The Sun.
London, England, 1857-07-31 00:00:00

STATE OF THE MALRIAGE-L A IV IN
AUSTRALIA.

While Parliament is occup-ed with a most im-
portant law in regard to divorce, and devising to
prevent monstrous injustice to married women for
the future, the law officers of Australia are inter-
preting the law of bigamy in such a manner as
must, if they are correct in opiuion, make it uttrly
impossible for ninety-nine p nous who have been
married in Eugland to prove the fact in the Austra-
lian couits, and save their children from bastardy.
If their view of the evidence necessary to estab-
lish the civil condition of a woman who hes been
married according to law in England be correct,
no written document is available. Copies of. the
parochial record of marriage in a church by the
incumbent, certified under his own band, and cer-
tificates from the registrars of marriage, are
but so much waste paper, though these things
are intended by law to be evidence of a mar-
riage. The colonial law requires the production of
one of the witnesses of a marriage that toot place
at a distance of ten thousand miles from the Aus-
tralian courts, and may be o' twenty or twenty-five
yearsstandine. Why, often in England anti Sort-
land it would be utterly impossible to furnish other
proofs than certificates of marriage. Clergyman
registrar, and witnesses may all have died 1 ing be-
fore there is a necessity to tsnder evidence of a
marriage; and what the cols)) sal lawyers suppose to
be requisite must bs const eitly proving to be a
cause of unmerited disgrace, impoverishment,
cruelty, and oppression.
A case of bigamy has recently brought to light
the imperfect or the iniquitous state of the law of
=triage in Australia, according to which every
married woman from Great Britain or any other
country now in that colony, unless she can pro-
duce one who was present at her marriage in
Britain, is, in the view of the Australian law, no
wife ; she has no rights as such, and, consequerely,
by the same rule, her children are bastards. This
is no supposition of a possible case. The Sydney
Empire says, that " there are many such cases, and
several have fallen within our own knowledge.
One mcst cruel case is at this moment recurring to
us. A most respectable and excellent woman
arrives, as an emigrant, with her husband. The
wretch spreads a rumour that she is not his wife,
abandons her to sorrow, want, and sicknes-, and
marries another woman. He cannot be prosecuted,
because the sufferer cannot be a witness in her own
case, and no certificate she can bring will stand her
in any stead in a court of law. So she perishes, and
he escapes. The moral evidence is here most con-
vincing, but, against it, iniquity, or rather villany,
triumphs. The case presented is no fiction ; it is a
terrible reality, and it may be only one out of
many."
The case of bigamy to which we adverted is that
of John Gerrie, who cruelly deserted his wife and
child at Keith, in Banffshire, in July, 1854, and
who, on arriving at Sydney .:bout the beginning of
1855, with a letter of introduction from the Rev.
A. M`Gilivray, Free Church minister of Keith, to
the Rev. A. Salmon, represented himself as an un-
married man. He gained the affections of a highly
respectable young woman, named Jane Warren,
and insinuated himself deeply into the good opinion
and friendship of her relations. The result was a
second marriage between him and Jane Warren,
Ist August, 1855. His sultsequent treatment of
this young person corresponds with his abandon-
ment of his first wife, Ann Lawrence, and his
child. He is said to have behaved to her so as
to compel her to leave him, and to seek a re-
fuge from his violence. Partly from the news-
paper report of the second marriaee, and partly
from private correspondence, the Rev. Mr.
M`Gilivray was led to furnish the information and
extracts which were used in an unsuccessful attempt
to avenge the injured second wife, by bring ng the
villain, John Gerrie, to justice. Mr. M‘Gilivray's
signature and handwriting, it should he mentioned,
were properly attested by the Rev. Dr. Mlitty.
The Sydney Empire, of April, 8, in an article on
the state of the law in Australia, written in a manly
feeling of indignation, saye in reference to this
case of desertion and bigamy, " Partly to get this
individual Gerrie prosecuted on a charge of
bigamy, and partly to protect the young person
who had been apparently victimised by him here
against his pertinacious attempts to claim her as
his wife, and to treat her injuriously, application
was mad 9 to the Attorney-General, who was then
Mr. Plunkett. His reply contains the following
passage :—" I beg to state that, as the first step in
a prosecution for bigamy is proof of the first mar-
riage, unless there be some witness iu the colony
who was present at the ceremony, the charge could
not be substantiated, so as to obtain a conviction
and punishment."
Without conviction of bigamy, therefore, the
colonial law completely sets aside the legal marriage
in Britain, and acknowledges as a legal marriage
what is a highly criminal act, and prostitution of
the forms of marriage to the most improper and
guilty purposes. We say nothing of the want of
protection for the rights and honour of female
colonists, though that is bad enough—too bad, in-
deed, to be endured—but, by the same defect of
law, or construction of the law, a respectable young
person, already deeply injured by the bigamist, is
left expo-ed to his persecutions without rearess or
refuge in the tribunals. This state of things re-
flects great disgrace upon the mother count y itself.
None of her colonies should be outside of the pale
of civilisation, as Australia clearly is.
The ft lends of the second wife did not rest satis-
fied with Mr. Plunkett's reply. They laid the ease
and documentary proofs of the first marriage before
Mr. Manning, the new Attorney-General, who
remitted the following opinion :—" I have the
honour to state, that it does not appear to me that
proof of the handwriting of the Rev. Mr.
M.Gilivray's certificate will be sufficient evidence .
of the first marriage of John Gerrie, to enable
you to proceed against Lim upon a criminal charge
of bigmay. It is right however, I should state,
that I conceive it will not bo proper for me to com-
municate further with you upon this subject. My
duty as grand juror, is to act in somewhat of a
judical character upon committals by justices of the
peace ; and although as Attorney-General it is com-
petent for me to initiate criminal proceedings, this
power is, and ought to be, reserved for rare and ex-
traordinary occasions." We infer, th,refore, that
the crime of bigamy by im'nigrants who have de-
serted their wives in Britain, and under colour of
marriage have debauched female colonists of respec-
tability, is neither rare nor ex'raordivary ; and
also that the difficulty of bringing such villains
as bigamists to justice in Australia, is as frequent
as we thinly believe the crime to be. " There is
every moral evidence," says the Sydney Empire,
there is even, what in seine cases that could be
named, would be legal evidence—there is legal
evidence up to the point that a personal witness of
the first marriage is not in Sydney, although the
usually deemed competently attested documents
are here. That the crime has been committed, and
a heartless injury has been inflicted upon two in-
nocent women, nobody doubts. But the law does
not provide for their protection, and they must
suffer to the end of their days."
They have very sufficient proof that Gerrie is
the person named in Mr. M‘Gilivray's certificate
of the marriage with Anne Lawrence, for he pre-
sented the letter of introduction to the Rev.
Mr. Salmon, who is there to make oath to that
effect, and they have Jane Warner to prove the
pretended marriage with herself. What more can
be necessary ? At a distance of ten thousand
miles, these are the fire t and best proofs that can
be had. But perhaps there is a colonial law on
the subject of bigamy ; and it is commonly believed
here that some of the legislators were originally
like John Gerrie,
leaving the mothe.
children. convicts ; others, again, may have had reasons forr
country, and,
have deserted their wives and For them
documentary evidence would have few recommend-
dations. But if they have made a disgraceful law,
encouraging felony by preventing the punishment
of it, as the code must have been submitted to the
Imperial Legislature for its sanction, it will be
competent for the Legislature to take the matter in
hand, and amend a law which tends to introduce
polygamy into a British colony. In another point
n i
bof view the cruelty of this state of things
tu acaboseve
of thee, unen-
durable, and we suggest that the Rev. Mr. M'Griliv-
ranfortywuhnoastee women conduct
has
the case in some shape that it prais place
u
can be laid before
Parliament.—.Morning A
ng dvertiser.

The General Screw Stearn Shipping Company an
nounce a repayment of 10s. per share.
Trnm ARMY WORKING CORPS.—A meeting of the meats
hers of this corps was held yesterday evening, at the
Coachmakers' Arms, Robert street, Blackfriars, to adopt
measures for the redress of their alleged grievances. Sir
J. Paxton, who had raised the corps, was the special
object of condemnation, and resolutions wer en
passed
the
in
which his conduct to the men was spoken oin
strongest terms of censure. Their principal grievance
appeared to be that, although the Governinenrnent in.
sisted the contract was for two years, they can get
neith neither
dch
entisofwarhgaet. they claimed to be due, nor an
effective
hre l p do
ayeens
CRYSTAL PALAGR CofirANT.—An ex iraore.mary meet-
,
ieli of the proprietors niotubsi
es
irrodteeir,taiko
rin gt
hwe a
ps
u receiving the report of the committee appointed at the
f
trday
last meeting, on the 16th June, to inquire into the
affairs of the company. The report, aniorg other
things, stated that the Peace Festival entailed a lo)s on
tt ahaPtelanye th
the company of 1,2801., that the prosecution of Robson
p:.,oiegroaffntt:e2gourin"et3hteicinke'ltlsionbe''
shouldcos
issued,2,oboeol, , tha
abolished, that the grounds should be thrown open to
shareholders, and, finally, that the admission on Satur•
days should be reduced to Is. The consider,tion of the
ducuwent w.e pottpued uw.dil. the 15th of .4.4,au5t..