MARRIAGE LAWS.

Evening Star, Issue 20168, 7 May 1929, Page 8

MARRIAGE LAWS.

Ax important, and most people will think an overdue, change m the Briti-h marriage law has been made by the Act .to raise the legal age ot marriage to sixteen years lor both sexes. .1 lie Act has passed both Houses, and only the Royal assent is now required lo make it effective. The legal age. though it seems incredible, (ill now has been twelve lor girls and fourteen lor hoys, subject lo parent-, consent in the case of minors, and that has been the position in most of the dominions, including Mew Zealand. One by one they have been content to copy an ancic'nt British enactmeni, and the tact has produced no public outcry, been 11. so public morality has been generally in (his respect far in advance of the law, whose extreme permissions have seldom been taken advantage 01. 4 hero have been in England and Wales in the last twelve years three marriages; of girls at the age of thirteen, twenty-eight at the age of fourteen, and 318 at the age ol fifteen. In Scotland during the last eleven years there have been only four marriages ol girls under liltccn and li fly-six at the age of fifteen. One bride in Mow Zealand in the latest year for which we have figures -1 92 1 - - was hot ween the ages of fourtoom and fifteen, and twelve were between fit teen and sixteen. Rut the law is obviously wrong. It belongs to another age. Jl laws di-play the civilisation of a country, the proud inhabitant oi the British Empire is in the weakest po-iGon for pointing the finger ol scorn at the child marriages of India. It is easy to lake for granted what, has continued for centuries, and this British law possibly would not. have been altered yet if it had not been for outside pressure. The .League of Nations suggested a raising of the 11 .image age in countries where i 1 )s lowest now as the first essential lo" i;s 1 (Icctnal dealing w'ith the hideous ‘' white slave traffic. ’’ In giving hi- strong support to Lord Bnckmasier's Bill, Archbishop Lord David.so i observed that, as compared willi other nations, (.•rent Britain was in ilie matter of the marriage age in rather u humiliating position. In France the ag< s un eighteen for men and fdtc.u for women; in Germany, twenty and sixteen; in .Switzerland, twenty-one and eighteen ; in Japan, seventeen ami fifteen. Great .Britain has bee 1 in a group with Greece, Poland, Siam, and Cuba, whore the ages are fourtem and twelve. In Turkey the age is higher than in most parts of the British Empire, being fifteen for men and women. In Spain the ages are sixteen and fourteen. In the United States there is a great variety of ages among the different States. It is true that in many of the countries where tho age is higher than in Great Britain it is possible to obtain leave to marry at a lower age, subject to tho consent of parents or Iho magistrate.

The principle of Bon! UuckmasLor s Rill caused small dissent alien it was brought forward in the House ol .Lords, but great difficulty was experienced in deciding the,exact terms ot it, so that it should not he found, after it was passed, that an injustice had been done to one spouse or the other, who might in good faith have entered into an illegal marriage or to possible otlspring. So that these points might bo fully considered it was referred to a Select Committee, though there seemed no chance that, if that course were taken, the Bill would he able, to he passed in the present expiring Parliament. In the event it has been passed by both Houses, though the exact terms of the Act in its final form have not been cabled to n.s. The National Council of Women in New Zealand has more than once passed resolutions in favour ot the raising of the marriage age in this country, and a remit to make it sixteen for both sexes is to conic before its forthcoming conference. ft is to be expected that that change will not be long delayed in- view of the alteration of the British law,.

’I ho flooding of a, portion of the area adjacent to Factory road, Mosgiel, was generally attributed to the Outran) railway lino blocking the Hooded waters The local council wrote to the railway authorities on the matter, and at last night’s meeting the district engineer replied to the council’s letter stating that the flooding of the houses was not duo to the size of the Outran) culvert, but was the result of the Silverstream overflowing its banks, the flood water coming through to the Dye Creek. If the body in charge of those banks maintained them, then the Hood water would not read) the sections m the township. He stated that tho waterways provided by tho department wore sufficient to carry all surface water, and were larger than those provided by the council under the roads further down the i)yc Creek.—lt was resolved that the letter lie on the table for a month; meantime, the district engineer to be written to pointing out that the size of culverts in the borough referred to had nothing to do with tho nmttcr. The railway line formed an embankment which ” held the water back, because the railway culverts were 100 small, and houses m the vicinity were consocpicntly flooded. In earlier limes a large wooden culvert had existed, showing tho necessity lor such. an opening. As the ratepayers suffered damage through the obstinacy of the railway authorities in not granting a larger getaway tor flood waters, Ihe council would be obliged to bring the matter under the notice of flic Minister .of Railways if relief were not given..

At the meeting of the Mosgicl Borough Council last night the Mayor introduced the subject of the train service between Dunedin and Mosgicl. He understood that the department proposed running (he 8.-2 a.m. from Mosgicl twelve minutes earlier. Travellers in general objected strongly to Ibis.' and' he suggested that the depatimrnt fie asked to make the lime only' two 'minutes' curlier—B,2(l.—The council agreed to" this suggestion. A sentence of Mr I*. Neilson's letter on the 1028 Committee, published yesterday, should hare road; “A committee of 1897 reiterated the inadvisability of relying on private enterprise.”

Air U. Adeline, secretary of (he Auckland ompetitions Society, has tendered his • resignation- Ho says he has not drawn a salary lor twenty-two mouths, and lias paid lighting and other office expenses out of his own pocket. Half a dozen other members of the committee have helped similarly, , besides .guaranteeing the hank overdraft. The prizes won at flu last competitions had not been paid, and tlie festivals could not lie made, payable, the public evidently not considering the entertainment of sufficient value to justify extensive patronage.— Urc-s Association.

CTarged with failing to comply with Liu! terms of bis release upon probation, Gerald ('adman 'Prill appeared in the Felice Court this morning bmore Mr ,1. H. Ilartholomow, S..M. Suitinspector Cummings said it was a Christchurch case in the first place, and since the evidence was available there he a ked that the defendant he remanded to appear there on April P. The defendant intended to delend the case. lie had ladled to give his delimit address to the probation olPrc.r at Christchurch, and had also faded to report himself. The delendant.he pleaded not guilty, stated that he ! ail given as Ids address the plaee -.here he. was working, and he had thought that sufficient. Having 'arim! the defendant regarding the necessity to report regularly. His Worship ordered him to do so to Mr Garbntt (the probation officer in Dunedin).

To win'd;: llie end of Inst year an account of the Hcv. Shirley Baker’s life was j>rintcd in tins journal, tin: subject being revived In the tact liiat an order lor a memorial to be placed over his grave at Hoapai, Tonga, had been placed with H. S. Bingham and Co., of Dunedin. The marble memorial is now ready tor sending to Auckland, where a bronze figure Sft high is to be attached, this easting being the work of .Mr K. O. Gross, who is acting in conjunction with .Mr Bingham's firm. The pedestal is hft Gin long, fift wide, and Cil r high, oi Ifarcourt granite, troni Australia, weighing, ahoic P> ions T h. is a grey granite. It is line r.xe;]. not polished, and as now dre.--.ed it has a beaidifnl MM'.'tnv- '.'hi';, are I. ro ins< rip! ion x tm r in < ■■■•<: hi c uye lettering. On one- .side the ins; rig.ion is: .Hcv-.'! ■Mid Do; lor Shirley Voldemar Bake-. D.M.. LL D, mi -denary anti Trine ’lii.islc , Notember Id, P’o2; i e.i ;alit l ',!i Bake , December 1, ISP7. ! ' The lettering on lb,’’ oilier lace reads flint : Kreeled ill loving mentore of iv,other and father hv Sh;rh-\. .Jn!\' T, ]p2t?: Beatnee. February 8. RLM: Lottie. November ■*>, P*2j ” H. >. Bingham and Co. are to be eomphmrnf od on tlioii stonework, and (here is every reason to expert that the family survivors v ill be pleased that, they entrusted the ord r to New /Zealand.

'When does winter begin? IS depends upon lit,- definition of “winter." In on r favoured New Zealand, where there are no extremes of temperature, and but few dangerous fogs, the season differences are mostly a mailer of light and ilarkm-ss, and. that being lb" ea-' the even-const; ml sum's recordings may serve as the divisions. By that, prices ■ midwinter would he the shortest day and on that computation, allowing six and a-half weeks cm each side oi the shortest day to constitute the throe months of winter, that season began to-day.

'Two hoys, aged ten and eight, years respeettvoh , finding Si. George’s Church, Penrose (Auckland) open on Saturday, entered, overturned chairs, stripped the aPar of its cloth and ornaments, and h'f f the Cross lying in the nave JI vino hooks, prayer hooks, and papers littered the building, together wPh broken glass from electric light bulbs On being questioned, the hoys said they belonged to I he ehnreh Sunday School class.—Press Association.

At 0.1 ■! lliis morning 11 1 0 t’ity Brigade :ms\vero(l a cull in :i live-roomed dweMiiig in llic Valley road. Caversham, ■where lire had broken out, in an attached washhouse. A vent from a gas copper was the cause of the outbreak, which affected the ceiling, damaging it to the extent of ahmit .£7,. The house, owned and occupied hv Air Maurice Saithl'nl. was insured in cho Smith British Office tor I'7-ji', while the contents were covered in iho same office for .£2OO. Six was a number in a remarkable coincide nee el dates in a divorce case heard during the present session of the Supremo Court. The parties wore married on the Oth, their first child was horn on the. oth, the second ,hiid was horn on the oth. they were separated on the 6th, and the divorce was made on the Ctli.

A. special meeting of the New /calami Fruitgrowers’ Federation is to be held in Wellington this week, at tlie instance of Mr Tl. Turner, who went north this morning, to consider matters directly concerning the growers ot St on r fruit—in regard to tho importation of fresh and dried fruits, preserves, and jams, the hope being to secure some protection for local orehardists. The subject is of high importance. Our growers especially complain of the entry duty free of tlie products of coloured labour.

Described by the chief-detective as members of the criminal class with rather had previous histories, Manuel Valvoi. aged twenty-six, a cicrk, and Oswald Harris, aged twenty-live, :t labourer, to-day pleaded guilty in the Wellington court to stealing wearing apparel and five bangles valued at £3, tho property of some person or persons unknown, and also four greenstone jienclants valued at £3 3s Gel, the property of Percy Denton. It was stated that the men came from Auckland on May 3, and line! since been sleeping out and shop lifting during the day. They had not been long out of gaol. Kadi was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment on each charge, the sentences to he cumulative.— Wellington Press Association telegram. Contrary to expectations, the Otago exporting of apples and pears for the present season will, it is now ascertained, practically equal that off last season, which was a record. Two or three weeks ago the indications were that the quantity sent overseas would be 20 per cent, less than that of last season, But the fruit has come to hand freely since tint estimate was made. The Devon will carry a good load, and the Port Hunter, the last vessel to take fruit for the season, is to be entrusted with about 21,000 cases for London and 3,000 for Montevideo.

Haora, tho Maori, who impersonated a housemaid at Takapuna, sang to his employers’ children in the evening in a pleasing soprano voice. He was an accomplished musician, playing the steel guitar, ukulele, violin, and piano with skill. Fancy stitching and other work was done by Haora with great care. He could also do paint work, and was good at producing scenes on cushions. Besides that he was a, cook, and could prepare food very well. At the court yesterday Haora asked permission to continue wearing women's clothes, of which ho had an exclusive selection The Magistrate (Mr Hunt) : ‘■No; lie cannot have permission to dress up as a woman. He must stop it at once ami get into men's dollies.’ The magistrate added that the clothes should he burned. —Auckland correspondent.

Taranaki Oil Fields. Ltd., report;— Gisborne, No. 2 well drilled to 3.020 ft in shale Glin diameter, casing to 3,008 ft, a small quantity of water at 2.!)9f>fi, also a, fair showing ol gas. — Gi-bonic Dress Association telegram.

An Auckland Association message states that the mission steamer Southern Cross, which is returning with a jury rudder rigged, put into the Ray of Islands for shelter.

Your Lyes arc Nature’s most previous gift. Take care of them. Consult W. V. Stunner, optician, 2 Octagon, Dunedin. — LAdvt,] Williamsons, ilm jewellers, do ail kind.-of IJepult Work. They arc the practical people. Tho charges are always fair. - [Advt.]

A man her o:’ lady members of the Otago Kttvlv Settlers’ Association bate, arranged an old-time, dance to be hold in the fairly Pci tiers’ Hall to-morrow evening, when an interesting progt annuo of ditnccs gild and new) will bo provided. A special examination for proficiency and competency ccatiiicutcs will bo bold nt the Moray .Place School, Dunedin, and at, the Italclntha School on Tuesday next. Arrangements will be. announced later for schools north of Waikouaili and Otago Central schools.