The Northern Guardian. — 1896-05-07 (Hartlepool, Cleveland, England)

OOO-D;rorce Amendment Bill.—To prevent the marriage Of a certain class of divorced persons Lord Halifax has introduced in the House of Lords a Divorce Adlendment Bili. The measure, if carried, will make it illegal in churches and ,chapels of the Church of England to re-marry any person who has been divorced on the ground IA his or her adultery, and will invalidate such marriages as may be knowingly procured by both parties in defiance of the law. ——ooo—  Protection, of Children Bill.—With a view tol making baby-farming more difficult than it now is, and so put an end to child murders of the mercenary sort, Lord Herschell has drafted a measure to be called the Safety of Nurse I Children Act. The main idea of the Bill is to I enforce registration upon all persons who,! .except for purposes set forth, receive children for profit at the hands of their parents. Children under 12 years of age, maintained eitheri for payment or in prospect of gains to be made by public performances or exhibitions, and children under seven years of age in all cases, are to be registered within seven days of the parents parting with them. A penalty of £lO fine or a month's imprisonment is prescribed for any breach of the Act, and the offender, if he be the keeper of a registered house, may also be struck off the register. False representation of any sort as to the children held in charge, whether knowingly or only in negligence made, is also to be an offence.  -000 —valve -Mr Cecil Rhodes's Resignation.—ln placing his lesignation at the disposal of the Government, writes a London correspondent, Mr Rhodes , has taken up the lofty attitude which might be expected from an honourable man, who has nothing to conceal and nothing to dread. Mr Rhodes's action in Transvaal affairs has been actuated by imperialist considerations, and in the interest of South Africa as a whole. That is his view and the view of those who know him best. He is prepared to submit his conduct to investigation to come over here if required, and, as I have explained, to resign his position as Privy Councillor and managing iirector of the Chartered Company. He offers his resignation not as one wrong doing, but as one seeking justification at the hands of his countrymen. It is not at all certain that Mr Rhodes's resignation will be accepted. The resignation of Mr Beit, one of the other directors, has been sent in, and no doubt will be accepted. —ooo _  The Jameson the course of the debate on the South African situation, the 1, Government will be asked from both sides of , the House fur an explanation as to how it happened that, in spite of the elaborate preparations for the Jameson raid, the Imperial officials remained entirely ignorant of what was taking place until Dr. Jameson had crossed the frontier. That Sir Hercules Robinson was absolutely ignorant of the plot is, of course, accepted on all hands, but members who know that country express surprise that the High Commissioner should have been so badly served as not to receive a hint from any quarter as to what .was contemplated, although it was pretty certain that the Boers themselves were on the alert.