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May16, 1857Q THE LEADER. A71
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REFORM PROCRASTINATIONS. It is not a set...
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"WOMEN AND WORK. Amojtg the inmates of B...
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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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The Duchy Of Lancaster. Painful Rumours ...
ricbed out of that fund to which Buebe attributed bo prodigious a power of corruption ? Bubke endeavoured to find his waythroug h the labyrinth of nepotism , and appropriation—he failed : a hundred wands of office were wielded menacingly before his eyes , like a phalanx of Grecian spears ; Mr . Bektolaoci , in our own day , tries the inner doors of the department : the wands again clatter , and , for his presumption , he is expelled from the premises altogether . Between the Bujlike and B-Eiitolacci cases , however , there is this wide difference , —that Burke was simply an independent member
of Parliament straining his energies to reduce the corrupt influence of the Crown , while Mr . BEiiioiiACCi had an official right to inspect every item in the estimates of the D uchy . It is said—and wo hope the Government will be able to explain away the charge—that Mr . Bertolacci , having been appointed Auditor of the Duchy of Lancaster , was first obstructed in the performance of his duties , and finally dismissed for not submitting to the British Bank principle of affixing a dishonest signature to a doubtful balance-sheet , jobbed by a Keeeiver-General and a staff of permanent officials . The House of Commons is the court in which this
allegation should be investigated , and we trust that no time will be lost before an inquiry is demanded by some influential independent member . The powers of an auditor in the of 5 . ee of the Duchy of Lancaster are clearly defined by Act of Parliament . The question , then , is , was Mr . Behtolacci obstructed in the performance of his duties ; was he baffled in his attempt to exercise his proper functions of check ; was he illegally excluded from the Council ; was he , by a conspiracy between the Duchy' and Ordnance departments ( he
being iu the Ordnance himself ) , prevented from giving his attendance at Lancasterplace and carrying on his audit ; was his deputy arbitrarily dismissed ; was he himself met by systematically false statements , and ultimately displaced in order that a more pliant and less officious servant might be procured ? Then , was the nephew , by marriage , of the Receiver-General appointed to audit the Receiver-Geucral ' s accounts ? " Who is this Receiver-General , the husband of Lady Mary Vox , a natural daughter of William the Fourth ?
We might add a multiplicity of questions , but wo will only suggest that Earls GiunviiiLiE and Harrowby should be examined with reference to their connexion with the Palatine of Lancaster . Lord Gratstille , we trust , will be enabled to affirm , upon his honour , that he was not in arrear of rent to the Duchy when he became its Chancellor ; that , as Chancellor , ho did not assumo an illegal authority , and ignore an Act of Parliament in order to coerce Mr . BiauxoLACor ; that ho never tried to conceal the prices at which the Duchy lands were sold ; that lie did not abet tho Receiver-Gouoi'nl in keeping excoasivo balances in hand ; that ho had no
direct or indirect communications with bir Charles Trevelyan and Mr . Monsell concerning the inconvenient pertinacity of Mr . Bektolaoci ; that he did not refuse his countenance to the auditor ' s proceedings , as authorized by letters patent , and by tho law . Also , that he has held no public ontntes at littlo more than a nominal rent . The Earl of ITarho'W . ijv , of course , will in like manner bo happy to show that ho ( supported tho rights and privileges of tho auditor , find wns not guilty of artifice nnd equivocation with tho viow 6 f closing' tho accounts ) of tho Duchy agaiiiHt tho ollicer specially appointed to check them . Tliis is a very serious matter , and inuat bo thoroughly investigated .
" Unless the rumours alluded to are false , Mr . Beb . toi * acct was required , -as auditor of the Duchy of Lancaster , to do that which in an ordinary public company would have justified his dismissal , while , had the company become bankrupt , he would have been liable to stand in Mr . Linelater ' s pillory . We must arrive , if possible , at the bottom of this mystery ; we must understand the reasons for all the secrecy and collusion marking the administration of immense public estates . What iB there wrong in the management , and for whose benefit is it ? We are utterly in the
dark . The exact revenue is not known ; the sales of land and other property take place behind the scenes ; there has never been an effectual audit , and we hope , it is not true that , by proposing such an audit , Mr . BertoiiACCi startled into a panic the whole corps—Chancellor , Receiver-General , clerks , counsel , axe-bearer , and bankers . Wo have more than a public interest in the inquiry . Private character is concerned , and the sooner the scandal is set at rest—if it can be set at rest—the better for the noble and gentle men implicated .
May16, 1857q The Leader. A71
May 16 , 1857 Q THE LEADER . A 71
Reform Procrastinations. It Is Not A Set...
REFORM PROCRASTINATIONS . It is not a settled point that the Liberal party approves of Mr . Roebuck ' s profession of faith in the Government on the first night of the session . On the contrary , we have reason to believe that a number of independent reformers in the House consider him to have acted with precipitaiton and incaution . He might have yielded to the general conviction that a new Reform Bill must be postponed until next year , but at the same time he might have withheld his expression of unreserved confidence in the Premier . Lord Palmerston , by saying a few words , has thrown overboard , for several months , every discussion connected with Parliamentary Reform , except , perhaps , the ballot . He may endeavour to suppress that subject , but Mr . Berkeley will certainly renew his motion , and there will be a serious debate , followed , perhaps , by an important division . We may suggest that Mr . Berkeley , or the Ballot Society , should summon by circular every member who has declared his intention to
support the principle ot the ballot , so that , unless its opponents muster in great force , it may obtain a House of Commons victory . We should at least enjoy that success as a compensation for tho session which is to be sunk in practical legislation , often the most impracticable of all . There is a general complaint among the independent members that Mr . Roebuck relaxed his hand too suddenly . Lord Palmerbton made a clear leap over tho heads of Reformers : before thev had struck a blow , they
found that a herald had gone forth and agreed to a long truce . Why bo submissive to tho policy of procrastination ? Lord Palmerston has promised nothing distinct . He has not said a word about disenfranchising tho rotten boroughs , lie neither opposed nor acceptod Mr . Lookk Kinu ' s motion to abolish the property qualification , but hinted that ho could not see why the qualification should bo abolished . Lord Jo UN Husskll , therefore , stands apart from the Premier in this particular .
Tho rumour grows strong that boforo the day of reckoning an alliance will have been enbeted botwoen tho powers of Cambridge House and Woburu Abbey , ao that , after all , the father of tho firdt Reform Bill may bo the proposer of tho ( second . Yet , to satisfy Lord John Kubwicll , Lord Palmkrston will have to explain more than is publicly known respecting tho Vienna mission . Tho Russian war is now matter of history , and it can do no harm to confess that Lord John Russell has been acimdalously misused with reference
to that affair , after Tiaving Ins tongue tied by a bond of honour . for * - ¦ ¦ ¦¦ ¦ ¦ %$ It is true that fhe independent members are not bound to act with JSIr . Roebuck , who has never "been their leader ; but what are they to do ? If they stir a political topic , Lord Palmeeston" rises and objects— "I thought it was understood that these discussions were to stand over for next year . " So
Reform is paralysed by consent . It would not have been surprising had the ballot also been postponed . But that is a distinct principle , which has gained many new advocates in the House ; . so that the party mav fairly expect Mr . Roebuck not to intrude with any superfluous generosity , and profess himself ' perfectly satisfied' with some hesitating pledge that ' that topic' shall be considered and reported upon next February .
Nothing is to be done this session in Parliament ; but something ought to be attempted out of doors . We are not satisfied with hearing that the question once popular is now only parliamentary . The movement in favour of an amended , purified , and extended representation , should be national ; otherwise its results will be defective and disappointing .
"Women And Work. Amojtg The Inmates Of B...
"WOMEN AND WORK . Amojtg the inmates of Bethlehem Hospital , from 1846 to 1855 , were a hundred and ten governesses , and a hundred and eighty-nine dressmakers . Dr . Hood , in his decennial report—an able and interesting documentremarks : " Among the female patients , the only point which seem to require notice is the large number of governesses and dressmakers , including milliners and sempstresses . It is no wonder that an . elegant , accomplished , and otherwise delicately nurtured lady should pass from unhappiness to misery , and from misery to insanity , in a position which too often is not half so desirable as that of a domestic servant ; and upon the causes which operate upon thousands of the class of dressmakers , who are driven mad by penury , trouble , and perhaps remorse , it is unnecessary to speak . " * We are inclined to believe that the causes which reduce a lady to the governess ' s parlour , in which her position ' is not half so desirable as that of a domestic servant , ' or to the dressmakers and milliners' workshops , or sempstresses' attics , frequently operate in producing insanity ; but there can be no doubt that Bethlehem receives a vast proportion of its female inmates direct from the dwellings of those who treat the tutors of their children as menials , and of those who treat the practical creators of their opulence as slaves . f Well , what is to be done ? Mr . Lilwall and the association , which he so ably and disinterestedly serves , are engaged in carrying out some of the necessary roforms . Tho Home at 44 , Great Ormond-street , has been established for day workers ; tho Clifford-street Society
undertakes to deal with the ladies who insist upon superb dresses being completed at twelve hours' notice ; but it is a singular proof of the neglect to which women are exposed in England , that the Registrar-General has invariably omitted from his weekly returns an account of the occupations of females who die in London . " I wrote to him , " states Dr . Lankicster , " and ho said , in reply , that , unfortunately , that department of their system had not yet been carried out . "
To say tho truth , women have not yet assumed their right position in society . It is an anomaly incompatible with civilization that a woman , if neither married nor independent , should not bo ablo to pursue a * Statistics of Insanity . By W . Cliarloa Hood , M . D . Diivitl Uiitton . , ,, . P t ' The Oppressed Dressmaker * . TlUrloeiith koport of tho Eftrlv Closing Association . " n | 1 ( l Uo *
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), May 16, 1857, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_16051857/page/15/
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