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October 9, 1852.] THE LEADER. 963
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QUARANTINE AGAIN! Most intelligent perso...
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A PLEA FOR THE RIGHTS OF WOMAN. (Front t...
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MISCELLANEOUS. The Queen remains at Balm...
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Ministers are to hold a Cabinet Council ...
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The lladdimjton arrived at, Southampton ...
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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Transcript
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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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
October 9, 1852.] The Leader. 963
October 9 , 1852 . ] THE LEADER . 963
Quarantine Again! Most Intelligent Perso...
QUARANTINE AGAIN ! Most intelligent persons thought the days of Quarantine were over : it is not so . Some years ago the Board of Health reported the futility of Quarantine regulations in preventing the spread of such afflictions , and such an effect did the report produce upon the principal , if not upon . , the Governments of Europe , that afew months ago a congress of medical men of the highest standing , deputed by the various Governments of Europe , as well as by our own , was held in Paris , to consider the whole subject . That congress came to a decision which has not yet been formally published , but
of its purport there are sound grounds for judging , in the fact that a convention was drawn up for the guidance of all Europe in matters of infectious diseases , which , it is believed , would , if not at once , eventually lead to the entire abolition of quarantine . Our readers are probably not aware of the cost of quarantine , and will be surprised to learn that a careful estimate has shown that to the commerce of this country alone the cost of a year ' s quarantine would exceed 2 , 000 , OOOZ . sterling . In the face of all this inquiry , the following letter to the Commissioners of Customs was issued on
the 2 nd of September : — " Council-office , "Whitehall , Bept . 2 , 1852 . « gIK )—Official information having been received by her Majesty ' s Government of the prevalence of Asiatic cholera in the port of Dantsic and other places , I am directed by the Lords of her Majesty ' s Council to state to you , for the information of the Commissioners of Customs , the desire of their Lordships that instructions should be given to the proper officers of Customs , more particularly to those employed along the Eastern coast , to examine very particularly the masters of vessels arriving from the Baltic and
North Sea as to the state of health of their passengers and crew , more especially with reference to cholera ; and in the event of there being any person or persons on board actually suffering from cholera , or who had been suffering from that disease within the five days previous to the arrival of the vessel in port , the said officers should be further directed to detain any such vessel under a precautionary quarantine for such period as the medical officer employed to visit the sick may judge necessary for the security or preservation of the health of the community on shore .
" I am further directed to state that the proposed quarantine being only a quarantine of observation , and established with the view of preventing the persons suffering by disease from communicating with the shore , it is not intended that any restraint should be placed upon persons on board in the enjoyment of good health , whether passengers or crew , who may be permitted to have the same free communication with the shore as if the yellow flag had not been hoisted . " I am , Sir , your most obedient servant , " C . C . Greviixe . " On this document coming to the knowledge of the Chamber of Commerce and Manufactures of
Manchester , the following memorial was immediately transmitted to the Lords of the Treasury : — " TO THE KIGnT HOK . THE lORDS COMMISBIONEBS OP HEE MAJESTY ' S TEEABUEY . u Tho Memorial of the Directors of the Chamber of Commerce and Manufactures at Manchester , " Siiowetji , —That your memorialists have seen a copy of a letter , dated Council-office , Whitehall , Sept . 2 , 1852 , and signed ' C . C . Greville , ' in which the Commissioners of Customs urn directed to issue instructions that the
mastcvu of vessels arriving from the Baltic and North Sea Rliould bo very particularly examined as to tho state of health of their passengers and crews , more especially with reference to cholera ; and that , in tho event of tliere being any person or persons on board actually suffering from cholera , or who had boon suffering from that disease within tho five days previous to the arrival of tho vessel in port , such vessel should be detained under a precautionary quarantine for Much period as tho medical oflicor employed to * init . the Hick may judge necessary tor tho security or preservation of the health of tho community on shore . That your memorialists feel much regret at the Htep thus taken ; <]>< 7 did hope that , after tho honest and searching inquiries Unit have taken plaeo on this subject , and especially alter Mio result of tho sanitary conference recently held in ¦ 'am , to which thin country was a party , our trading and
shipping intertiHtH would not bo again uselessly annoyed iind injured by a measure of this , character . That your » 'i « 'inonalinl , H do not overlook tho dosing directions of the ' 'tier above recited , whereby instructions are given that , ' * m the proponed quarantine in to bo only a quarantine of "'• nervation , it in not , intended that ; any restraint should bo placed upon pci-Hoim on board in tho enjoyment of good K ' -idtli , whether passengers or crow ; but that Bueh persons "" Klit be permitted to have tho Harno freocommunication % vith t ho shore oh if the yellow ling had not been hoisted , our ni < inoiialinl , N hope that they . eoimtruo tho preceding I'lii'agrnph aright , when they suppose that healthy persons will ho allowed to leave the whip lit once , and if no they ^ vould respec tfully miggeHf , that , tho inwtructioiiH to tho <» ial officers at . the ports Hhould 1 >«> more explicitly defined '' "Hi , as appears to them , in ilono by the words of tho
• 'tier ; i | ' however , it be intended that healthy persons H'iould be allowed merely to communicate with thn shore , n » d uliII be relumed on board , then would your memorial-1 h 'h iuomI , urgently pray that huoIi a course may be forth-^ ' ¦ h abandoned . ' That while your memorialists would *¦ "' •• dully endure any Haerincon which would ellootually ' ' •¦ If tho importation or snre ' nd of disease , they concur Vl 'h thoHe disintoroHtod authorities who think that quattnlino regulations are at all thnos usoIoob and injtirioun ,
whether the diseases against which they profess to be directed be epidemic or endemic . In attempting to control an atmosphere charg ed with epidemic miasmata they would be ridiculous , if not cruel and costly ; in endemic cases they obviously tend to the destruction rather than to the preservation of life . The foul atmosphere of a ship during , and immediately after , a voyage , is itself an exciting cause of disease even upon a healthy frame ; to retain in such an atmosphere a person already in disease appears to be little less than to doom the sufferer to death . That your memorialists , moreover , feel cause of deep regret in which has been because in
the course adopted , recurring to quarantine now , after the examination which the question has undergone during several years , and especially so soon after the general conference so recently held in Paris , this country sets an example to Europe of adherence to antiquated and nugatory precautions which may retard for years the general abolition of a system which your memorialists know to be most costly and prejudicial to commerce , and which they believe to be more destructive to , than preservative of , life ; they therefore humbly but urgently pray that the letter of the Council of the 2 nd of September instant may be at once revoked .
" By order and on behalf of the Directors of the Chamber of Commerce and Manufactures at Manchester . " Thomas Bazley , President . " " Manchester , Sept . 16 . " We can hardly hope that this vigorous remonstrance will have any effect on a Ministry whose principle is Protection , and whose officers propose to protect cholera by quarantine .
A Plea For The Rights Of Woman. (Front T...
A PLEA FOR THE RIGHTS OF WOMAN . ( Front the Times . ) Sib , —We have had our laugh , and a very hearty one too , at the absurdities uttered by some of the " strongminded women" at Syracuse—at the extravagant demands made upon our patience and forbearance . Perhaps we have felt indignant at the attempt made to overturn the order of nature , and break in upon the relations of social and domestic life ; or we may have been tempted to round off the whole controversy with
the intuitive argument which once closed a debate upon the subject— " After all , a man is a man and a woman is a woman . " But the inquiry still forces itself upon our attention—Is the relation of woman to society in all respects what it ought to be ? Has she no genuine wrongs to complain of , when we have put aside the question whether she should be a magistrate and a police-officer , a legislator and a gaoler , a general and a private soldier , a merchant on 'Change and a draywoman , a commissioner in bankruptcy and a sheriff's
officer ? Single women and widows , holding the proper qualification , have votes for parish officers ; why not for members of Parliament ? Why should their property be unrepresented ? Why should they have no voice in choosing those who shall make laws for them in common with men ? If they had the right to vote , and shrunk from its exercise , they need not vote . But they do bolder and more courageous things than it would bo to present themselves at the polling-booth
continually , and society applauds them for so doing . Clear perception of what is right , and a conscience unflinchingly supporting the decisions of the understanding , arc by no means confined to men . I doubt if women would cry out for the dark secrecy of the ballotbox . If they voted , it would be in the face of day . Give tho femme sole tho right to vote , and you would at once do justice and infuse a purifying element into thoso scenes of bribery , corruption , and intimidation , which are the staple of our Parliamentary elections .
But perhaps women are virtually represented in Parliament with the other unenfranchised members of society ; still , have they nothing to complain of in their legal position ? Aro the laws set around them as a sufficient defence ? The unmarried woman and the widow , it is true , hold property on precisely the same tenure sis men . So far good . No father , brother , or cousin can despoil them , except with their own consent . I speak of property which is theirs by gift or inheritance ; it is absolutely theirs , but no longer than they remain single . If they marry , their property becomes absolutely their husband ' s , or that transfer , by legal right of the husband , is evaded by the interposition of
trustees . When the priest has pronounced his blessing , and she and her yet lover aro enjoying the sweets of the honeymoon , her property passes us effectually out of her control as if she wore already ( lend . She is lost in the person of her husband , or in those of her trustees . The proceeds of her settlement are nominally to be paid over to her for her sole use and benefit ; but , as soon as they come into her hands , her liege lord may demand that she should deliver up such proceeds to bo disposed of at his discretion , or indiscretion , or worse Her settlement is of uso only in ease of her husband ' s insolvency , to save thoin both , with their children , from poverty , or in tho rnro ciiko of a legal separation .
Hut let us grunt further , thut tho settlement of : » married woman , clumsy expedient an it is to cover tho injustice of tho law , hrta its compensating advantages
that by it a woman is to a certain extent defended from the consequences of the unthrift or profligacy of her husband . Let us grant that a woman ' s absorption in the legal person of her husband makes her and her trustee-held property free from liability to his creditors , if she have drawn a worse than blank in the lottery of life , or have recklessly thrown herself away upon the unworthy . Still , what shall we say to the unpropertied woman , the virtuous , industrious , striving woman of the middle and lower classes , married by fate or folly to an idle , spendthrift , dissipated husband ? And there are such . He will not earn a living for her and her children . Why should he ? Well , then , she will ; and she has not lost all love for the father of her little ones .
She remembers the days of their courtship , and the first few sweet months of their married life ; and she will work for him too , if he will let her . Such is often the prodigal love of woman . But , let her labour , let her deny herself rest , and leisure , and sleep , and everything but what is necessary to keep up her strength for daily duty—let her rejoice and thank God that she has power to gain bread for the mouths that she has brought into existence—when she has toiled , and
gathered , and is looking with complacency upon her gains , considering , with joy , what necessaries and comforts they will purchase for those dearer to her than her life , her husband may come in and sweep off all her hard earnings , leave her and her children penniless , and spend her precious gains upon his idle and selfish vices . She has no legal right to withhold them . She depends altogether upon the energy of her maternal will and the little remains of grace that may yet cling to the debased heart of her lord and master .
I need go no further . Whatever absurdities may be spoken about woman ' s rights , a deep feeling of shame must attend the contemplation of woman ' s wrongs ; and surely the Times will give its powerful support to the demand that such wrongs should be earnestly considered , and at an early period , with a view to their redress , that it may no longer be the opprobrium of our laws that , being made by the stronger sex , they leave the weaker defenceless just when they have the deepest need of protection and the strongest claims upon our sympathy . E . C . Bristol , Oct . 4 .
Miscellaneous. The Queen Remains At Balm...
MISCELLANEOUS . The Queen remains at Balmoral , somewhat obstructed in her movements by the severe weather ; hut Prince Albert manages to go deer-stalking ; and , altogether , a wholesome taste for out-door exercise has been fully indulged by her Majesty and the Prince , during their Highland retirement . The Court will visit the tubular bridge over the Menai Straits , on her Majesty ' s return , next week , from Balmoral .
Ministers Are To Hold A Cabinet Council ...
Ministers are to hold a Cabinet Council about the 14 th , to determine when Parliament shall meet . Rumour pretty positively names the 21 st of October . It would seem that my Lord Derby has not , after all , appointed himself Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports . The Morning Herald understands that " there is no foundation for the statement which has appeared in the papers , that the Earl of Derby lias received tho Wardenship of the Cinquo Ports . We have , on the contrary , reason to believe that his lordship has advised her Majesty to oiler it to the acceptance of Lord Dalhousie , whose absence in India may for some time prevent the actual appointment from taking place . In tho meantime , however , the duties of that ofliee will be temporarily discharged by the lOarl of Derby . "
It is rumoured that Admiral Moorsom is to sueeeed Mr . ( Jlyn as chairman of the London and North - Western Railway Company . " - — Jiirminyham Gazelle .
The Lladdimjton Arrived At, Southampton ...
The lladdimjton arrived at , Southampton on Thursday , bringing papers from the Cape to the 2 ttnl of August . The last accounts left the Coinmnnder-tn-Chief encamped near Whittlesea , and preparing to move to the grand rendezvous , the Ihnvani . Tho Albert district had despatched a contingent of Volunteers , Hurghers and Kingoes . Captain Head was also moving down with a native levy , but it was feared that , from all appearances , the number from the Somerset district would be but small , and there would be 1
none from the important districts of ( Jinan-KVinet , Colesberg , Cradock , and Ifitenhnge . A desperate uttuek had been made by rebel Hottentots , who , ntriuigo to say , were armed with Minie rifles and supplied with coniral bullets . Hut , on the whole , the military accounts present the same feafrures as heretofore . It is rumoured , that gold has been discovered in the Wuterkloof ! If so , the Kallir war in that direction would soon be over . " Mueomo ' s people" would lie cleared out in no time by the diggers . News from New York , up to lh « 25 th ult ., reache d Southampton by tho JlumbolUt on Thursday . Tho
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 9, 1852, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_09101852/page/7/
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