The Sun.
London, England, 1858-01-21 00:00:00

It is .now ten days since the New Divorce Act
passed into law. Already we have received
abundant proofs of the necessity that existed for
some of its provisions. Of course it could not
have been anticipated, that any contested cases
could have been ready for hearing. But there
have been many instances in which deserted wives
have appealed, under perhaps the most beneficial
of its clauses, for protection for their persons and
earnings, against dissolde and careless husbands.
The magistrates should in every way give a libe-
ral interpretation to the statute. They should
give immediate protection, whenever a prima facie
case was established. , By so doing, they can
at most inflict but a mere temporary inconvenience ;
while by refusing relief they may allow irrepar-
able mischief. Their orders are but in the nature
of temporary injunctions, which can, and may be
set aside, whenever reasonable cause can be shown
to the contrary, or a fair explanation given of the
grounds of the alleged desertion, and the unques•
tionable absence. Besides, be it remembered that
the protection can only be afforded to after acquired
property, or, what is more to the point, a woman's
own earnings, the , fruits of her own talent and
industry.

How many women are there able and willing to
work, not only for their own support, but for that
of their children ? Nay more, who could obtain
pecuniary assistance from friends or relatives but
for the possibility of profligate husbands stepping
in and directing the profits of their toil to
vicious habits and pursuits. In fact, the
main fault of the act is, as weexplainedwhen it was
under discussion, that it does not go far enough
in favour of the gentle sex. They were framed
to be the helpmates and partners—not the slaves
or servants of stern masters. Why should they
not be entitled to retain p issession of all that
was their own—whether they became en-
titled to it before or after the separation
We believe that few really good husbands--
few that have truly and faithfully discharged
the obligations they contracted at the nuptial
hour have bad bad wives. There are,
of course, exceptions to every general rule, and
there may be women to whom the chief errors
that created unhappy homes should be attributed.
But, as we have stated, the best chance of avoid-
ing unfortunate differences will be afforded by
making both parties comparatively independent.
Women, God bless them, are always ready to for-
give offences. It is, generally speaking, the man's
fault ; if it should not be so, and that the wife
crira ini3; she should, at all
best she could for
ewyeernetsa,leboe particepsenabled
to do the
the future, not being hampered or restrained by
undue liabilities. Whatever may be said against
her want of discretion or judgment, why should
she not be a free agent, until some act of crimi-
nality could be proved, that would alter the
mutual relations between husband and wife, or,
according to the antiquated legal phraseology,
Baron and Femme, the mere terms whereof
implied degradation. We should have nothing
of the kind in the latter half of the 19th century.
Our object, however, under the existing law, is
merely to urge on magistrates the propriety and
justice of taking a liberal and enlightened view of
its valuable provisions, and not to permit its
beneficial aims to be frittered away by doubts or
difficulties that will not bear the test of strict in-
vestigation. The great point to be considered is
that granting the order, even on an ex parte state-
ment, can do no mischief. Refusing it may do a
great deal. •

TLI ROYAL MARRIAGa —Yesterday morning it was
resolved, at a special meeting of the Manchester Town
Counci;, that an address should be presented to the
Queen, on the occasion of the marriage of the Princess
Royal.

GENERAL llAvELonies RELIGION.—A testimony to
Ilavaock's devotional habits has already
appeared, but
corning from another source, it may, on this occasion,
be Suitably repeated :—" This model of a Christian
knight has found that rest which he seldom knew ma
earth. It may interest your readers to be told that
even on such arduous service as the Affghan campaign
and the siege of Jellalabad—whero he was almost the
only officer who supported Broadfoot in maintaining,
against the opinions of both Sale and Macgregor, that
Jellalibad should be defended and not eurrendered—
even there Havelock invariably secured two hours in the
morning for reading the Scriptures and private prayer.
If the march began at six, be rose at four ; if at four, be
r n,e at two. Is it any wonder that he was raised
up as a deliverer to our people, almost like one of the
Judges of Israel ?"._Letter front Calcutta.