resentation that primary necessity in all
constitutional governments.
Nothing is more difficult to revive than
a waning enthusiasm, or TO start afresh
than a subscription which has come to a
halt. The subscription to the Lord Bea-
consfeld memorial met fate similar to
Dean SANKEY'S, only worse. Nobody
doubted that a hundred or two hundred
thousand dollars would be raised in Lord
Beaconsfeld's honor with the utmost ease
His friends and political supporters were
among the wealthiest people in England
He was the leader of great party, which
: he had supplied with brains for quarter
ola century. To all appearance he was
their idol. If the enthusiasm for him had
been anything like as general or genuine
as it looked on the surface, quarter of @
LullilUu OuADb W hhNC DCOH
} at once. The amount actually promised
is less than $4,000. 1t is hardly wonder
& full that the Stanley memorial should far,
no better. In proportion to the size o.
6 SANKEY'S figure in the public life of Eng
LAND, ithas in fact Jared much better. I hea
that not few people disapprove the plar
1 of the memorial; thinking the chapter
2 house windows might better be left as the.
: are, or that if stained glass is wanted par
q Lament ought to vote the money.
: Seldom has there been such an extraor
binary case of imposture rs that recent,
brought to light at Birmingham, wher
S on Thursday Miss Furneaux alias " Lore
+ Clinton" aged forty-three, and her com
d panion. James Getting, aged forty.two
: were charged with fraud and forgery.
II was stated that the unprepossessing ar
ii pearancc of the female prisoner made
o the more remarkable that she should hav
10 been able to masquerade as noblema
., for eight years. The gullability of til
u u British public ia extraordinary, and th
!. very name Of alord seems to Ia We magi
c spell for most people. But when I hea
10 of persons selling their property and Dor
u rowing money of their friends to lend t.
this adventures cannot say that great
10 ly pity them. Bundles of forged letter
n and documents were brought to the cour
=; aud amongst these precious papers wer
% letters purporting to come from the queel
Q and oiher members of the royal family