A D VORCEE'S DILEMMA

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XVII, Issue 5883, 10 April 1920, Page 2

A D VORCEE'S DILEMMA

SIX CO-RICSPONDEXTS TO CHOOSE FROM,

Six co-respondents may be regarded as ■ a very liberal allowance. Yet, according to evi'deinee bel'oro tlhe Northern Territory commission recently, a halfcaste divorcee calmly weighed the worldy wealth of six co-respondents before .decicF.Ug with whom she would embark on the matrimonial sea for a ;»xond time. Mr Carey, Director of the Territory, told the commission how this young half-caste wi e ba,d caused continual trouble, until it was found necessary to constitute aa aboriginal divorce court, in which he sat as judge. !«-hilst two old blacki'ellows willingly undertook the task of actilug as actossors of damages. A big drapery cataloguewas placed on the table to add solemnity to the proceedings. The real difficulty come with the a.ssessng of damages against the eo-respdUduats, but the assessors settled that by the simple process of discovering which of the six was the best off.' One man who had enough ip buy a bag of flour was ordered to pay damages, but be probably considered 'himself better off. than the man 'whom tho erring bride selected as her second husband. The latter was chosen purely on the ground that he owned half a. bag of rice, whilst the other men oAvmcd nothing. At any rate the difficulty was settled, and the practice established of issuitaji informal marriage certifi'.fltes to black brides and bridegrooms. But the most important effect of the proceedings was to instil in the aborignes a certain amount of respect for the white main's law