THIRD READING. (Hansard, 3 March 1859)

§ MR. BERESFORD HOPE

wished to take another opportunity of entering his protest against and declaring his conscientious opposition to this Bill. It provoked the opposition of all the women of England, and of all the thinking people throughout the United Empire. It was said when tins Bill was before the House on the last occasion, that the clergy of London were in favour of it. He had no answer to make to that statement at the time, but now he had an answer. That evening he had presented a petition from the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, urging that the marriage of a man with a deceased wife's sister was contrary to the Word of God and the law of the Church. Another petition had also been presented by him from Sion College, a corporation of the clergy of London, which alleged that if this Bill passed the law would be destructive of the social interests of the people, and to the discipline and doctrine of the Church of England. He had also presented a petition from the town of Leeds, signed by nearly the whole of the clergy, and of the same purport as those to which he had alluded. Hostility to the measure however was not confined to those classes. The feeling of the country was against the passing of the law. He was satisfied that even should the Bill pass that House it would not become law. He begged to move that the Bill be read a third time that day six months.