Marriage-Human or Divine.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13679, 22 August 1908, Page 3 (Supplement)

Marriage-Human or Divine.

.SUPERIORITY OF HEATHEN CODES. By Maude- Cnirton Braby, Author of "Alfidern Marriage and How to Bear Jr." "Unless ihe law of marriage is first made human, it can never be. divine," says the Bisliop of Chelsea -in " (Jet-ting Married." The real , Bishops" who debated on marriage recently-, at the PanAnglican Congress ought all; to have seen Air Shaw's- play first. That, it_ would have caused ihem to modify their views I do not suppose; but it would have given them, a great deal trf. think : about, and it might Jiaye helped them ,to. sea the other side of the question. "' As it was. the burden of their debate Beamed to be/ that marriage ntust be. made less human still. . All. of them wore-, against remarriage, after divorce; many-seemed, to view divorce itself 'with disfavour, whilst bis lordship ; of t'olum-. | bin went so.far as to call upon all good Churchmen to ostracise remarried divorcees, even i£ they bad li=:en the innocent, parties in the suit. : '' ANOMALIES UN CHRISTENDOM. The Church, as represented at,the Congress, sternly refuses •to recognise the modern complaint that marriage is ;merely the triumph of man over Nature—r"a splendid lie." as Nietzsche called it. The, Bishops condemn as 'anathema the demand, of advanced ..thinkers, that.- : the institution should be at least- revalued. To. again quote Air Shaw (a liabit I have been reprimanded for by more than one reviewer, but which is irresistible).: "A. nation which revises its parish councils once in three yeans, but will, not v ; revise its articles of religion once.iii,three'hunr : drod is a nation that needs vremaking.". There are many who will agree about the need for Temaking. but to suggest' the, "humanising" of marriage as-a etatt is, apparently to draw, on-oneself the sternest of ecclesiastical' rebukes.. , ' - Already ...there is a, great and evergrowing " tendency espc'cia'lly atnongst men—to hesitate "at ihe marriage tie, -anda general demand that the. bonds of matrimony lie made more flexible. If the' Bishop o'f Columbia's ideas on wedlock, were to become general it. might foe well, than only the■ bravest and most optimistic of us would dare to enter if he arena of matrimony. • , To my mind, the whole thing ,lunger, on the question whether .or not one holds, the view that marriage is. a sacrament. If one does, obviously divorce could mean only an outward and legal form of release, and remarriage -would bs - impossible. already have two kinds of marriage contracts—why cannot, the difference, between Ihe°e be acknowledged and accentuated. Those who; regard the insiiincion as . a -sacrament wortld be wedded in church, and would allow no divorce, and certainly" no remarriage. Those who take a more may I say?—commonw-nse view : of matrimony could be united by a civiL servant, the "registrar, with the- right" to have. their contract dissolved in the. usual way by another- civil servant, the- Presidenji.jpf tii-a- Divorce Court, and to. enter. info art; other .if desired. .'•;-■ ..':

If the Bishops were to be,:yconsis'.em\ and to adhere literally to of t-ha. Church of England marriage , service/' why do they not compel every bride--groom to execute, a .sirice settlement.-; of his entire fortune 'on the _bride? At present the man's munificent ••-endowment of his wife wir-li all': his 'worldly '. goods": is not. always substantiated- -;by ,- ; ,4e,ed, ; as; many a wife who has to beg lier -lord' for "every tram fare knows well. ;..- Even,' among the clergy themselves this practice is far from being universal. I have even heard of Bishops who have neglected to observe this .part of -heir solemn vow. Will any prelate explain.

this anomaly to me ? - THE MOSLEM- AND OTHERS,

So much for marriage in. Christendom. Thelsecond-pfirr- of the debate dealt with. marriage in heathendom. I have had: a sneaking fondness for the : heathen dat-, .inn; from early childhood, when the de-j light hilly bizarra noises made .hv. savages: at. exhibitions always enthralled me. The. mora one studies this problem of. marriage the more plain does if. become that many of the heathen ideae. on the subject are infinitely superior to purs.'.' . One of '(he dreams of iSoeialist reformers, for., instance, is the endowment of moth'erhood. They regard if, as the.Utopian vision of. the far fuhire nor. likely to be fulfilled* for years to come. Among the Moharri-. medans this dream is a reality. The maintenance of children devolves so ex : olusively on the father that the mother is entitled to claim wages for nurfiirig them ! The importance of her" services to Ihe State in rearing healthy, citizens is thus recognised' in . the -most;, practical manner. . We hear, a good heal of agitation nowadays about making the- conditions of divorce equal to both .'seses. .'Among the Shawanese this is Already, .done. An unfaithful hmband Jean be turned adrift by. his wife, who retail; all his property. They go one better, and make drunkenness into an offence for which divorce can be obtained. How. much snf-'. fering to wretched parents arid helpless little ones would be .spared by our adop-; tion of this humane decree'!' ' How much disease and crime in future : generations would be avoided if onr law-givers would; take this lesi-nn from the " poo'r - heathen" Shawanese' The savage tribes "whom 'we strive to convert have apparently a much clearer idea of the real basis of. marriage, the end for which ifc was ordained, than we, who .-eem io marry for almost, every other reason than the desire for children, _ .With savages the offspring is the main ..purpose of wedlock. .-.Married, couples -111 some tribes do not live together at all until shortly, before or some rimes actually after the birth of the first child, and in some cases the marriage is not binding hnri] a child is horn.. How sensible this is. Among others a childless wife can at any time! quiii her. husband, > but. rhav nor. marry again. ' Ww-tenrarcJi is my authority, but I cannot- recall-the names of l he. "tribes from memory. These poor heathens recognise, ji wiff be seen, . that children arc the chief tie—the only real bond—that unites a man and woman permanently—in short, ihafc "marriage is rooted in family rather than family in marriage." ; PATTERN " SAVAGES. K !' The wantonness of savages is- often due to the influences of civilisation. : It is a curious, facf. that; when'left, 'alnrie rhey are far more amiere than civil ; sed races. For instance, rhere are ira'anv barbarous -peoples who are strictly celibate "out o[ wedlock. Youths in some tribes are compelled to b e celibate to ,the. ane of twenty. Among the Chippewans no wonv.in can expect io b 0 married unless she be. absolutely chaste: .in almost, every tribe it. is the seducer \wlio.is punished, and not the victim) ris in European countries. Among the Pyaks no man would dvenm of denyMg .paternitv and refusing io marry the woman concerned. Considerable liberty of" choice and selection is allowed .'to -savage women generally, and - the Saros . are so advanced that they require their women ro propose \

-' In:;';-E'asl. -■ Africa a wife can actually divorw*::Jior husband if ■•!»?• ncgleftis to make; Jjer , flotlies..; ''What a nay life Kas(;-ifirriMn-wiycs.mnsl- liav? in ho r>vire ! ■Trns, • no. doublf Their chiffons nw easier io, ; .'r-finstrnof. i ban • ours, and personally I .flioiilrjv he 'sorry ■ vri: walk down "ftonriRtiw; in a rostiirnr- ranrt* by my Imsh.md, bill., oil J, ilie joy of sPPing nrifi's . lord, coinpelii-fi'- lo sif. moekly down and fashion on ,1. g;um?ni. wider pain of repudiation !

hi ;ihe. eyes of .heathen nalior.i marriage consi.Wed a- "splendid lie," bill: duty. Especially is this - the' case, in Japan, where, as a. native clergyman announced at, Ihe.' Congress, individual, interest and personal choice are sacrificed- oii the altar of the family ideal. "J,-..-The Japanese marry whether tney wish io or not '■. because they believe it the right tiling to do. In Egypt. China",-. among the. Mrrhiim.mefiar.ri "and Hindus,' as among the ancient Hebrews, a ■••bachelor is looked upon ■■with disfavour. '"'He who has no wife is no man " i'lins; a Hebrew proverb. "Until he 'finds'a wife a, man is only half of ,i whole," fsays ihe Brahmadharma. : bachelors would do .vt-ell to ponder, over the sound s.;nse of the ig: norant.' heathen ! ' .