TESTAMENTARY LAW

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 20150, 19 May 1928, Page 8

TESTAMENTARY LAW

PROVISION FOR DEFENDANT MOTION BEFORE BRITISH COMMONS I Australian Press Assn. ] LONDON, May 16. In the House of Lords, Lord Astor moved for the appointment of a select committee to consider testamentary law specially with a view to preventing a man cutting off his wife and family with a shilling, and leaving the estate to some other woman. Tne laws of Scotland and Australia presented such an injustice, yet there was a famous ease in England where a man under an early will left his wife 31s weekly and the "rest to charity. He left £500,000. Another left £30,000 to his wife and children, but £1,000,000 to his mistress and illegitimate children. Lord Haldane doubted whether any Judge was capable wisely of varying wills. Perhaps the Bishops might undertake it, or they could trust public opinion to compel men to do the right thing. Lord Buckmaster disliked Lord

Astor’s underlying assumptions that women were dependent on men, and that men evaded their obligations. Men and women should be socially and economically equal, free and independent, and it should not be more surprising to see women seek io earn a living than men. When a woman married it was too frequently regarded as the best moans of providing for her for life. That was an extremely degrading way of regardirg the relationships. Lord Hailsham opposed the proposition. hut agreed that at present there v/ere some hard cases. There ivould be more under Lord Astor’s suggestion. If a man determined to cut off his wife and family he would find a way of doing so, whatever the testamentary law. The proposition would entail the washing of a great deal of dirty linen in public. Lord Astor withdrew the motion.