DIVORCE LAW POINT.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 13191, 11 August 1908, Page 5

DIVORCE LAW POINT.

(fUU ASSOCIATION TTUIOEAIC.) | AVELLINGTON, August 10. A new ground for divorce under the amending Act of last session is where respondent is a person of unsound mind and has been confined in a mental hospital for periods not less in the aggregate than ten years, and is unlikely to recover. • Recently in the cases of Stevens v. Stevens, and Livingstone v. .Livingstone, application was made to Jlr Justice Cnapman for directions as to service. There is provision for. this in the principal Act, and it imposes on the Registrar of the Supremo Court the duty ot forwarding a copy .of the petition to the Solicitor-General. This U followed by power given to the Attor-ney-General or Solicitor-General to onpose tho divorce. To that power is now added tho duty of the SolicitorGeneral to take on behalf of respondent such steps as ho may consider necessary in the interests of the respondent. The question Mr Justice Chapman was asked to decide was whether this provision was intended to, supersede the necessity fo& the appointment of a guardian ad litcm. It was suggested that substituted service" would bo sufficient, as tho office of' guardian ad litem was rendered superiiuous, and therefore superseded by the new duty cast upon tho Solicitor-General. For several reasons, his Honour did not think this assumption could be fairly made. He held that there was necessity in the first place to notify respondent in order to. give the Court authority to appoint a guardian. His Honour said that he had conferred with the Solicitor-General on. the subject, and the latter had stated his willingness upon proper application being made, to accept the o&co of guardian ad litem, if after enauiries he wassatisfied that there was not any other person really available and willing to accept such appointment.