HUSBAND AND WIFE—DIVORCE.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XV, Issue 77, 24 December 1856, Page 3

HUSBAND AND WIFE— DIVORCE.

[From the Leeds Mercury, July 5.]

There are some subjects which, although disagreeable and repulsive, imperatively demand the attention both of the public and of the legislature. Of these subjects divorce is neither the least repulsive nor the least important. English married life is, we rejoice to know, in most cases, unvexed by those evils which spring from the infidelity of either husband or wife, and rare are the instances in which it becomes absolutely necessary to sever the sacred bond. ■ But we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that such cases, although happily (ew in number, do sometimes arise, and require to be dealt with in one way or other. We believe that the present state of the law upon this subject is exceedingly unsatisfactory and loudly calls for revision.

Let us look for a moment at the position of the wife who is cursed with an unfaithful husband — habitually and grossly vicious ; once and again forgiven by her whom he has wronged, he has at length sinned so deeply and so cruelly that even her gentleness and love are wearied out. He has left her to brood in solitude and poverty over her misery, and devotes himself and his property to his paramours. What redress is there for this forsaken wife in her worse than widowed state? She may, indeed, obtain a limited species of divorce, which will save her from the unspeakable wretchedness of being obliged again to live with him who has outraged all her womanly feeling. Her person is protected from his insults, but this is all. Some generous man, knowing her sad history and admiring her virtues, might be willing to link his fate with hers, to enable her to rejoice once more in the blessed name of wife, and to give her a happy home. But no ! she must live apart, and bear her hard lot alone. The law will give to the injured husband the right of marrying again, but to the injured wife, no such privilege is allowed. It may be said, Oh ! the infidelity of the husband is comparatively speaking a light matter, grievous to the wife, no doubt, but of very little consequence to society, — the private sin is the same, but the public wrong is infinitely less. With some modification we may admit the truth of this proposition, but we altogether deny that when the wife is the injured party, she should therefore not be entitled to as full and complete redress as the husband. Although the evils arising to the community from the continued unfaithfulness of a husband may be smaller, those evils pres3 upon the wife with the utmost severity, and all the more so, because in some circles it is looked upon as a trivial matter, hardly affecting the reputation of the husband, and at all events not excluding him from society.

But not only is the wife thus prevented from again receiving the love and protection of a husband, she is not invested with the powers and the independence of a single woman, she is neither maid, wife, nor widow. Any property which is left to her, excepting under strict settlement, may be seized and enjoyed by her husband. Nay, if by her own skill and the labour of her hands she acquires a subsistence, he may at any time sweep away her earnings, and spend them on the companions of his guilty pleasures. Again and again has it happened that a woman who has been separated from her husband for years, has been at last reminded of his existence by his claiming a legacy which had been left to her under a will, or by a visit from him in order to discover whether she had saved anything from the toil of her hands or her brain. The evil consequences of this anomalous condition of the wronged wife extend still further, for she can maintain no action for any personal wrong done to her, excepting through the intervention of him- who has inflicted upon her the most monstrous injury, and who is therefore not likely to protect her from others ; and even if he should join in the action, the damages recovered would go to him and not to the wife. If, however, the wife has been unfaithful,

the husband may be altogether released from the bond of matrimony, if he is rich enough to take proceedings in the House of Lords for that purpose. But it is an indispensable preliminary to such proceedings that he should previously have brought an action against the adulterer and have recovered damages. Now we say nothing of the absurdity involved in this action, which supposes that a man's honour can be salved over by the recovery of pounds, shillings, and pence ; but we do say that it is a grievous wrong to the wife, whose guilt or innocence is in question, that she should not be allowed to appear as a party where she is so deeply concerned. All her deepest interests are at stake, and yet she may be deprived of her good name Dy a proceeding conducted altogether behind her back. Nay, she may indeed look on, and see herself bereft of all that is dear to her as a woman, by an infamous collusion between her husband and a third party, the guilt of the latter consisting not in adultery, but in base conspiracy. Instances have been known where the fair fame of a virtuous woman has been thus destroyed.

The present law of divorce is not merely a law for the husband and not for the wife, but it is a law for the rich and not for the poor. The wealthy man may rid himself entirely of an unfaithful wife, but the expensive nature of the proceedings absolutely forbids the man of limited means to do so. Hence arise those frequent cases of bigamy which come before our criminal courts, where a man has been altogether deserted by his wife and married another. The accused is told by the judge that the bad conduct of his wife is no excuse — that he should have obtained a divorce — and then the representative of the law shows his real estimation of the gravity of the offence by sentencing the prisoner to be imprisoned for one month, or until the rising of the court. An edifying satire upon the state of the law ! Such being the present hardships and inconsistencies of the law of divorce, we are happy to see that "The Matrimonial Causes and Divorce Bill," now in the House of Lords, proposes to allow the injured wife to obtain such a divorce as will enable her to marry again in all cases of adultery accompanied with cruelty, in cases of incestuous adultery, and in cases of bigamy. We are willing to accept this as an instalment of reform, although we cannot see why in all cases of adultery the wife should not be entitled to this remedy, as she is at present under the Scotch law. A woman divorced from her husband is also to be allowed to retain any property which she may afterwards acquire, for her own separate use, to dispose of it as if she was unmarried, and to bring actions in her own name. The action for criminal conversation, although not abolished, is yet to be abridged in its application, because a man will not be compelled to bring it, previously to suing for a divorce. And should the bill pass into a law, divorce may be obtained by persons whose limited means have hitherto prevented their going to the House of Lords, We earnestly hope that some of the scandals arising from the present state of the law, after having existed so long, and after having so often been denounced by all those who have turned their attention to the subject, will be at length removed by the passing of the measure to which we have referred.

What is an Advanced Age? — A decision was made in a French court, under the following circumstances : — A man had purchased an estate which was encumbered with an annual rent, payable, so the agent or auctioneer stated, to a lady advanced in \ears, or to an elderly lady. Fancy the amazement of the purchaser when, on calling on the "lady advanced in years," he met a brisk, rosy dame, whose bright eyes, fair complexion, and wellturned figure, seemed to indicate that a long time must pass ere the annuity would cease. "But madam!" exclaimed the visitor, after explanations had ensued, "if you call yourself old, how old, then, are you ?" " Forty-five " was the reply. And when the matter came to court, the court decided that forty-five was an advanced age. The ladies will please take notice.

Printing Telegraph. — Hughes' Printing Telegraph is thus described in the New York Commercial Advertiser : — This wonderful invention, which is destined to effect a complete revolution in the Telegraph business, is now being subjected to the severest tests at Boston, upon a wire upwards of 500 miles long, and is found to realize the most sanguine expectations of the inventor and the owners of the patent. There is found to be no practical difficulty in working the instruments, in perfect unison, in a circuit of 500 miles, and there is no reason to doubt but that they will work with complete success through a circuit of one or two thousand miles. Nor is there found to be the least difficulty in transmitting messages from opposite ends of the wire at the same instant of time, — two operators being thus enabled to exchange about twenty to twenty-five thousand letters per hour. The mechanism of the Hughes' machine is extremely simple, and can be manufactured for about one hundred dollars each. Mr. Phelps, of Troy, the ingenious gentlemen who has' charge of the invention, has, however, since seeing the machine worked in a long circuit, projected several important improvements, by which, without detracting anything from the efficiency of the instruments, they can be considerably simplified and cheapened. Any child who can read, 'will be able, after one hour's practice, to transmit messages with perfect accuracy, at a fair rate of speed. We understand the American Telegraph Company, who own the Hughes patent, have decided to have the style of the instruments improved in accordance with the suggestions of their machinist, which will cause a delay of a very few days in introducing the invention to the public.

Honorary Rewards to British Seamen from the President of the United States. — The following testimonials have recently been forwarded by the President of the United States for presentation to British seamen: — Gold chronometer and chain to Captain R. Wilson, and medal each to George W. Blanchard, George Finnis, George Lee, and William Lee, being respectively the master and seamen of the British barque Sarah, of Belfast; and also a gold chronometer and chain to Captain Joseph Clark, of the British barque Baticola, of Liverpool, Mr. Dallas, in

forwarding these presents, acquaints Lord Clarendon that these testimonials are presented to the parties enumerated " in grateful acknowledgment for services rendered to American seamen, under circumstances communicated to his Government by the Consul of the United States at Liverpool. It appears that the American brig Crusader, Captain Joseph B. Wooster, with a crew consisting of master, two mates, a cook, and four seamen, sailed from Jacksonville, a port in Florida, on the 23rd December, 1855, laden with lumber and rosin, for Bordeaux, in France ; that on the 6th January, she sprung a leak ; and on the morning of the 10th January, while in a sinking state, and during a gale, she was fallen in with by the British barque Sarah. The Crusader's crew did not suppose it possible for any boat to live in the sea, then running "fearfully high," and induced the Sarah to lie by them. In the afternoon four of the Sarah's men volunteered for the undertaking, went in the boat to the Crusader, and, after pulling several times under her lee, finally afforded her Captain and one of her crew an opportunity to leap into the boat. Becoming scared, they returned to their vessel ; but encouraged by their own captain, they renewed the effort, and finally succeeded in rescuing all. The brave men who manned the boat are the four above-named, to whom the medals are assigned. It appears also that the American schooner Mayflower, commanded by Captain Dupray, sailed from Georgetown, South Carolina, laden with lumber, for Boston, on the 30th December, 1855. She was capsized on the 6th January, 1856, and her whole crew perished except the captain and two others. These three were taken from the wreck by the direction of the officer of the Baticola, and safely conveyed to Liverpool. Mr. Dallas concludes by saying that he "most respectfully trusts that the Earl of Clarendon will be good enough to cause these testimonials to be presented to the persons for whom they are intended, accompanied by the thanks of the President of the United States, by whom their humane and hazardous rescue of American mariners from eminent peril is justly appreciated." — Shipping aud Mercantile Gazette, July 16.

Shipping Seamen from England for the run out. — Captain Hayes, of the Ellenborough, adopted a plan in shipping his crew in England, which is likely to prove not only economical, but one which will prevent much inconvenience and loss of time. The crew of the Ellenborough signed articles in London, to be discharged in Sydney, and shipped for low wages. The cargo is being discharged by contract, which will tend to expedite the despatch of the vessel; and no apprehension exists with respect to the facility for speedily procuring a crew for the passage home. — Empire, November 1.

The Isthmus of Suez. — The junction of the Mediterranean and the Read Seas by a Navigable canal, has been a favourite enterprise with the most illustrious men who conquered or reigned in Egypt. The execution of this useful work was contemplated by Sesostris, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, the Arab Conqueror Amrou, Napoleon 1., and Mehemet Ali. Mohammed Said, the reigning Viceroy, has employed two French engineers to survey the line from Pelusium to Suez : and they have reported the distance between these points to be ninety miles, and recommend that the maritime canal should be 300 feet wide and 24 deep. They calculate the cost at a 66,400,000, and are of opinion that it may be completed in six years. From the English i Channel to Calcutta by the Cape of Good Hope, the distance is about 10,000 miles ; by the proposed canal it would be reduced to 8,000 miles. By this new route, with efficient steamers, we could send troops from Malta to Bombay in three weeks, to Ceylon or Madras in four weeks, and to Calcutta in five weeks. All the countries on the coasts of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Persia, the eastern coast of Africa, India, Siam, Cochin Japan, the vast empire of China, the Philippine Islands, Australia, New Zealand, and Polynesia, would be brought many thousand of miles nearer to Europe, and the stimulus given to commerce and civilization would be immense. The Suez railway is only available for passengers and light parcels. Heavy goods, subject to shipment and reshipment at either end of the line, would not pay ; but the transit through the canal would be continuous and unbroken, and would absorb nearly the whole of the trade which now passes by the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn. A slight tonnage duty on j shipping would suffice to pay interest on the capital, and the cost of annual repairs. It is the opinion of the French engineers who have been employed by the Viceroy of Egypt, that the whole Isthmus of Suez was formed by the i maritime deposits of the Mediterranean andj Red Seas. This contradicts the erroneous dictum of Herodotus, that the Delta of Egypt is a present from the sea ; the truth is, that the waters of the Nile, at the time of the inundation, carry far out into the Mediterranean the earthy matters which they hold in suspension, and deposit them in the depths of the ocean; and the accurate investigation of the motion of the waves has demonstrated that the bars of rivers are due to the ground swell •alone. The French engineers express their conviction that, previously to historic times, the two seas were in communication with each other, "that the detritus of the chains of mountains situate to the right and left, carried down by rain, filled up the space which separates them, and that when that space was elevated to such a height that the ground swell could reach it, its action was applied in such a way that, by the meeting of the swell of the two seas, a bank was formed, which is no other than the bar of El Guisr." There is no longer any fear that the canal would ever be filled up with mud, and it has been experimentally provedthat the two seas are on the same level, This canal would of course be under the control of the Viceroy of Egypt ; and all the Powers of Europe would be interested in guaranteeing the throne of the Sultan, as guardian of the Dardanelles. In both cases these water courses would be in the hands of Princes strong enough to regulate them, but too feeble to turn them to bad account. Every commercial nation is interested in the success of this magnificent undertaking, which would open up a new tract for navigation, and countless new marts for trade and commerce. — Bankers' Circular, August 2.