DISCRETION NEEDED.
POLICE AND BIGAMY CHARGES. Mr Justice Mackinnon, at the Glamorgan Assizes, suggested that the police should use greater discretion in bringing bigamy cases to the Court. “The offence of bigamy,” he said, “varies with its seriousness.” He said it was once regarded as an ecclesiastical matter, and the authorities did not want any offence against the Church. But to-day many ceremonies are performed outside a Church, and although morally wrong there are certain cases in which, apart from the moral standpoint, no real harm has been done to the first or the second woman.
The case concerned an Ulster man, who contracted a form of marriage at Belfast shortly before leaving for France to serve in the war. The woman he “married” had since been prosecuted for bigamy and discharged. Mr Justice Mackinnon said that no jury would think of convicting the man, who was discharged. His real wife admitted that she bore him no grudge, and that he had treated her kindly.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MS19331130.2.14
Bibliographic details
Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 312, 30 November 1933, Page 2
Word Count
165DISCRETION NEEDED. Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 312, 30 November 1933, Page 2
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Manawatu Standard. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Log in