DIVORCE BILL.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXI, Issue 14, 3 August 1894, Page 16

DIVORCE BILL.

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HE lion Mr McGrbgor, in endeavouring to secure the passing by the Legislature of the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Bill, wishes the Colony to throw aside the last vesture of Christianity and put on the unsightly garb of Greece and Rome in the period of their moral decadence.

Our modern thinkers must hare pagan ideals. Sir Robert bTouT eternally preaches the divinity of the Sta f e. We are the property of the State. State worship is the only true national cult. The State is God. If only Stout w?re its prophot the formulary would be complete. The mantle of piophet does not quickly fall upon him. In the meantime, the true foundations of social order aru attacked by Sir Robert's lordly friend. The welfare of the State, according to lion John McGregor, requires that f.K-ility should be given to divorce. The indissolubility of mairiage, which in ancient times gave stability to the great countries of Rome and Greece, which was, in the hands of the Popes, the chief factor in tho civilisation of Europe,

must be at an end because of the fads of Antipodean sciolists Hitherto marriage has been a sacred, life-binding tie ; now it is to ba merely a civil contract, easily annu led. Hitherto parties ha™ taken each other for hvtt- , for worse, without any thought of separation other than death; now married life is to be always happy or— well, b>fc " marry again "be tho order. Hitherto the family base bo-n b,und togother.no matter what evil fell upon the household. : now it is sought to loosen tho bonds which hind the family together. It is the great aim of modern Irglilaturs without r.'luiou to aim at the old Grecian and Roman ideal of a State served by all. Well, let us have the old idea of marriage In ancient Rom/, for five hundred years, there wag not, it is said, a siugle case of divorce. It was only after the Puloponesian war that, in the matter of marriage, the great moral deterioration began which culminated in the deplorable state of things in r-parta, where " wives were lent," where marriage was accounted a mere institution for producing healthy and vigorous citizens," where adultery was little thought of, and the " whole State was a breeding place for human cattle ." The increasing facility of divorce brought things to such a pass that conjugal fidelity was at a discount. Men grovelled in the mire of voluptuous pleasures, and wo are told by Aristotle that the Spartan wives lived in unbridled licentiousness. Spartan women had the privilege of the vote and Mr McGregor's privilege of easy divorce. After the second Punic war, and during the Empire, social disorders through looseness in the idea of marriage increased alarmingly in Home. Men in the time of Augustus preferred to live a life of indulged celibacy than to be burdened with wanton wives— to such a state had the facility of divorce brought public morals. The old idea of the sacredness of marriage became obsolete. The marriage tie rested almost solely on mutual agreement. America at the present day emulates in the number of divorces and the destruction of family life later Greece and Rome, tfew Zealand and Australia will, unless the marriage bonds be again drawn tight, quickly follow in the nation-destroying rac<\ Whatever tho Hon John McGregor may say to the contrary, typical American families, owing to the loosely-fitting, easily-thrown off marriage ties, are decaying; true family lif 0 is becoming rarer, and the native element is dwindling away. Before fifty-years, owing to the great natural increase in tho negro race over European people, ther» will bo a great social upheaval. Ihe history of old Rome is being repeated. In one county— Ashtabula County, Ohio— fouudo t by New England settlers, tho proportion of one divorce in eight marriages ought to alarm all who have really the welfare 3 of mankind at heart. Ashtabula County has not a monopcly of divorce. Too many parts of the Unit, d States bear annually a plentiful crop. So much the better for the lawyer, says the calculating American. So much the worse for the race cries the true lover of his kind. We must not expect, when through an accursed system of godless instruction, religion is weakened aad destroyed in the case of the multitude, that men will seek to bo better than (Vero or Cato, who, with little cause, divorced their lawful wives. Ihe old writers tell us that in the later days of tho highly-civilized, Btateloving, cultured Roman*, the most distinguished ladies counted their years by the number of their husbands. Juvenal speaks of a woman who had eight husbands in five years. It is on record that there dwelt in Rome a woman " who had married her twenty-third husband, she being his twenty-first wife " I Of course, the Honourable John does not want such a state of things. He provides safeguards. Divorce is only to be granted in certain cases where the condition of the married party is intolerable, and where humanity requires there should be relief. He will make adultery on either side a cause of divorce. Desertion for three years ; habitual drunkenness and neglect to support a wife ; imprisonment for longer than three years in the case of a capital crime ; imprisonment for three years, in the aggregate, within a term of five years, and habitual neglect of a wife ; attempt to murder w-fe or husband, or assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, or repeated assaults and cruel beating during a period of twelve months prior to application for divorce,— these are tho causes for separation of married couples and legal permission to contract fresh marriages. The keen student of human nature, with even limited experience, will see that this facility of divorce will play havoc with social life. Among Catholics there can be no second opinion. Marriage is a aacred tie. It is a great Bacrament. The Church, which civilized Europe, re-

claimed the nations from barbarism principally by insisting, even against despotic kings, on the unity and indissolubility and sacredness of matrimony. It mattered not who the suppliants were. A true marriage w.juKl not bo annulled, no matter what the consequence. The Holy See, which did not give a divorce to Henry VIII. from tho Catholic Catherine of Arragon, would not, at the instance) of even the Imperial gaoler JS'apolbon, give a divorce to Jerome Bonaparte from the Protestant Elizabeth Patterson. The lion John would have us believe that morality is not greatest where divorce is not tolerated by the people. What about Ireland and the Tyrol, where the word divorce stinks in the nostrils of a people of faith and unexampled purity ? Hon John quotes judges, and even church-going judges at that, in support of his Divorce Bill. We are not surprised that Protestant followers of Luther, who allowed the Landgrave of Hesse to have two wives at once, should strive to distort Scripture into approbation of their views. We commend to the consideration of Members of the New Zealand Parliament the following words of the Protestant Bishop of Maine: " Laxity of opinion and teaching on the sacredness of the marriage bond and on the question of divorce originated among the Protestants of Continental Europe in the sixteenth century. It soon began to appear in the legislation of Protestant States in that Continent, and nearly at the same time to affect the laws of New England. From that time to the present it has proceeded from one degree to another in this country, until, especially in New England, and in States most directly affected by New England opinions and usages, the Christian conception of the nature and obligations of the marriage bond finds sarcely any recognition in legislation, or in the prevailing sentiment of the community." — tfew Zaalan 1 must not become New America.

At the ag? of 6G (says the Sydney Freeman's Journal of July 21) Father Maurice Tresallu', of the Order of Mary, breathed his last as a holy priest on Saturday, amidst the tranquil surroundings of his well-loved VilU Marin. Father Trtsallet began hii missionary career as a Marisr in New Zealand, and he endnr6d the perils as well as the pr.vationq of the historic Maori war. He was in Wanganui d irinpf the war and was afterwards appointed parish priest. In 1809 he ace unpaniect Bishop Viird as theologian to the Vatican Council. He camo to Sydney in 1876, and from that time till hisdeath mide nis h jens at v*illa M»ria. The Very Rev Father Murage, S.M., attended him ii bis last illness. At the Dirge and Bequiem ia the Villa Maria church on Monday, ttn Very Rev Father Aubrey, S. M.. wan the celtbraut, tha Very lie? P La Rannetel, S.M. the deacon, and Father Gallais, S. M,the cub-deacon, The choir included the Very Rev Dr Carroll, Vicar-General, Arch-priest Sbeeby, the Very Rev Dr Murphr, the Very Rev Djan McCarthy, The Very* Rev P. Treand, M.S.H., the Very Rev p. Slattery. 0.8. F., Rev Father Tierney, M.S.H., Key Father Merg, M.B.H , and the Rev J. P. Moynagh. The last prayers in the Ryde cemetery were said by the Ve r y R^v Dr Cirrol . — Requiescat in pace.

A correspondent informs us that a branch of the Irish National Federation has been successfully established at Chnstcbnrch. Th s is a matter on which the liishmen of the city are to be congratulated, ani their good example deserves to be generally followed. Ireland still needs all the help hat can be given her— her btttle being hardly as yet half fought.

The death is announced by cable of his Eminence Cardinal Ledochowski, Cirdioal Prefect of Propaganda. Tbe chief event of the Cardinal's life was his imprisonment as Archbishop of Qneien and Posen under the May Laws, whose full brunt was dared by him. He was an ecclesiastic of the highest distinction, and has left hia mark upon the history of the Church, — R I. P.

The Land for Settlements Bill has been read a second time by a majority of 50 to 5. It has been referred to the Waste Lands Oom« mittee.

The Newbury-Spada season terminated in Dunedin on Tuesday night with the performance of Handel's ' Messiah." Thin had been looked forward to as, par excellence, the great event, and tbe hall was densely crowded, many people bting unable to find seats. There was, however, no disappointment. On the c mtriry, expectations were more than fulfilled Miss Emily Spada sang axquisitely. All her notes were g yen with a perfection of finish, a delicacy of faste and a tiuth of exprtssi v that are qui'e indescribable, and the purity aud awcelne9B of her toico were delightful. Mr Newbury also sang superbly. In particular his singing of " Thoa shall break them " was something to live in ihe memory as characteristic of tha singer and not likely to. be heard from anyone else; But all hia singing wm

beyond praise. We can well believe that ia this oratorio he has a favourite part. Miss Mongredien sang charmingly and showed a ■pecial Ulent for tbe music allotted to her. Mr Harry Smith saDg in a manner very acceptable to the audience. The choruses were remarkably good and, sa well as the orchestra, did great credit to the training of Signore Squarise, who acted as conductor. Tbe peaBOD, in a word, terminated in s manner to make those who had been fortunate enough to follow it long for its repetition.

On Wednesday, the 2£th inst, the Rev Father Foley, ot New Headford, Lincoln, waa made the happy recipient of two presentations — one from the children attending the school in the afternoon, and in the evening he was invited by the members of the choir to meet them in tie schoolroom, which was gaily decorated in honour of the occasion— the rev gentleman's feast day. He was welcomed by Mr Stephen Ryan in a neat little speech, and informed of the high esteem and love entertained for him by the choir. Misses Doherfy and Nolan made the presentation, The Rev Father feelingly re■ponded and thanked them for their kind regards.

Wb are happy to learn from a Temuka correspondent that the oondiUon cf the Rev Father Fauvel has taken a turn for the better, and that the rev gentleman is slowly but surely progressing towards recovery. Owing to pressure on our space we are obliged to hold over our correspondent's letter, with other matter, to our next issue.

Amok* thoEe who have left the Colony to try their fortnnes at Coolgardie it Mr Thomas Daly, brother of Mr John Daly of Auck. land. The gentleman in question, though edncated with different views and Intended for the priesthood, is an enthusiastic miner, and is well known at Collingwood, where he worked for Borne considerable time. He iB, besides, a sterling patriot, and was president in Ireland of a branch of the Land League. His brother, Mr James Daly, served, in the good cause, a sentence of six months under the late Mr Forster. Mr John Daly's principles are well known. He it wan who, at a recent meeting of the Auckland branch of the Irish National Federation, tabled a motion, which was carried unanimously, thanking the Imperial Government for introducing the Evicted Tenantß' Bill. We wish the adventurous gold-seeker all possible good lack,

Wb learn with pride and pleasure that our old friend, Mr Matthew Hunt, of St Batbans, is holding his own in the local Literary and Debating Society. Mr Hunt, we understand, has distiDgnished himself as a vindicator of Irish genius.

The Tery Bey Canon Lee, pastor of St Mary's H ddington-road (writes the Dublin correspondent of the Catholic Times of June 15), died suddenly on Sunday last at the parochial house. He was about to proceed to the church and intended to preach at last Mass wbtn the sad event took place without a momint of warning. The deceased clergyman, who had attained the age of 73, was a nephew of the late Most Rev Dr Troy, Archbishop of Dublin, and a brother of the late Djan Lee of Biay, who died last December. Canon Lee was untiring in the discharge of the duties of his sacred mission, and was held in high esteem by the clergy and laity of the diocese in which he laboured so locg and so zealously.