The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1803-05-05 00:00:00

WEDNESDAY, MAY 4.
The Bills on the Table were read their respective
stages.

MARKIIANI'S DIVORCE Rill, • •
The Order of the Day for going into a committee
on this Bill having been read,
'Lord AUCKLAND rose, pursuant to the notice
which he had given, and moved the reiedion of the
last clause. He said that he thought it sufficient to • •
rest his opposition .to that clause on one of two
grounds ; either it was unnecessary and inoperative,
and therefore an idle and unbecoming_ display of
respeft and attention towards a party ill-entitled to
such a courtesy • or, it was meant to give to the
lady certain benefits beyond what the due course
of law would give to her, and in that case must be .
considered as a special interference of the LegiSla.-
ture, highly improper in every point of view. In
either.construdion the clause bore on its face a co-.
lour of collusion, and might become a precedent for
arrangements of the most immoral and corrupt na- .
ture. It was not his wish or disposition to
bear hard against ,the unfortunate objed, of the
clause ; but it was impossible not to recoiled that .
the adultery in question had been committed by a
person, apparently living at the time with her hus-
band in a state of reciprocal affeCtion and domestic
happiness, with the aggravating consideration of a
family of ten young children • and also. that the
adulterer had been the school-fellow, and was the
professed friend, of the husband. He would abstain .
from farther particulars, and would only add, that
tgough the case was a bad one, it was the solitary
instance of the year. he strut attention of their
Lordships, since the subjed had been so fully dis-
cussed three years ago, had ',reduced, he hoped, a
salutary and most creditable reform in society ; at
least it was afacl, that there will have been only
one divorce in' twelve months within the whole ex-
tent of the British empilo ; and we saw recently
a legislative report, from a neighbouring nation,
that in the metropolis of that nation, containing
only a fortieth pair of its population, there had been
MO divorces within the year !
Lord ALVANLEY said, before he consented to
the omission of the clause, which he' admitted was
sufficiently objectionable, he must know whether
any other clans:. was intended to be inserted, or
whether it was meant to, leave the ladv•altogether
without provision of any sort. If so, he' could not ".
agree to the motion for omitting the clause. The
Bill was an application to the Legislattrre to reliCira
an individual from a very aggravated grievance,
but that was its sole and avowed object : it did not,
therefore, come within their province, to superaad
a severe punishment to the lady, than enading the
divorce in itself conveyed ; to leave her wholly un-
provid.d for, was compelling her to abandon herself
to prostitution, and was going out of the way to do
an aft of supererogation ; and, therefore, as the I.aw
itself looked to nothing but the damages for crier.
con. he must call upon the Noble Lord to have the
goodness to say, what his intention was, supposing
the clause were omitted

TO SURGEONS, APOTHECARIES, MIDWIVES, ME-
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THE EDINBURGH PRACTICE of PEN-
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Lord AUCKLAND said, his Noble and Learn-
ed Friend, h.td put a question to him somewhat ir-
regularly, but he would endeavour to answer it as •
well as he could. He certainly
.did not mean to
interfere further than moving that the clause be
rejetcted, but to let the law stand exaaly as it stood.
He happened to have particular kt.owledge respea-
ing the lady's marriage settlement, and that in con-
sequence of a legacy from the Bath family, there
was no reason to apprehend that she would not have
a sufficiency to maintain her. He agreed with his.
Noble and Learned Friend that the lady in quenibit
ought not, from a total disregard to a competent pro-
vision for hei, to be driven, as it were, to a lite of
prostitution, and therefore if she had really been un-.
provided for, he would consent to depart froth the
regular line of legislative proceeding, and upon her
presenting a petition, alledgiag her poverty, and
want of some provision, would readily support any
clause to grant her reasonable relief and support.
The Lord CHANCELLOR said, he agreed with
his Noble and Learned Friend, thit a female col-
viard of adultery ought not to be forced to a life of
prostitution for want of some inainteoance, but at
the same his Noble at* Lcara-

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