MARRYING TWICE

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLV, Issue 57, 6 February 1925, Page 10

MARRYING TWICE

PROOF OF FREEDOM NEEDED. / Per Pr-sas Association. AUCKLAND. Feb. 4. It was recently laid down in an English Court of Appeal ease that ere a man may marry for the second time he must have proof in fact that he is free to do so. Thia decision was involved in a case heard at the Supremo Court, when Thomas Clarence Canwell (represented by Mr Cooney) avaa charged with bigamy and having made a false statement to the Registrar of Marriages. * The facts were not disputed. He married in 1901, and on a cross petition in 1921 accused's wife obtained a decree nisi. It was not madft absolute till December, 1922, but on October 10, 1922, accused went through the form of marriage with another woman. Accused's defence was that he thought a decree absolute had been granted prior to the second marriage, although he had not been informed about the date. Three months prior to the marriage he had instructed his then solicitor to complete the divorce proceedings, and he had made the final payment a month before the marriage. The faots he guve the Registrar were true so far as he knew. When accused said that he was a bacholor he thought he vas right, because he "had lived as a bachelor for years." On learning that the marriage was irregular, accused immediately remedied it by goinj; through the form of marriage a second time after the decree absolute had been made.

Mr Justice Herdman put a query to the jury as to whether in their opinion accused at the time of the second marriage had reasonable grounds to believe that lie was free to marry again, and whether he had acted in good faith. At the |< same time, said His Honour, in view of the English decision, he could only hold that this wouldvnot be a legal ground on which to rely, and a case would have to be made out for the New .Zealand Court of Appeal in any case.

The jury answered the judge's question in the affirmative, and returned a verdict of not guilty on the false statements charge. In accordance with the Judge's direction, however, a formal verdict of guilty was returned on the bigamy charge. The jury, added a rider that it sympathised with accused in the unfortunate position in which he had been placed by his former solicitor. Accused was admitted to bail, pending the Court of Appeal decision.