The New York Herald Newspaper, January 29, 1852, Page 6

THE VERDICT IN THE FORREST DIVORCE CASE: Opinions of the Press, Ko, &o., &e. THE Fi REST CASE. [From the Ni Bun, January 27 | ‘This protracted trial was brought to a conclusion, yesterday, by a verdict in favor of the plaintid, on all the issues, and awarding to her $3,000 a year for alimony. A very large portion of the commu- nity will regard this as an extraordinary result, not sustained by the evidence; a large portion will look upon it as just what it should be, haps the largest portion of the three will re; t with per- foot ind tlereuce. The amount of ony looks a little vindictive, or else as if the jury approved of ‘the course ‘of life which, according to somo of tho ‘witnesses, the plaintii! seems to have led, and wish- ‘ed to give her the means of keeping it up Certainly they have declared their belief that Mrs. Forrest thas been the intended victim of plots or conspiracies too base to be readily sonceived of. But tho verdict is ‘of very little importance as re- Bards the real struggle between the parties, for the wy were only called in as a matter of legal form. e Cause has not, in point of fact, been tried be- fore them, but before the community. The evi- bas not been confined to the issues which the jury were professedly sworn to try, but has been Permitted to sweep over all creation, and te drawin the character of every body, dead or alive, who had ever had anything to do with either of tho parties. All this was for the purpose of influencing, not the werdict of the jury, but that of the community Andwhat hae been gained in this respect? In our opinion, nothing at xl The cause has been on trial before the public for 8 couple of years. Alithe material facts nad been published and commented on in the newspapers, and all who took an interest in the controversy had formed an opinion, according to their view of the facta, long before the trial came on. They had token sides, and we doubt whether any of them have changed in consequence of the developemeats made before the courts. Their respective opinions and feelings have only bcen rendered more intense by tho excitement of the trial The friends of Mra. Forrest, and those who hated her husband, will congratulate ber upon her good fortune and her three thousand a year, and will cling closer to her than evor. On the other hand, the friends of Mr Forrest will regard him as a victim of perjury and ef a strongly biased court, and wil! regard aim with more enthusiasm than ever. When he next appears in the theatre, bis friends will secure him such a tri ‘umph as no actor ever reccived before. Such, then, is the result, and the only result, of a trial upon which so much time bas been wasted. In every aspect of the matter, it is painful to contem- late it. Mr. Forrest, a3 an American, and as the rst of living tragedians, had, and still has, troops of admiring frierds. tor years he enjoyed uniater- rupted domestic happiness. A quarrel botwoon him and his wife finally arises, which is dragged be- fore the public; and after prejudices are excited which render a just or satisfactory verdict noxt to impossible, it is brought into court, and tried as if ‘betore a town meeting. The court is flooded with perjury 5 he rules of evidence are set at naught ; and what is called a legal investigation is permitted totake aswide a range as a pone or political discussion before an election. The character of the judiciary, the character of the parties, thecharacter of the witnesses, and of all coneerned, if net groatly damaged, certainly cannot be materially elevated by euch arvelée. Long may it be before we have ano- thor like it. RUESBANDS, TAKE CARE OF YOUR WIVES! — Wives NEVER MIND YOUR HUSBANDS ! (From the National Democrat, Jan, 27 | Candid refection upon the probable consequence of the result of the Forrest case produces the con- viction that morality will not be essentially pro- moted by the verdict of the jury. Sympathy for Mrs. Forrest, and perhaps political feeling, had Bomething to do in the rendition of the verdict. ‘We did not publish any of the disgusting testimony onthe trial, and have no prejudices in the matter. But the complete exoneration, by the jury, of Mrs. Forrest of all wrong, can have no other than evil tendency in social life, Unless the testimony on the part of the defence was a complete mass of per- jury, thenit will be atfiicult to account for the ver- dict of the jury upon any legitimate and fair mode of reagoning.” Many well meaning and sensible Persons, of both sexes, will regard the verdict as a Premium paid to licentiousness, and t» conduct Frowly infringing on the proprieties of married life. Remember, that we assume that the proof on the trial rendered it certain that both partiesare highly consurabie for their course of life. But the verdict is based upon the entire innosence of one party, and the guilt of the other. We again repeat, that no such conciusion was warranted by the testimony; and if we mistake not, a reaction in public senti- ment will harmonize with this view of the casa The conduct of Mrs. Forrest, during the absones 0 her busband, can never meet with the approbation of an intelligont and virtuous community. Such i our opinion, drawn from the testimony in this case proof of tne guilt of Forrest was cireum Stantial, though strong enough to convince uso erime. The guilt of Mra. Forrest was both cir Oumstantial and positive; and weighing ail the probabilities of perjury, there is enough of both to induce us to believe that she is not innocent. A Verdict that affirmed the guilt of both, with reagon- able alimony, if such a verdict could have beon rendered, would bave been more just THE VERDICT IN THE FORREST CASE. (From the Morning Star, Jap. 27 j The suspense of the parties to the Forrest divorce #uit, aud of their friends and the public, is over. The tables have been turned upon the original ao- ouser—he being declared an aduiterer, while the Jady ie pronounced innocent, and endowed with an income of $5 000 a-year to console her for the loss ofabusband. It is not likely that the ecuniary ortion of the verdict will stand. In the first place, tis doubtful whether the jury had any right to de- cide the question of alimony; and, in the next Place, supposing them to possees that right, we do Not believe that the Court of Appeals, to which the case will probably be carried up, would eanction such a wholesale award. ‘This trial bas afforded, in the course of ita excit- ing details, a humiliating developement of the faults and failings ef poor human nature. Wo to ‘the character of the man or woman who comes into court with unclean bands, as a witness or principal in such a suit. Even the purest might well dread the ordeal; while the guilty, dislodged from every “coign of vantage’ where they hoped to maintain @ semblance of deceney—imust ‘feel inclined to call Gpon the rocks and mountains to cover them and thoir shame. That Mrs Forrest has passed through this ordeal unscathed, we have the declaration of twelve respectable citizens, acting under the solemn ree b: oata, and having bet- ter opportun ing ata just conclusion on that point thar So far we entirely acquie are not infa t. But jurymen They are not exempt from other men, and where 2, and that woman is ver her th d to her th There is not « bu his wife’r p very of su ¢ confidense in n by the disco- r the same © stances. | + that he lived wi Forrest after tbe ducovery. The satisfactory ex- plavation given by the lady doubtless shook confidence in bof his euspici He de- termined, it may be supposed, to wait for farther proof before he condemned her. Then cam tementa of hireli ho wished to curry favor with the rich e dark bints of vile to and ¢ycophant lod themselves his friends— the half faced innuendoe of boon companions—aud all the damnable agencies ne which men o/ a proud yet open nature are made the tools of the meancet things that li Fi and after being ‘* perplexe husband became thoroughly conviction that hie wife waé a wanton & hat he believ de monet. unde At once buwiliated and exasperated -burnirg under a sense of supposed ir and ious for rovonge--he Was ready to fa uy pian for obtaining proofs ef the crime which ! Lupon as a fixed fact His false friends were iy to ad n His false triends were but too ready to adopt any indirect and u tifiat i releate from wha eoteblished take this wm. looked upon Fort hie wife, andadopt t some other cause ® belief in ber guilt ind him to wish to put her away. Hence they pur bim, by their verdict, for the foul deviogs « hangers-on, and reem to have made no allo for the monomania, under which, for many a be has been unguestionsbly labcring neer, for euch itis, led him into aete of impru and ¢x\ravagance which told against him on th with far more effect than any portion of the tostimony The boisterousness of bis indi prejudiced him fearfully in publi¢ opinion aud serpent suggestions | hima | mnd- | tion | we | in the opinions of the jury also. Had he Boon ote calm, ¥en ly tal pl Rape the it, 80 far as be was concerned, might have been different. The testimony given on the trial ia now before the community in pawphlet form They can sit down and examine it ealmly. They will do so ; and we confidently predict that the re- sult will be a deep feeling of sympathy for Mr. Fi rest, and the transfer of any feeling of dislike with which he may now bo regarded, to ths individuals by whom ho has been so iafamously played upon. Those very virtuous prints, the d'vmey ani tas Tribwne, having scented the verdict on Sunday, were out yesterday against Mr. Forrest in charac: teristic style. The sanctimonious Trihuneis appre: hensive that the ponte morals will be injured by the prurient details which it has spread before tuo People, in all their grossness, from day to day. Passages whith we omitted ou account of their ia- decency, appeared in the full breadth of their ob- scenity in the columns ef the Tribune; and now thatsynonym for ali that is hypooritical, deprecates the publication of such testimony, and promises to “go and sin nomore.” This comes well from the organ of socialism—a system that laughs at prrlage, recognises concubinage, would bastardize all children by affiliating them upon the State, and does not include the worship of God on the Chris. tian plan ae the obligations of society. ‘ihe Trmes—the lanthropic, humane, Christian-like Times—simply pronounces Mr. Forrest a bankrupt in reputation and honor, and intimates that the contamination of his acquaintance will henceforth be shunned asif he werea leper orapariah What acharitable world wo live in, and how ready mag- nanimous and severely virtuous presses, like the Tribune and the Times are, to pounce upon a man when they suppose him to be prostrate, and that the public are willing to join them ia trampling upon him: Tho havoo made with reputations during tho progress of the trial has been awful. Capt. Cal- craft, the ci devant husband of Miss Love, the cale- brated singer and actrees, was among the sufferers, and poor Josephine Clifcon has been disintered and arraigned, with none to utter a word in her behal! The motto, * speak well of the dead,” has no pla in the legal vosabulary. Mrs. Voorhies, now in ltaly, has been on tiial as well as Mrs. Forrest, and, in fact, no mercy has been shown by either sido to apy ope whem it was possible to connect in any way with the circumstances of the case. Lot us hope that such a display of infamy, porjury, vin- dictiveness, and prejudice, a3 we have had during the memorable Forrest trial, will never again dis- grace our legal records. THE FORRESL CASE. [From the Express, Jan 27.] It is very natural that tae press of our country should take up and earnestly commont on the extraordinary case which, having oc- cupied the Superior Court, in this city, for more thana month, has at length been terminated by the verdict of ajury. And we are prepared to see in the columns ot some of those of our contempora- ries who are fond of criticising everything New York does, some severe strictures upon the peculiar features of the trial. One has already spoken, ex- pressing the opinion that ‘‘the whole exhibition bas been a disgrace to a civilized community. The case,” continucs the writer, “‘has been less a trial of any issue between the parties litigant, than aa investigation of the characters and conduct of poo- pe in general, living and dead. And hence it has een less an effort to administer justice according to law between two parties in a suit, than to feed amorbid appetite for seardal.”” The extraordin- ary latitude allowed by the court is commented on as illegal, aud that assumed by the counsel in at- tempting to impeach witneescs, and putting them on trial, as well as the parties to the suit, is with equal severity condemned. ‘hore is somethiag ia the same vein, moreover, concerning the facility with which testimony has been put into the case of an obviously corrupt character. We fear that there is too much room for these strictures upon the manner in which the case al- luded to has been conducted; but taking into con- sideration the extraordinary character of the suit, growing as it did out of a series of transactions which had long been in progress, we do not see how it could well have been otherwise. [t is now three years, almost to a day, since the first step in these proceedings was taken, in the agrecment of tho" parties litigant. to separate and live quietly apart. Circumstances with which the reader must by this time be somewhat well acquainted, very soon brought about a termination of that agree- mest, so far as secresy as to its cause, was con- cerned, and the matter became one of public noto- riety, in its progress enlisting ne little feeling on both sides of the controversy, implicating many well known individuals in the community, and be- coming, month by month, the om of public in- terest and comment. At length, after various efforts, it came to the point of legal arbitrament, aud was referred to a jury ef the country, in a court of last resort, presided over by one of the moat upright and sagacious judges of the land; and, attera trialunparallelea in interesting and minute detail, was decided. We do not, we repeat, see how, considering all the antecedents, the trial could well have been con- ducted differently, in any important particulars, from the way in which it was conducted. Mr. For- rest fecking a divorce from his wife, on the ground ot adultery, had gone into another State, and pre- sented @ petition to its Legislature for that purpose He professed to be a citizen of that State, and laid before the body whose aid he inveked numerous afii davile, alleging divers acts of adultery against his wife. After much solicitation, the Logi Penrsylvaria refused his petitien, and referred tho applicant to the courts, passing seme enactments, we believe, with special reference to expediting the end be sought in that direction. To tho legal tri- bunals of toat State the opposite party, advised by counsel, declined to submit the decision of the case, claiming it to be her right to be tried in this Stato, asa citizen thereof. Our own courts sustained her in this view of her rights, deciding that she was not bound to answer in the courts of another State. Of course, Mr. Forrest having assumed the position of a resident of Pennsylvania, could not bring his action for divorce in New York, though he could ap- pear as defexdant, to answer in a similar suit, insti- tuted by the other party, here. And this oppor- tunity was afforded him—Mrs. Forrest commenciog proceedings against him for divorce on the ground of adultery, and he answering and putting in alle- gations of her guilt of the same offence, by way of defence ; and this is the suit which has just been decided. During all these preliminary provoedings, charges Were constantly accumulating, new partics were drawn into the case, aud various publications of afidavite, on both sides, as to what each averred | each expected to prove on the trial, were from time to time put forth. Sides were taken, as was naturally to have been expected, and opinions formed, as was inevitable, and 60, when the period of final arbitrament arrived, the matter had bo- | ceme one of public concernment, and fears were reasonably entertained that, ina community so excited, a perfectly fair trial could not be had. But when the case was ultimately commenced ua- der the management of the eminent counsel em- b parties, and be ny in the country d a jury sclected in th by both parties, from call hundred and twenty m t honesty and there wa: e 1 confid felt and manifested that the l would be a just one. By wh the press, af a body, forbore to facts in the case, ei it fulfilled one of it hold, in giving the dai Tbe court, in Case, ence boyord t ed in the full in the opinion of r. Almoat every: er party, could pos- er, orrefiecta ray A 8 ssuo, WAS pormit- s'o the case, and if this were not a fair trial, (we epenk, , the general opinion) } an be Lo such thing asa fair trial by jury. It e bound, ae good citizens, to concur in the en though it may notin all points accord with the pre-corceived opinions of some. It must be taken by ail consistent ds of our institutions 8 the voice of jastice cing from her high and egitimate oracles. i our purpose to review this trial, Iris art of or the mstances that gave ovcasion for it They bave long enough occupied the attention of the public, and kept itin a feverish and excited state. This is the momentfor repose from all this | fever and cxcitement, ard it ie not our purpose to disturb it. We will, however, add a few word relation toa matter connected with tt about which there seems to be some di opinion, here and there; we mean tho of making public, through tho letail nvestigatiors ia subject, rence of ediency edium of the press, jef Justice took occ: n to Te {bis chargo to tae jury, inthe 8 Honor the | mark, in the cou Forrest case, as f Let me bere cay. that the evil which must neoesearily grew cut of the publication of details of trials of thi racter is a very great one, and most injurious to publ: worals. 1 do hope that the Legislature of this State will Aa ic regerd it as thelr duty to pass an act probibiting the pob- cation of tvials of Uhia kind, till they ere fully tried and decided by the courts, It has always a tendency to create, and often dows create, an impression allover the ccunrunity, favorable or unfavorable to either of the parties involved. Asa proof of this, you cannot but have teen yourselver gentlemen, Guring the progress of thir trial. Chat @ strong sepration has been felt through this whole we ¥. 01 approbation or disapprobation, when #by pointed or causue remark bas been made by the coanrel on eliber side. And some of our cotemporaries, we observe, have sion to bare eaily reporte of this cae ‘The learned Judgo’s objection ie morely a mattor ature of | @ a court not | an | vanished, and | | forcibly exposes this evil ;— g | epreading wil the details betor | quence bas been that ia every t like that just had in | ofthis dircuseion, | one,s | Lemielatore of thie State will regard it ar the } ftrated its necessity for it toh taken the same grounds, as oxplaining thoir omis- | of time, aa we understand Bim. He is opposed to the publication of the details ofa certain class of trials during the pendency of the investigation, and would bave it postponed until the cases are decided; and this on the ground that pubiic morals are pre- judiced thereby It certainly does seem to us that ‘one one portion of his Honor’s argumeat on this ground confutes the other. Ifthere be anything positively irjurious to morals in the publication complained ot, itis as likely to produce its pernicious ¢flect when wade after a3 before its decision Then, as to tbe tendeacy of such publications to create impressions upon the community, with regard to the be Chie Justice admits tout these impressions ‘favorable or unfavorable” in the community, accordirg, we suppose his Honor of courre to mean, as impressions are usually formed among men, a3 they may aud do, from circumstances, vary. We Go bot see, in the “expressions of approbation or vise probation,” to whion the learned jurist alludos occasionally finding utterance in the court room, “when any pointed or caustic remark has been made by the counsel on either side,” a proof of the ten- dency ho deplores. As far as our observation has extended (and we watched the scones of the last few weeks with some attention), wo think each of the expressions alluded to was elicited by thoge “‘re- marke of counse],” without the slightest reference to motives or suggestions derived trom the publio Tees. On the oubject of commenting on tho proceedings of jury trials during their pendeney, there can be, we think, no difference of opinion among fair and just minds. And we must say, we think tha presa generally bas, during the long continuance of that now terminated trial, preserved a commendable avd exemplary regard to decorum. But of the right of the publie to receive from the hands of the conductors of the public preas—an aceountof what is theoretically open to the Besring and inapection of all, though of neceasity acovssible, otherwise than in print, to but few--the daily proceedings of ono of their own courts in matters invoiving tacts and principles of deep interest to themselves. we cannot entertain a momentary doubt. THE FORREST TRIAL AND THE NEW CODE. (From the Tribune, Jan 27) It ia usual, in certain quarters, to charge every eilagtae seems out of the way in any legal pro- ceedings, to the new code; and where causes of compiaint do not exist, thoy are manufactured. Accordingly, tho tediousnesa of tho Forrest trial, if not its unbappy nature, is charged upon tho code, and the public 1s given to understand that the very unusual range of evidence has been admitted in obedience to its presoriptions. Indeed, we have heard that but for the codo, the trial might have been ate, and society spared the wide publica- tion of ite y revolting detaila. All this is entirely false. The rules for the ad- mission of evidence have not been changed in any degree by the code. That they wore not, we are bound in justice to say, ia not the fault uf the com- missioners. They sought tomako such changes as wou'd have rendored trials briefer and less tedious ; but the Legislature refused to adopt their recom- mendations. As far as that point goos, this trial has been conducted as it might have been had tho code never been heard of. The admission of so much apparently irrelevant testimony is to be attri- buted solely to the court and the counsel; and in our judgment one thing is cortainly gained by it, namely, that a new trial ia unlikely, if not impos- sible. This might not have boen the case had evi- dence been severcly excluded in every doubtful par- tioviar. Nor is the publicity of the trial the fault of the code or tho commissioners. Among the provisions they recommended, but which the Legislature in its wisdom has never seen fit to act oa, was one Biviag the courts the authority, with the eonsent of the parties, to order the trial to be entirely pri- vate in civil cases. And more than this, the code as drawn up and enacted in 15i3, expressly laid down that every suit brought to trial, oxcept for the recovery of money or specific property, should be adjudicated by the court alone, and not by a jury, except the court should otherwise order Acoording to the code of 1848, then, this vase was one to be tried by the benoh privately, ualess the Judge had decided to remit it toa jury. But this provision the Legislature subsequently anuuiled, | making every suit for divoroo, especially on tho ground of adultery, the subject of jury trial Thus it appears that the acousations brought against the ccde are without any ground of truco, and that the things cought to be charged upon it would not have occurred had its letter and inten- tion been preserved end carried out. ‘Tae fault belongs with tho Legisiature, which has not given the code a fair conzideration a3 8 whole, and haz tinkered and mutilated some of its wisest details. The time will come. however. when justice will be done to it and its authors {From the Couric: and Enquirer. Jan_ 97.) Tn one of the private galleries of the Grand Da. | 4 | the matter which so much concerned ler; for she cal Mutcum at Florence is a representation of the plague, so loathsemely real in all its details, that bone but the coarsest naturca can contempt: with composure. In one of the public chambers of the City Hall of New York haa yen, for the iast four weeks, an exhibition of a moral pest as offen- sively gross inall its developements. Both are eu- riosities, but the one is professional, the other popwar. The one is secluded, seldom mentioned, and to the great mags is unseen and unknown; tho | ¢ . | Jad bad bad not yet arrived, but would be there soon, otber isin tho most public of places, aad is mado as universally notorious as possible by the minutess | deeoriptions, cried and hawked everywhere, thrast into the face of every street-pasrer and smuggled, amongst more decent matter, intoevery dw ‘Tho physical putresconce is unvarying in ite et, and consequ-ntly econ loses all its novelty and ia: | terest; the moral putrescence bas been continually ehifting and bas daily assumed some new form of dirgust. The one contains no active principie of evil, being simply repulsive without being conta- gio ‘be other bas been contaminating and cor- rup’ in all its influences, and has been a pes- tilential curze to a whole community. ‘The Forrest trial is at jast over; and. indepond- ently of any particular satisfaction given by the re- | cult, all right-minded men muzt congratulate them- selves upor being at last rid of an abominable nuieance. Judge and jury, lawyers and witnosses, | have been diligently employed for ene full calendar month in ane open a heap of moral depravity, such as has hardly been brought into a court room for a generation. It has been one tangled mass of almost every vice that human nature is capable of. Its substance throughout is as vile ag conspiracy and perjury and protligacy among the vilest of mon and women could bring into existence. The scanning and sifting of this reeking compound was doubtless one of the most unpleasant duties our honorable of- ers of the law ever had to perform ; but still it asaduty which they could neither repudiate nor evade. ‘Eney have discharged their legal obliga- tions manfully and faithfully; and yet toe great latitude, we believe, was accorded to the parties in the introduction of matter which in no sense formed & part, or affected the condition of the case. T iJ himeelf wae eensible of this, and ; but his apology came from the heart, rather than the head. Complaisance, though from generous feelings, is sometimes a i iy tobe commended, when in the i ense bat which, ney and j proach upon ¢ it surely mu morbid tus but the adm seus pe to be | pre-judged by a of public opinion; and thi judgme apt to bias the feelings and cc Chief Justice, in bis charge j The nm this Forrest case, We have found here, gentlemen, du inl. that | | there has been created about ly in this | court room, but in the pub: @ feeling and 4 prejudice which are az upon the just and prope this, the’ prees bas in a pat dangerous in their inistration of the laws. Jo degree contri Tue con ber's ehop—every place. in tact hie matter har Pecple bave taken 0 their opinion, « deed, if you, who have for gree affected by it. Well. y © Unis case in the midst of the grea on one side or the other. that [ have ressed While on the betich or at the bar that the evil which must necessarily grow cation of detuils of trinis of thin character nd most tjurivus to the public sac mass ( pore an act prob kind tll they are f the publication of tu y tried and decided that this appea 1 be voriously © upon this s vely required. A provision suilw of this character was Code ws originally re- . but failed of legisla- Experience has too clearly demon- longer deferred dably leade to be sure to sta giclatur some ki @ impera contained in our ported by the Cc live adoption The publicity of those trials wu their pub/ioation, for reporters wi | Gon them elves among the crowd of spootasors, | she gratefully accepted the offer. | ternally o: puted, bY | either in the standing army or in the two bans of | the landwebr, from the age of - | thoussnd men.—Collurn they be debarred from the reporters’ table. There willal ways beenewspapors oager enough to spread apy trial, be itever so disgusting, before ¢ publie eye. Our community bas just had a pretty vivid illustration of this in the brisk compe- tition of certain prints for the scum and dregs of - this Forrest caze— prints that style themselves ‘*po- pular” par excellence, and are ever loud in their pro- ivesions of morality when it goats nothing. Pandera are quite certain to be found for every prpetite, however grora; but if the law oanpet control their disposition, it may and should restriot their ability. Trial, like the one we are just relieved of, must necessarily, in our present state of society, from time to time arise, and come under the cogni of our courts. In justice to the private parti cerned, let them be examined fully and judged righteously; but 10 mercy to the community at large, let their evil influences be foreciosed by the remedy Judge Oakley has indicated, for it is tho only effective one. Interesting Foreign Extracts. The Romance of Real Life. [From the sterling (Scotland) Journal, Jan. 2.) The following facta possess some striking points of interest. ‘@ may premise that the story is strictly true, the names only, for obvious reasons, being euppreesed:— In the year 1827, a young woman, of decent pa- rentage, engaged in the service of a clergyman’s family in the west country, became acquainted with and formed an attachment to a young man in tho neiguvorhood. A child, the result of this attach- ment, was ultimately, from the inability of oither of the parents to support it, consigned to the care of the grand mother on the father’s side. The mother had frequent opportunies of seving and hearing of her boy while she remained in that quarter of the country; but some timo after- wards she left the neighborhood and removed to a distance. Thereafter the father loft the same district alao, and removed to Ireland, taking the boy along with him Some years passed away, ant i being mutually ignorant of each other's of residence, the mother, afr using means to discover whether ber child had been removod, gave up all hope of obtaining the much desired intelligence. She conducted herself woli in the geutleman’s family in which sho served, and in a few years thereafter an cffer of marriage was made to. her by a respectable trademan, which, after candidly relating to him the circumstances ef her previous life, he was, by rea- son of his attachment to her, induced to repeat, and In the prosecu- tion of his business ho soon thereafter removed to Glasgow, where he commenced business as an engi- neer. The father of the boy, in the meantime, had also married, and by him the youth, when ho grew up, wassentto and completed his apprenticeshi; with an evgineer in Ireland. Subsequently the la: went to G. ‘ow in search of, and obtained employ- ment, by @ singular coincidence, and without a knowledge oncither side of the relationship, from the engincer, who, aa wo havo stated, had matried the boy's mother; and from the fact of her not hay- ing seen him Since he was an infant, she never sus~ pected, and indeed oould not possibly have recog- nized, him as her long lost boy: It appears that a brother of the lad’s father hap- pened to keep a booking oflice for parcala, &c., in the city, and to him, among others, the father had sometimes, in his ietters, alluded to the mother of his boy, and hia natural curiosity to know what had become of her. The young man was ocsasion- ally in the habit of calling on his fathor’s brother, and reading or talkiag over any mutual lettors they might receive from his fatherin Ireland. Itchanced one day that a well-drossed, and even ladylike woman, entered the office to book @ parcel. Tho man fixed his eyee upon her, and said he had some distant recollection of having seen her before, and begged with all civility to inquire. whether, in her youth, she had been in employment asa servant at a maxso in the west country, which henamed. Tho Jady replied that she had; and, ever anxious re- garding her boy, and having no reason for con- cealment, eogoriy inquired if he could give hor apy tidings of her son, orif he knew anything concerning him. The man told her that ho was himself the brother of the boy's fathor; that having seen her in former yoars he remembered ard recognized hor countenance, and if she would call at his office on the ~Bucceeding evening at seven o'clock, he would make arrange- ments whereby hor son would be inattendanco, and ste might see him. The interest and anxiety, it may be imagized, of this woman was great. She bad not heard of hor boy, after many vain endea- vours, for the long space of twenty years---not even by ictter ; and hers, by a single acsident, whon east expected it, ehe was on tho following evening to ace and converse with him. She imme- diately went home and told the circumstanye to hor busband, and deep wae the interest he also took in had been to him a good and faithful wife, and if she had crred ene nad washed it away with lorg sorrow and repentance ; and ho. of all others, had fully aud freely forgivenher. Theintervening time, it may be supposed, eoemed long and tedious, and it was with an anxious eye, and a palpitating beart, that ebe entered the oflice of the book keeper the sneceeding evening, afew minutes bofore the eppoiztcd hour. Tbe man informed her that tho and, handing her aseat, told her that he would ceeahaltebucter of the side window when he | came in, by which signal she would know that it was ber son who cntered. People came and went cr a considerable 2, and the mother's feelings and anxiety were every moment incroasing, when one of her husband's workmen entered the She instinctively turned away her head, for she liked not that one in her husband’s service should observe her at such an anxious time; but at that instant the half shutter waa hastily clozed; for it was indeed her son who had entered. She gazed at bim as ho stood in his prime, and her wonder was reat that she should recognise in onc of her hus- Fand’s workmen her long lost son; but the pre- ceding anxiety and the shock were too much, and as she looked she became pale and fainted away. Restoratives wore immediately procured, and, on her being completetely recovered, the explanation | of the extracrdinary circumstances was communi- cated to the son. Although he had had frequent occasion to speak to his mistress, there had not been the least suspicion on either side of the close rela- ticnship. They went home to ber husband's houso and his place of business together. Her husband was amazed, as well he might be, at the turn mat- ters had taken, and indeed it wassubject of deep interest and wonder to allofthem. He wasploased to find that his wife’s son was so well doing, for of course, as his master, he knew him well; and short. ly afterwards, having used influence with his friends on his behalf, and knowing the laa’s ability, he pro cured for bim a situation as engineer on one of the Englieh railroads, which ho stillholds. Onty about ten months ago the lad interceded and obtained for hia father a subordinate situation on tho same line of railway. The subdued and grateful thoughts of the mother may well be imagined. An absence of notia any degree abate attachment; and though had often deplored the error of her youth, it th feelings of thankfulness and a gladdened t, ehe Mle cde the extraordinary chain of which, under Providence, had re- d separation, ored to he the child of her amely, the P ; the first ban of ban of the landwebr; aud ding army i the landwehr; t the Jandsturm en capable of g arms, e obliged to verve three years, from th of the iandwehr comprises all the hirty-two years of age, whodo the standing army. itis called e¢ & year for military instruction, and may dered in the light of an efticient reserve force, capable of acting in time of war, either ex- internally. The second ban of the landwehr is composed of all the men from thirty- two to forty years of age, who do not form part of tho acting army es paid volunteers: itz duties are to tified posts, in event of war, and to serve reed as a corps of support for the stand- Tho Jandsturm isthe general levy of ing army the whole country. and cannot, by the law of the jand, be conv ked, save im case of an invasion of the national territory or othor extraordinary cir- cumstance; it comprises all the men not inoluded venteen to fifty. at the standing army the laadwebr, make a of about five hundred Unite ¢ for De Tt has been calculated th along with the two bass altogether an effective tot The Levant, t rial we have received ( 24th, Amyrna to the 20th, and Achens tc The former announce the death. ow the Ana. mother of Fathme Sul- aried the next dey natantinople disminsal ¢ eeming tou news irae Tachi ined by the discovery of « saged, for depriving Persia of nm Ordere were given that Mirze vrother in-law of the Bhat, abould cvention pwnd sey th tin which he province of Gh ahi Khan, alth rangied, but uis lite was spared on tue iat be of tbe Ulemabe. The Bmyrus papers coutein no pers n the | | The proportion of iegitimate to legit | all but a fraction the number of il t eees . | sinee IS17 The Serfs of Russia, [From the London Chronicle Correspondent in Russia } Into the inherent character of tho serf system in Russia, it would be foreign to my purpose to go. This monster institution (1 cannot be said to use the name when I remember that, owt of the 54,000,000 of whom the Russian pepulation is un- deretood to be composed, 42,000,000 are serfs, and but 12 000,000 free—about one in five) has been for years the great object upon which she pros of Eu- ropeap philosophers have been exercised. [ta vioes sre known te the world; nor have those interested in preserving it failed to set forth its alleged alle- viations. The opinions, too, which the respective rulers of Rugsia have Gatatatend upon it, are also ou record. It is evo. no scoret that the earlier con- victions of the present Emperor of Russia (whose political education was confided to abler handsthan usually direct the studics of continental royalty,) were in favor of modifying the system, and ole- vating, if not of enfranchising, the millions. Nor is it concealed, among the tew who dere speak il, that the Czar’s feelings upen tho subject of dom, did not exbaust themselves in mere words, od thathis majesty actually assumed the initia- tive in @ course which would havo led to serf- emancipation. It is considered, in certain circles, the reverse of @ matter for regret that resolute and implacable opposition, manifested not in overt act, but in degged and deadweight inaction, 8 in causing the discomfiture and abandonment of the attempts in question. Nor ia it probable that such attempts will be renewed from the same quar- ter. The emperor's chicfattentioa is now given to the soldierly education of myriads of plumed and glittering cerfs of his own. A tast» for military Gotail and display haa guoceeded at Petersburg to any effort for the acttlement of graver questions, and, frem the present, serfdom in Russia must remain what it 1s. The difficulty of any inter- ference with it, is still further enhanced by the ex- awple to which its defenders have been enabled to pene. through the unparalleled ferocity and barbar- ty of certain terfs who (it wag said under some mis- conception of the pleasure of the emperor hiwself,) set to work to emancipate themselves. The atroci- tica they committed—which caused them to bo hunted down like wild bewste—are pointed to ag warnings bow you entrust with hberty men who are not suited forit. Murders, violations, mutila- tions, of the most horrible kind, were among the fire eacrifices of these men at the altar of freedom, and are @ powertul, if not altogether silencing, ar- gument inthe mouths of those who would keep barred the gates of the temple. Very far, indeed, is it from my intention to in- dulge in avy apologies for the system. An Eng- lishman cap have but one feeling as to the position of aman whom he finds on a rocial level with the horse he flogs. But it is not go very long since a similar state of things oxiated in our own colonivs ; and let us, therefore, quietly examine the working of the system, leaving the reader to institute his own comparisons and deduce his own conclusions. 1 bave meee of a certain apecies of serfs as an exile, and I propose to glance at bis position before referring to that of his resident brothers im bond- age Itisthis: The serfof = Prana who re- sides, perhaps, several hundred milvz from a cer- tain large town, conceives that he shall ** better himecif’’ by leaving his native soil and trying his fortune in the town in question. He is acarpenter, | or & mason, or hag a knowledge of somo trade, though ho may be engaged in agriculture! pursuits. Ho proposes to his jordto let him go. Possibly his lord refuses, and thore is an end of the matter ; for | the epecia! case of the sert’s taking leave without permission—in other words, escaping—is not now very frequent. Sometimesince, when government was desirous that the population of certain districts should be inoreased, the system of runnizg away, on the part of tho serfs, and hiding in thoso dis- triots (whore ultimately they became “*inscribed’’) was winked at; but I believe the oase is now dif- ferent, and that unless the serf is almost miracu- lously lucky in evading all the network of the polisa system, ho is unceremoniously seized, packed oif to the military depot, made a soldier, and ‘ac. counted for’’ to his owner, when the latter has to pay his next instalment of serfs to the military au- thorities. But if theaerf have a humane and libo- ral owner, (and am informed that there are hun- dreds of such,) who oan afford to part with him, the adventurer departs. He previously makes his bargain with his owner, as to how much of his earnings shall be remitted to the latter, and the Decessary passports from his proprietor are fur- bithed to the police of the district in which he pro- poses tosettle. Tho police syatem is so diffused, and has such manifold ramifications, that it is al- | most impossible to evade it long, and hence the owner bas a safe hold upon the travelling serf, even at the distance of five, six, or seven huadred | miles ; for nobody is allowed to live in Ruzsia without leave—that is, without a billet de sejour, which hag to be renewed every year—but, in the cace of the serf, and indeed of others, as the police may seo fit, at the expiration of a much shorter | period. In the gert’s case, | believe, six months is usually the time. Ifthe man hag his lawfut Miléet, which is strictly local, itisevidence that he has not run away; if be hasit not, he is liable te bo instantly seized. Iam supposing, howevor, that he proposes to keep faith. He obtaing his police (nit, and be then seeks for what work be can get. Often. indeed most frequently, does he not leave | hia native place, except in company witha “gang” of companions similarly eituated, who engage themselves cn masse, under an arrangement to | which all must be parties, and who have a leader, who conducts the butiness for them, and receives and divides their earnings. In this case, they ustally live together, and you meet them return- ing at night, in a body, to the large room in which they sleep, and in which they always indulge the Russian habit of eternal singing, to the no small Persons ae of involuntary audiences of noigh- ore. ‘Theserfremains, and works. His rate of wages, ofcourse, varies with his trade and with his skill. A carpenter's wages will, for instance, vary from tworubles copper (about Is. 10d ) to one rubie sil- ver a day (3s. dd), or he may be so excellent a workman as to be hired, by contract, for forty five rubles per month. He has to pay his lodging, and he has to remit his payments to his lord. And, if he has left behind a wife, aed his inclination bo to assist her efforts at self support, he has the same means of remitting to her, namely, by the post oflice —a very important department of which is appro+ priated to this kind of business. The rest of his earnings he may apply as he pleases The bare necessaries of li e remarkably cheap in Ressia. The workman’s living costs him the merest trifle Statistics of France, LABOR IN PARIS The following area few facts lately pointed out by M. Bianqui, in his last lecture on political eco nomy,atthe Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers, where he is professor of that ecience:—Parisian in- dustry produces annually from 14 to 15 hundred millions of francs worth of goods of various species There are 32° cipal branches of industry, 64,000 patented masters, ) workpeople, 24 000 are men, 112. women, and 26,5: re ‘The Ist arrondisrement, in which the car fly carried on, produces to tha ; the 2d. 177 millions; the 3d employe 32,000 workmen, producing 127 millions; he 4th employe 21,000 workmen, producing 72 mil- ions; the Sth, 51,000, producing 169 millions; the th, 63,000, producing 255 millions. The last ar- ement is especially Parisian. In it the artisan is truly¢a wagician—a Proteus; he excels n This arrondissoment produces an- th of goods out of nothing, | genius to the work it tts ie berethat Paris goods are manufactured, fancy inrnery, buttons, brush umbrellas, | ewelry, plated wo hundred thous warvels of ingenuity knows and aught after in every part of the world he 7th numbers 41,000) workmen, and produces 158 millions. it is very nearly related in character to the 6th. The Sih employs 50.000 workmen, and produces 132 mil- lions. This is the quarter for cabinet making, paper hanging, carpeutry, and brewing. The 9th cumnbers 15,000 workmen, preducing 55 millions The 10th numbers 20.000 workmen, producing 63 million. ‘Lhe Hith numbers 19,000 workmen, pro- | illiors Lastiy, the 12tb, which is the | cueing 6 gieat quarter for tanners, rag merchants, and brewers, numbers 70,000 workmen, produsing 100 | millions eding then to the etudy of spocial | branches of industry, the profersor noticed that of bronze work rivalled in the w and pro- ducing 20 millious; hatmaking, 1b millions; glove making, 14 millions. The wages vary among this imme population of workpeopte from 2) cen- times (24) a day to from S5t. to if. (from 28s. | ) The average wage is 3{ S0o (3s 24.) a day fora man, and for @ woman If. G50 (ls 4hd) POPULATION. i From a statistical work, just published in Paria, by M Mathieu, it appears that the births in , during the thirty-throe years from 1517 to were It 349 boys, and 15 504,541 girls ¢, 1,106,496 boys and 1,121,038 girls wore @ A comparison of these numbers will curious fact that the proportion of b to ser in » case of legitimate than of hildren, the proportion of the former to 14, and of the latter as 25 to 21 mis being as fame period, was as } to 15, But, ip Paris, during 1850, | gitimate birthe attained the | bere | dren, during the nofnearly 1 in 4, the ou ad 4.722 il pate. ai average of births in frightful proport being 15,643 legitimate rom 1817 to 154), the a France wae 1 to 38 % inhabitants, of deaths 1 to 40, and of marriages 1 to 12%, Tho tables show very large increase in the duration of human life 6 In that year the average du it wae 25.9 yours, a it reached 36.1. Before the first revolution Duvil Jand’s tabice gave 5) years only aa the avorage duration of Lily, 89 that moro than 7 yoars, by a 3S yeare: in I | this. as ifthe fume stead, reasion, have been gained with 6) years. The peesent population of Pacts is 946,721. This, added te 187.513 in tho arroudissement of St Denia, and 187,513 in that of tho Soeaux, makes the Population of the department of the Syiae 1,364,033. WARLIKE STORES. it resulta, from an account recently takon, taat the war matériel of Franoe at the present time is ew timated at the sum of 459 millions of francs, divided into seven categories—provisions, 22 millions; how pitals, 17 millions; clothing and camp equipage, 45 millions; proses remount for oavalry (72,30 herses), 52 millions; forage, 15 millions; artillery, 268 millions; engineering material, 1/ millions. France possesses 4,967 pieces of heavy artillery of different calibre in bronze, and 3,411 in iron; 3,800 field pieces in bronze, and 2 975 mortars; 4,332 how- itzers for siege and field operations; 17,674 gun oar- riages of different kinda and sizes; and 22) gwivol uns in bronze. There are in the military nals 091.234 balls, 935,360 bombs, 1,600,000 shells, 212,215 grenades, 177,588 boxes of bal'a filled for cannon and howitzers, 16,000,000 kilogrammes of balls, 25,000,000 kilogrammes of powder, 99,900,000 of cartridges of different kinds, 96,000 bags filled with balls for cannon and howitzers, 4,622 oanuon cartridges, 28,000 pegeanirans of powder contained in hollow shot and ebells, and 450,000 kilogrammes of powder manufactured, and of tho necessary in- gredients for manufacturing it. In thirty five yoars of peace, the war matériel has cost 13° millions of franca. The State besides poseosses 2,903,801 flint and percussion lock muskets, in the hands of the National Guard and tho army; 151,021 carbines, and 184,836 pistols. The: Search for Sir John Frankiin, 10 THE EDITOR OF THE LONDON TIMES. Sir:—I have just reosived the inclosed deposi- tion ef Captain Martin, relative to his interview with Sir John Franklin, and requost that you will give it ape in your columns. am, sir, your humble soryant, C.R Wetp. Royal Society, Somerset House, Jan. 2 DEPOSITION. Robert Martin, now master and commander of the whale ship Intrepid, of Peterhead, solemnly and sincerely deciares, that on the 22d day of July, 1845, when in command of the whalo ship Enter- prise, of Peterhead, in lat. 75 10, lon. 66 W., calm weather and towing, the Wrebus and Terror wore in company. These ships were alongside the En- terpriso for about fifteen minut ‘he declarant conversed with Sir John Franklin and Mr. Reid, his ice master. The conversation lasted all tha time the ships were olose. That Sir John, in answer to a question by the declarant, if he had a good supply of provisions, and how long ho ex- pected them to last, stated that he had provisions tor five years, and, if it were necessary, ho could ** make them spin out seven yoars ;” and he said, further, that he would lose no opportunity of killing birds, and whatever else was usoful that came in the way, to keep up their stock, and that bs bad tenty of powder and shot for the purpose. That Sir Jobn aleo stated that he had already got sove- ral casks of birds salted, and had then two shooting parties out—one fromeach ship The birds were Very numerous; many would fall at a single shot, and the deciarant bas himself killed forty at a shot with white peas. Taat the birds are very agree- able food, are in taste and size somewhat like youa: igeons, and are called by the sailors ‘ roohes.” Phat on the 26th or 23th of the said month of July, two partics of Sir John’s officers, who had been out shooting, dined with the declarant on board tho Kinterpriso, There was a boat with six from each ship. Their conversation was to the samo offect as Sir John’s. They spoke of expecting to be absent four or five, or perhaps six years ‘l'heso officers also said that the ships would winter whore they could find a convenient place, and in spring push on a5 far as possible, and go on year after year, ag the determination was to push on as far as practisabio ‘That on the following day an invitation was brought to the declarant, realy to dine with Sir John, but the wind shifted, and the Enterprise hav- ing cut through the ice about a mile and a half, the declarant was obliged to decline the invitation That ho saw the Erebusand Terror for tvo days longer; they were still lying at an iceberg, and the Enterprise was moving slowly down the country ‘That so sumerous were the birds mentioned, and ao favorable was the weather for shooting them, that a very large number must have been secured during the time tho declarant was in sight of the two ships The Prince of Wales whaler was also withia sight during the most of the time. That from the state of the wind ard weather for ten days, during part of which the declarant was not in sight of the two ships, the best opportunity was afforded for securing the birds. That the birds described are not to bs foundat all places on the fishing ground during the whaling season; but are met with in vast numbers every season on certain feeding banks and places for brooding, and it appeared at the time by the do- clarant to be a most fortunate circumstan’e that tha Erebueand Terror had fallen in with eo many birda, and that the state ofthe weathor was so favorablo for securing Sey Se numbers of them. The deciarant has bimselt hadasupply of the same description of kirds, which kepttreeh and good during three montha, at Davis's Straits, and the last were ag good as the first of them Which declaration, above written, is now made conscientiously, believing the same to be trua Ronerr Martin eclared before me, at Peterhead, this 2%b day of Dec., 1851, KR. Grats, Provost of Petorhead ™ True Great Bi AMS —We to state that the Great Britain screw ati placed on the etation between Liverpoo! rly in the spring. under the command of Oaptain Mathews, late of the Great Western, and City of Gisagow The Great Britain’s build and dimensions are well knowo to be such as to adupt her arrangements in a most re: markable degree to eecure the economy and comfort of passengers. and at the tame time, to afford accommoda- tion to sbippers. Her engines, boilers, and the whole of the machinery are of the most approved construction, by Mesers. Penn & Sona, of London, and she is fitted with ali the improvements which experience has shown to be one. to speed and regularity Liverpool Mercury, fan. 9. Wii or JM W Traxer, R. A—Nearly the whole of bis fortune is left for the foundation of some alms- houses for decayed oil-painters, and it is believed that he has been working for this object for many years. It appears to bave been » point of high ambition with him to be identided with the establishment of such an insti- tution. spd he has directed £1,000 to be expended in the erection of ® monument to his memory in connection with it. He purchated a piece of ground at Cwicken- ham for the purpore of erecting these almshouses twenty Fears ago, at the time ef making his will, designing that thie glorious memorial of his genius should be 4 amid the beautiful scenery of that locality. The only remarkable circum tance attending the bequert is, that he enould exclude water color painters from partici pating in itshenefits. His ol! pictures, comprising forty or Gfty of his st pictures, are left to the Nationai Ga- n that within ten years a@ room be 6s! for their reception, Among them ara Tannibal ” the Hail, Rain, and Speed the two large pictures of “Carthage,” the © Temeraire.” the “Burial or Wilkie.” anearly picture representing a ’ og." remarkabia for its truthfal effects ated “ Death of Nelson, quarter. deo ship filled with Ggures and the finest repcesent tion of # sew-fight that was ever painted His atoc’ Watercolor drawing# and engravings, which is of grea He a bargained for fifty tral that was engraved, and many of id New York Pollticns Intelligence, Sts Missov nt — The democratsar Now holding county meetings, to appoiat delegates to the Stute Convention which I* to meremble at the oity of Jeffetson, on the dth Monday of Maroh next, for the put Democrat Jose Of selecti irgetes to the Baltimore Convention Art avo: is being minde to harmonise and induc to work together ‘The Bentonites are still frotio & meeting fp 8t Louis om the bthimst Jt wasa large assemblage, aud gave expres- ions favorable lo Gen for the Presidency, th claring thot the meeting nominated at the tcnites beld em adopted the res 140, “44, and “4 Exrctiox im Rrorovp, Va = At an election held in Richmond. Va., on the uzd instant. J R. Anderson, whig was elecied member of the House of Delegates, for the city of Richmond. Mr Anderson had ® handsome mie jority 8 the next candidate wed de lu support the candidates simore Convention The anti-Ben gin St. Louis on the same day, and ‘ons of the Baltimore conventions of Diarine Affatra, Ivcreaaro Steam Communication with OHARLEsTON =e Messrs. Spoffprd, Tileston & Oo., the owners of the Charieston line of steamers, intend. in the ensuing epring, to materially increare the facilities of commun!- cation between Charleston and New York, by the addi tion of two more steamers to the line. They have already put the splendid steamer Union on the route, in place of the Southerner, which is to undergo some repairs, and are rapidly proceeding with the completion of the new steamer James Adger, elso for the same ling, ‘There will then be the Union, Marion, Soutberaec, avd James Acger one of which will start every Wednesday and Beturday from each city) Capt Dickinson, inte of ths Routherger, ie to have Command of the James Adger Portsx6 On Tuesday | a t. from Parsamy shut np on ite wonted cha been able tocleg by ar single fette And more the Piscntaque hed boon wit be, on that day a delegete fr: ofa whale of about t up by our wharves to E among the Onny ngth, came leieu mouth briage, halfa mils ebove the Navy Yard, played about for a while, avd then retired again to toe covan—seom ingly dieposed to Piscatayua bas ye Portemouth (Me) dor t that not half ti wen epouted over value of the the ocaau.— DerorvLaTion or Mawx.—A letter in the Maing Furmer, from San Franciso, says, that of thre buudred And sixty pastengers who went in one eteamer from Now York to Uslitornia, via San Jung de Nicaragua, one hua- dred and seven belonged tv tae State of Maine, =~