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NO. 423, MAY i, lti5».J i.'J± iS Jj Jii ...
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A IMltTICLE I2s PERIL; TVuf/n Ihe new Fr...
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THE LITERARY FUND. To the "Summary ' of ...
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The Late Calamity ix Gilbert-street.—On ...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Scottish Euan Guises. Ox Thursday, The F...
ward , five imndred and sixty years ago—viz ., holding of what is called subject-superiors , or , more popularly , middlemen . In England , when freehold is transferred , the purchaser or successor holds of ihe Kiujr , just as the former proprietor did , without any title from the Crown being necessary , and no feudal superiors can be interjected between the King and 1 he proprietor . In Scotland , however , any " number of feudal superiors , the one holding ; under the oihcr , may "he in a manner proprietors of the same piece of property , in common with the actual possessor , each deriving some kind of interest from ii , paid by the ' party ' immediately under Mm ,
ranging irom a considerable sum of money to the superior immediately above the actual owner , and decreasing as it ascends , until one of the territorial magnates may probably receive a white rose at Midsummer ,, or a penny . Scots money c it' asked only . ' Practically , however , there is no such diflLculty about Scotch tenures as this antiquated and absurd system niiglit lead us to suppose . It just amoxmts to this , that every piece of laud in Scotland confers
two rights , that of superiority and that ot property . If both nve held by the same person , the land is in every respect identical with the English freehold . If the rights arc held by ditterent individuals , then the Scotch superior is in the same position as the owner of a perpetual chief or ground rent from an English freehold , and the proprietor-proper is identical with the owner of the freehold paying the chief or ground rent , with this difference ., lhat the Scotch owiier is burdened with a double set of titles , one from his predecessor , and one from his superior , who thus rccoGrnixes him as his vassal . Bat the
test of a freeholder is one who is 1 he proprietor of lands in fee 1 o the extent of forty shillings-annually , after paying all charges including chief or ground rent . And in Scotland the very same test may be applied by extending the franchise to those who arc proprietors in fee of property yielding forty shillings annually after paying all charges including fcu-dnly to superiors . It seems si range tliat any objection to such an extension , should -proceed from those in Scotland professing- to he Liberals , but when their objections are based upon such n . purely technical ground as that we . have described , we may conclude that it is an interested opposition , which statesmen legislating for Ihc thi'ce kingdoms in 1 he same spirit of equality and justice ought entirely to ignore . -
No. 423, May I, Lti5».J I.'J± Is Jj Jii ...
NO . 423 , MAY i , lti 5 » . J i . 'J ± iS Jj Jii A JUJi it . & 2 S
A Imltticle I2s Peril; Tvuf/N Ihe New Fr...
A IMltTICLE I 2 s PERIL ; TVuf / n Ihe new French bill < o repress false titles of nobility is passed a new cui' / i cVrlaf will be accomplished . It is evou said that the imposing ; particle de is 1 o be excised unless the . owner can show cause to Ihe eonirary . "What a revolution ! The Parisian saloons that have so long echoed that indefinite little relic of old style ( the lirst that revived aftci the Revolution ) , ¦ will scarcely" condescend lo echo tlu
plain Punumls and Dtipouts of the new era . 1 eter the Circat succeeded , at sonic risk , in cult ing oil ' . Russian beards ; will Louis Napoleon succeed in cutting out from 1 hc French mind ilio personal vanity called " equality , " which shapes itself like the Irishman's answer to , " Is not one man as good as another r" '" 'lie is , ami hrflrr . " l " or meddling with I'Yeiieh parts of speech he has the precedent of Louis XIV ., who changed " ma" inio " mo / i carros . se . "
One should be a l ' renclinuin , we imagine , lo understand this and many oilier mailers . Here is a people , not on the whole men-milliners or menmonkeys—a people full of national force and grandeur , most rich in individual nubility — and yet society is overrun with men who , with something of the same poorest of poor vanities which makes a w \((? t use rou ^ e , call themselves Counts and Marquises , and wit ii such manners , " that , you would think Nature ' s journeymen had made 11 h . mii , they imitale liumani I v so abominably . " Wo see . faults
enough in English life to keep lrom our lips any of the p hrases of Ihe Pharisee , but wejiave nothing like Ibis in Jin ^ lnnd . -As Louis Blane snys in his new work , we have " a jrx / srrl for class distinct ions . " ' An Englishman of inferior rank will often insist on keeping up lh <; distinction Viet ween him and the ( lasses that may be ; called nobility . One instance illustrative of this almost universal feeling with the best Englishmen came , under our own eye . A . director of one of our best London banksa man of wraith and taste , and with a Westend mansion , married the other day a lady , Ihe daughter of a gentleman farmer . ' Koine ' \ yellrncaning friend inserted in the Tours \\\\ announcement of the , marriage , with the atli . v of " Ksn . "
to the names of the bridegroom and . the father of the bride . Tlie next day , to correct the impropriety , our friend inserted a plain , stiff notice , announcing the marriage of Mr . —— , of London , to Miss , of . Here was a man , wkose wealth could back up pretension , insisting that he did not belong to the esquires of the aristocracy . Yet no man would more sturdily assert the independence of the class into which lie would not intrude . The French reverse all this . They ivill not allow privileges or peculiar respect to any super ior class—tliey are continually decreeing the abolition of nobility , and yet the individual Preuchman covets every mark of the old nobility down to the doomed ¦ " . de" and the bit of red ribbon at the button-liole .
The Emperor ' s councillors should be wary in framing the new law . If they once set up a titular guillotine for the decapitation of particles , may not some cunning foes turn it against the De Persignys and De Cassagnacs , whose ancestors were not quite entitled to hunt with Louis-le-Grand ? Or , still worse , to expect the suppression of titles assumed without right , as it not a " culpable expectation " aimed at the " Emperor" liimsclf ?¦
The Literary Fund. To The "Summary ' Of ...
THE LITERARY FUND . To the "Summary ' of Facts , ' published bv the Royal Literary Fund , Mr . C . W . Duke , Mr . Charles Dickens , and Mr . John Forster , have jointly responded in a statement written . incisively , and in its simplicity unanswerable . We arc glad to receive Ills "Answer ,- " , since it not only disposes of-tlie defence set up 1 > y the committee , but explains the actual position of the reformers , who have been described as . hostile to the secretary 3 hostile to the house in Great Russell-street , hostile to the Literary Fund itself , hostile . to all hut the crotchets of their own conceptions . Disentangling the
matter in dispute from the irrele-vancies artfully associated with it by the Committee , they press upon the . main . point—" the sharp needle / 5 hidden by the committee in a " haystack of words , " — ilie fact that the cost of administering the Literary Fund is enormous beyond all precedent , that the Fund has been perverted from its founder ' s design , that its management covers a multitude of shams , and that its utility is grievously'diminished by . the system which Mr . Dilke , Mr . Dickens , Mr . J ? orster , and their supporters are endeavouring to reform . The compilers ' of the " Summary , " in reply to the " Case , " Avill take very little by their motion ; , for the
" Answer" is , perhaps , the most damaging blow they have received . It analyzes the accounts of the Society , shows what is expended in creating-, and what in distributing the Fund , exposes the fiction , of the separate llouse Fund—which never existed , although subscript ions have been placed to its account—convicts the oilicials of an attempt to exclude the representatives of the press from their meetings , quotes the opinion of Mr . Justice Willes , that the reformers , by their projects , do ] iot propose , to violate the Original charter , and then deals with the personalities in which it has been the pleasure of the Committee to indulge : —
" We have purposely reserved until now the many sm ; ill pcisouul allusions to one or other of ourselves , with which the committee have augmented the size of their haystack fur the hiding of the needle . Our reference to I hem shall be very short , for we feel a natural kind of shuiuo in becoming parties , however reluctantly , to such littlo-.-clioolboy practice . Conceive the Most Noble the INl < iiv | iii . s of Lnnsdowne crying out , Please , sir , when 1 got into dilVieulty , Master Dickens was there , nnd he never stopped ' me ! ' Or picture the lliglit Keverend tin : Uishop of Oxford , -with his forefinger in Ii is eye , protesting , ' upon . my word and honour , sir , it wasn ' t me , sir ; it wiis Master Dillte ! ' Yet this is the pervading tune of half the committee ' s pamphlet . " The . " Summary" Illumes the " Case" i ' or its remarks upon the house and the secretary in Great Kussoll-stroet . On this point it is necessary that no further misunderstanding should exist : — " "Why , \ ve . have , told the committee , ov « r and over again , that ~ we no more ohject to a . house than we object to a seoivtnry . ( hi ) ' objection is to < t costly house which i .- ; put to no -list ' , fun : its < t place of nicitiui // b f the com ' mittii for about tiro hours < t ( l < iy , J ' or nine dai / n hi the ywr ami to a siTJ'cttii'i / who input tono iihc at // . " We ay ill quote , one additional passage , which is a court eons retort : — " The ' committee , usually desire to know , when we present live , point , ( if that painful needle , to I hem at the annual Hireling .- , whether we think them capable of corruption V Whether we think they misappropriate the soeietyVi money ? Whether we lliink they lay it . out on themselves V and ko forth—contribution !) towards the
making of haystacks , much in use among the workers in that kind of architecture . " We tell them , Certainly not , and we tell them besides , that we do not in the least doubt their being just , and kind , and tender , in their giving of such relief as they do . give . But , we must venture to add , in closing this 'Answer' to their ' Summary , ' that they form a remarkable instance of the condition into which good-enough men will often lapse , w 7 ien iliey get behind a large table , each loith a fatal clean sheet offoolscap , a fatal clean Meet of blotting-paper , and
two fatal clean pens , before him . They have become the creatures of their own conventions ; they cannot separate their personal dignity as ~ rrn 3 ividuals , from the confession that they are glaringly in fault as a body ; tliey cannot bear to be questioned or opposed ; they have stopped the clock , and say , ' There is no time ; ' they have darkened the windows , and say , ' There is no day . ' But , they are too sleepy and too weak for the age , and the age will bear them away . It is as certain as Death , that they must either set their house in order , or fall without their house , or fall with it . "
The case against the management of the Literary Fund is now complete .
The Late Calamity Ix Gilbert-Street.—On ...
The Late Calamity ix Gilbert-street . —On the reassembling of the coroner ' s jury oil Monday , it was found necessary to order a further adjournment , owing to tie illness of one of the jurymen , "svlio consequently could not attend . Before the jury separated , there was exhibited a model of an apparatus , invented by Mr . llobbs , the American , lock picker , the object of which is to show the-exaet locality of any fire to the persons in charge of the engines at any of the stations . The
apparatus ( which has been patented by Mr . Hobbs ) 1 a very simple . There is a small case in which an indicator is arranged , pointing to various figures , such as No . ' 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , & c , on the face of the instrument , and in every street is to be placed a pillar , through which the electric current passes , so that by simply touching a button in that pillar all confusion and delay are avoided , and the engines immediately summoned to assistance . This apparatus has been approved by Mr . Brunei , and is to be used on board tlie Leviathan . The adjournment of the inquest is to nextTuesday .
The Sewagt : op Loni > ox . —The preliminary report of the Royal Commission appointed to inquire into the best mode of distributing the sewage of towns has been laid on the table of the tlouse of Commons . " Convinced by the representations of Mr . Golds worthy Gurney , " says a summary in the Times , " that the mere diversion of the sewage will not purify the Thames from its present foul condition , the effect of past accumulations , the Commissioners recommend the" immediate execution of the embankment scheme , propounded by tlie Metropolis Improvement Commission of 1844 . Advanced terraces being constructed , continuous on the surface , but -affording convenient entrances to inner basins for the ' -wharfs above London-bridge , reservoirs are to be foraied in the embankments adjacent to the mouths of the existing sewers , into which all tlie sewage
is to be received and deodorized , and from which—the purified water being first allowed to flow into the riverthe precipitated matter will be pumped into the country or to the sea . The reservoirs and apparatus are to be beneath the surface , and consequently invisible ; so that no nuisance whatever can be apprehended . The subsidiary parts of the scheme are tlie adornment of the river , the relief of the streets by the terrace carriage ways between London and Westminster , and the connexion by railroad of the existing termini on the southern shore . The cost of tho entire -works is estimated at 3 , 250 , 000 ? ., exclusive of any approaches -which may be formed in connexion witli tlie new thoroughfares . " The report is signed—" Essex , Henry Ker Seymer , Kobert Kawlinsoii , J . Thomas "Way , J . 1 J- Lawes , T . Southwood Smith , . lohn Simon ' , Henry Austin . "
Pi :. UnnxAiii ) and Mi :. EmvrN Jamics . —Mr . Edwin James and : i friend entered , oil the evening of Friday week , tlie Cafe" Chantaat in Leicester-square , when the former , being recognised , was received with shouts of applause . lie was introduced to the proprietor ( a frenchman ) , who showed his guest some civilities , and , while he remained there , the IVlarseillaine liyivm was sung bv the professional vocalists present . This litthi incident aymear . s to have encourayed certain persons to
announce that , on tlie following clay , Mr . James and Dr . Bernard would " appear , " i' » order that " the friends of liberty" might give them an ovation . Between two and three hundred persons assembled ; but Mr . . Jaine . s nnd Dr . . Henuml were not among them . The latter , iL is understood , has expressed groat displeasure nt the . use which was made of his name . He observed that he is not a "Nana Sahib or an hippopotamus , that any one should presume to exhibit him for money .
KlVIC C ! lltl , l ) Kl-. N AT ONK RlllTH . A WOlllllll n . lllicd Klspet Gordon , residing in ltotliofl , him given birth to three , male and two female- children . The three , hoys were born alive , ami lived till the following morningj but tho two girls wen ! . still-born . Tlie births wt-ro premature , being in tlie nixlh month ; hut Jill wen : full grown for the period of genial ion . One <> f the . boys actually had two front . t <;< 'tli when ho oiuiie into the world . Tho woman ia doing w « H . — J ' - ' ( ' /<' t ' ouraut .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), May 1, 1858, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_01051858/page/15/
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