CHOOSING A PARTNER.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 112, 14 May 1925, Page 9

CHOOSING A PARTNER.

LITTLE CARE EXERCISED, ALMOST TRIAL MARRIAGES DIVORCE TOO EASY.

A scathing indictment "was made by a prominent Auckland clergyman in the course of conversation with, a "Star" representative, when, discussing tho present-day tendency of young men and women to "have a good time," he remarked that, not in all cases, but in a. great many, young women and men, in selecting a husband or wife, exercised less care, certainly not. more, than they would in choosing a summer frock or hat.

The only items they apparently took seriously were their amusements. That may sound paradoxical, but it was true. Since the war the general conduct and life of young people had changed to an astounding degree, and, taking the broadest view of the position, no other conclusion could be arrived at but that the standard had fallen considerably.

"A good time," said the reverend gentleman, "seems to be the only aim. Home life, so dear to us older people, counts for nothing with the majority of young men and women of to-day. It is often said that every girl looks forward to the time when she will marry the man she loves and set up in a home of her own, a home which she will tako every pride in. But this is not true. Many of our young girls will marry a man about whom they know little or nothing, and be content to live in a flat. If any inquiries are made about the prospective husband, they will possibly bo confined to his banking account. But even when married they still look for the good time, and go about as they did before marriage."

Trial Marriages. Continuing, the clergyman said that morality generally was at a low standard, and he thought this was due to many factors, not tho least of which was the ease with which married couples could obtain divorce. The Church did not recognise divorce, because when a man and woman were married it created a relationship, and could not be broken. The relationship between mother and son could not be broken; It did not matter what the son or mother might be, or how cruelly they treated each other. The relationship still remained, and so it was with man and wife. To grant divorce by the mutual consent of the parties after a three years' separation was getting somewhere near trial marriages, and it was terrible to think of. It was approaching free love, and nothing could bo more degrading than that.

He did not know what had come over the young people of to-day. There must be hundreds of young wives and husbands who regret they did not exercise more care in choosing a life partner. Others again appeared to have taken up the attitude that if the marriage was not a happy one they could easily apply to the Court and be divorced. If the "good time" they had before marriage was not continued afterwards, the whole business was unsatisfactory. That did not apply to all causes, but to a great many.