BIGAMOUS BRITAIN

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 72, 18 December 1919, Page 5

BIGAMOUS BRITAIN

"HALF THE CRIAfB OF THE COUNTItr." It- seems clear that heavier (sentences have not frightened tho bigamists (writes the I/ondon "Daily Mail"). Once again the;r crimes are, the main feature of tlio trial;} at assizes now proceeding throughout the country. At Worcestershire Assizes Mr. Justice Eovrlatt declared that "half the crimo of the oiinitry is bigamy." At the Old Bailey the bigamy cases accounted for over 25 per cent, of thflss in tho list.

The popular idea seems to be that tho offenders are practically all men, ami there is a vary proper dtsire that womanhood should find effective protection. In the years immediately preceding the 'war, however, women were the victimisers, instead of the victimised in one-third of tho cas?s, the totals of which varied between 130 and 139. In 1917 there were iTn eases at assizes and quarter peai'ous and 128 of the prisoners were women. Taken at fa,ce value, tho figures look disquieting, ft hsis been said that they indicate a widespread relaxation of public morals. But obviously the standard of morality of these persons was low nnd feeble before, the cataclysm of 1914. The war provided the requisite temptation. (It made.bigamy profitable. Women "married" to obtain the separation allowance: soldiers d'scovercd in the nllowanco a means of provision for clandestine partners. Then soldiers thousands of miles away from home deceived respectable women rather ' than face tho. lurking perils of the street. It :s noteworthy that in court these "wives" usually say, "he treated me well." When estimating the facts provided by tho judicial statistics ono must give due weight to this further fact, that war breeds divorce and bigarov as surely as a swamp nurtures mosquitoes and malaria. And examination of the categories into which the cases fall suggests that Dritr'Sh bigamy is likely to require* • fewer policemen when the fevers of war have subsided. Among offences not arising out of war conditions are thoso committed by men and women ao the result of ill-assorted unions early in life. In this class is tho ignorant woman who re-marries iu the belief that a seven years' separation without sight or knowledge, of the missing partner is sufficient presumption of decease. This ignorance is being dispelled. There are many, too, who formed illegal ties because divorce was expensive and out of their reach. HeVe s,\wxm, possiblo offenders may now bo expected to 1 ' take advantage of the safer methods of release afforded by tho Poor Persons Divorce Act.

In .1 third category comes tho rascal who pleads that he is "the victim of too much susceptibility"; but he is negligible hi numbers. ' Our island bigamist is no mere thief of hearts.

Tho dregs at tho bottom of the cup sort themselves out iaito the wholly dc-apicable mercenary bigamist, a thief of sjxwns or of what Air. Wemmick called "portable property." Heavy sentences may deter, but will not entirely .eradicate him. The typo will persist so long as tongues are glib and so long as women with a little money in the savings bank fail to temper theia- emotions with sufficient wisdom. Or until tho commission of the crime is made more difficult by such alteration in the preliminaries of marriage as will secure identification of tha 'parties to the contract. As Sir Bernard Mallet, tho Kegistrar-General, lias pointed out, tho marriage laws of this country afford less security against bigamy than these of almost any other civilised State.'