Guernsey Desires Divorce Law

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 199, 26 August 1935, Page 10

Guernsey Desires Divorce Law

THREE HUNDRED RESIDENTS ARE WAITING TO INVOKE IT. INVESTING COMMITTEE APPOINTED. Guernsey (States (Parliament) recent ly decided by 33 votes to 21 to adopt the principal of introducing divorce legislation. This was the second attempt to secure the adoption of such a course, the JStates having two years ago expressed itself as definitely against any such proposal (says the Daily Mail.) The petition was introduced by Deputy W. 11. Arnold, an advocate, and one of the youngest members, who asked the State to approve the proposal in a broad-minded manner. He said that fully 300 persons in the island were affected and their claims to relief merited consideration. The rector of St. Sampsons, the Rev. E. L. Frossard, in supporting the petition, declared: “I stand here as a Christian priest for Christian marriage in all its beauty, but 1 am not alone in the view that when marriage had been destroyed no good purpose is served by keeping people together in artificial bondage.” Deputy T. Millard advocated the es tablishmant of a reconciliation court. Miss Marie Randalia, the only women member, characterised the proposal as “the thin end of the wedge,” and the rector of Tort resisting it on the grounds that divorce was anti-cosal, congratulated Guersey on being one of the few' places where divorce was

not granted. The rector of (St. Peters Port, who, is also dean of Guernsey, said the I demand came from people imported into the island. It was a shock to many people that such a thing as divorce was hinted at for Guernsey. Beef ore calling on the House to vote, Air A. W. Veil, president of the States, said his views were that there should J»e a restricted divorce granted for desertion, coupled with adultery and other grounds, such as insanity or long terms of penal servitude.