The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-08-07 00:00:00

he itoartrille o:lsentr.

SATURDAY. AUGUST 7. 1869.

THE PROPERTY OP HARRIED
WOMEN.

One of the many •theories of our constitution
is that "all men are equal before the law," Iml
when that theory was first broached perhaps wo-
men had scarcely any legsl exiatence at all. The
right of married woolen in the early days of
our history were very feeble rights indeed, and
the old taunt that husbands were always sup-
poet to have at their command, " what is yours
is mine, and what is mine is my owu," more
nearly represents the existing state of things in
connection with the rights of married women,
than ii is pleasant to think of. The old theory
to which we have referred, the equality of all
men before the law, is with regard to the pro-
perty of married women, as with regard to many
other matters supposed to be included iii the
thevry, continually affected by the hard, dry fact
of poverty. The rich and poor are equal in
theory, but not in practice, simply because that
which the former can and do effect is out of the
power of the latter. We refer to marriage set-
tlement. Now, who ever heard of a poor MAL'S
daughter, on her marriage. having her property
settled on herself The idea is a contradiction.
But because the property cf a woman before or
after marris-Ae may be small, that is no reason
why the law (before which we are told all men
are equal, H.lll liilth WI! have a right to cxpect,
would be egnAlly jast to women of all classes)
should nut throw the shield of equal protection

....
,ice: ei.qi awl 1... ~. ‘• , , .., . , . .../la d9ll,
talk how, ver, liaA long been reearded an atteill.
ARA ftti,l it shame • ati.l it is to remedy exhding
erievorems that the Hoille of Commons nod
the NI rirrieil Wonietile Properte Pill. Whlle tile
measure was mowing throlieh its vai ions ntages
Lit the Low, t !Low, It Wee felt that the eriev•
mom to he renif.diCa WOR greet, and the oiling'
, of the law was great alvo, end eoneeqnently the
measure received an unnenal Amount of consi,
devotion, besides which It wss referred to ale:led
, committee. It le notch to he rrp.tted, there.
i fore, that when Lord Pertonce moved the etec•
and reading, of the bill in the Hutise of Lords,
it was tart ItV 110 many caption' olijectimin, aud
, wee no feebly supperted by its notuinal ads°.
eates. Perhaps, it was felt to he hopideee tOOX-
-1
' pect the Lords to pass such it Tyteamire this eel.
sin. mid the Governteent may heve hem quite
, content to sec the second reading carried by the
I Lor.ie. To the people. however, falell A quasi
l result will he vexiitiens and irritating. It is an,
. nuying to have a measure fully diecessed in the
Honer of Commons, to have its principles and
deteils accepted, to hove the country in an ietti•
tilde es:4ly to grasp a long.denied hone, at last
,hoot to he etTered to them, and then to have
the mouse of Lords road the bill a second time
merely to shelve it fur another year, when all
the lablitr bestowed upon it will have to be gone
over again. ft is such repelitior, of Limit,' as
this that makes the session never long enough
for the work to he dom.. Without a measure hits
gone through all its stages slid received the
royal ita,,,lit, practically nothing has been done,
far all he., to be done over again. 'rake this
Merril' I Women's Property Bill an an example.
Common sense would dictate that it should be
taken np next session, at the point where it will
have been abandoned this Seasl,oll, or at the very
least that the House of Com hons, having car-
ried it throtteh all Pe stage,, should how.' done
with it, and that the bill next aessiou should have
merely to conic before the Lorda. Ward aullatt
such principle e, His adopted, pithlic busiuees
wnitill be grently ;s, flautist, and at the present
' time. Wliell we ~ , bill altar bill ruthie :sly saori-
-1 Heed, we Jew ail the niore,laghly appreciate whet
'would he the adveutagurof tb,,s 11,1.401[144 Wig.
1
lathe haaltieee. ,
The country. nevertlici:A., Is to be congratn.
I dad that so anoint a ineeeure to the Maraivd
Wooteithe Propeety fill line gut KO far as the
liapGr,,i reedbig by the Lords. Their lnedeldpo
have never heft) ci gooetto fee to warcts dolug jug.
dee to women In re‘qteot to prupotty. 011 t Of
the three millions et married WOMOII ill tilia
country, there me shout 830,007 j dependent on
ttibll own earnings. The 111116111 kt of itijastice
home by these 800,000. under the exieting lete,
Is beyond nil ealeniatiou, We Dan ell, liuweveee
moll to Mill-I cones . they mien., every day—where
women who at the time of their marriage pos.
emptail peepettiy, co, have eequired it afterward*,
have been shamuftollv lobbed of it by Idle, worth.
loss 11114141 AR. who Item better that to desett
And KW:110U thair W.VOi lint rather ellag to
them in a cowardly way for onprort, and the
j misery Vote °mimed. the erael iiijastice thee dune
,It all legal. The law gives the lazy, profligate
. buelm lid, the right of pro;mrty In Ilia w.fe's pro-
, , ,
'i
I but • LI f perey, however ticeii.re: , gin es the %V .it 110
i right over what nature and eolit,lloll selikft might
regard so her own. Amid all the time tho law
I allows this il,iilatiet, iinil cruelty, the law, never-
theimis, la ec.ittlemile I by itself, ihasmueb as
niarriage settlements—for the rick —al:tit:4,oe
. this cruelty and iejostice. an I obviate it. 'rite
itee.aeat etude of the law is, like many other of
o it !awe, founded en petty theories, which may
or may not be trite as a rale, but wbieli are id
ways fithiified by iininerone exceptions. The
theory in this Oage ii that the women is depeud-
out on the luau, that she eives tip all her worldly
gonils to liiin, mid that in return with all his
worldly goods he her endows. That man mil
wife net cm, liesh, hove one home, one common
fund, one property. In the great nojority of
eases this theory works very well. Su long as
hnsbatul runt wife do their duty fairly to each
()vier, the theory nail practice work very well.
But the the theory sem gin ii to the will when
then the linsliiiii I eiviesee to tint ie 'Tamp, nod
live hi idleness on his wife's earoings, mid rob
leir and her chililis it if uhat theory says is
their: but which fact. mei practice give to the
dissolute hushanii, tinder the protection of law.
We veinier to think that so much iwitgress has
Le-n made this so:ion towards rented) big t li.,se
evils, and we only regret that ...ii have been tan-
talised with the offer of a te,.,. whieh lets been
anatolied away at the last moment. The Mar-
ried Wieneme Propertv hill is empLutleally a
IMOI, womilleti hill ; it '....,11t1 effeet for her whet
the rich effect by marriage settleemeits, beeidee
placing the entire law all a more satisfactory
lotting ; it would he hut another step in the
Janie dlreetion as the new law whieli prevents it
Moo deserting a wife and thou coming on her
. property whiAt she may have earned by her ex-
ertions when left to her own resources ; and
where the existing law now works well the pro-
poeed law wehld really produce no alteintioti at
all, practleally and in fact. We deeply regret,
therefore, that the Lords will nut lot us have
guilt in tucasitre next session, nod we earnestly
hope that they Will IleXt ReSSinll :let With broader
lilier:Jily t-,words the weaker aex. The Lords
have at present too highly favourtal 11 the Leeds
of Creation."