Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1847-03-10

we ,ahe the following from en- ariel.
IN Inc fsac'ne Advocate, it being repIv to
that portion Of Mr.. sirong's speech wi;'
relates to the Rights of Married WOMB.
Mr.. Strong assumes ,ha, this sec,1
places married women on the footinp a. 'U"
civil law, with power to Contract ana 're
contracted with, to sue and be snad 'e
trade and be traded with; in fact ,ha, ~
Constitution makes her, as does the c; "e
law, a. separate legal person in all resn. "H
from her husband The Constitution Nv.
no such thing. Whether rightly or wronn
ly, the Constitution simply aims TO a,e6.
the common law in a very simple resnoct
by the civil law, wife is in all resroo..
a separate legal person from her husban1
marriage making no difference in her rinb,,
and Liabilities 20 third person. She Wv
talns, in her own right and subject 10 No.
own control, all her property real and nor,
sonal; contracts ard is liable for her ow0
debts, receives and approprates her own
earnings. In fact she is as independen, ~
property and business Of her husband "a
he is other 20
by he common law, under which vo
live. wife is incapable Of contracIing IN
her own behalf and incapable of boldina
property in her own righi. fat the ,noo
Of her marriage she have real property q,
afterwards acquire it, he. husband ipsfan,
ly takes an estate in it for their Joint lives
and the wife can have no control of it. O,
income from it, until after her Husband.
death. All personal property of the wife
instantly becomes the absolute proper,v
of the husband; married woman can
never be the owner of dollar or dol.
lars value.
That this law often works great wrong
ana evll,-too obvious TO need example,
even this speech admits
The Constitution, aiming TO correct
these evils, simply provides that 'the real
and personal property Of the wife shall be
her separate propery;' and that claws
Shall be passed provii'ng for the Registry
OF the wife>s property, and and more cleqr-
ty dcfning tie rights ofthe mife thereto"
This, then, is Il simple declaration that
the common law notwins anding-the
busband SHALL not take a life estate in the
wi!e's real property. and shall not become
the absolute owner Of her personal proper.
ty. No more, no lcss;-the Constilurion
does not 90 ole ioa beyond tbs. as will
be seen by our quotation; the resi- is Ielr,
as Mr.. Strong would have it let. to The
wisdom Of future leg station. And future
legislatures will have precisely the same
power on tbs su ject, as if the Consiiu.
ton were absolutely silent upon it. no
more and no less, -eXcepct that they can.
not endow the husband with absolute DOW.
er of using or Gbusing lis wire's properly,
and leaving her a penniess widow OF an
Abandoned bepgar.
Nor is this all. The common law.
which abound5 in fc jons and evasion
provides a way il which all that he Con.
s'iiut.on seeks 10 do, may be now done
WI hont any such provision. The husband
axes lie es ate in the wfe's realty; bdt
'i tie really De con eyed bv the wife be.
ore marriage, or by those (rom whom she
derives 1t after mafriago, 20 trustees for
The separate use of tie wife, then the hus.
band takes 10 ie estate. SO the husband
becomes abSoiu owner of the fe's per-
sonaIty; bu if This in Ike manner be trans.
tered to trustees for the w ie's seperate
use, the hu b nd takes moth Min il. And.
in either case, by tie interYent on Of trns-
tees. the vile mas the seperate control and
bsoIule use of her property real and per-
,onal
These conVeyanc2s 10 trustees Tor the
use OF married women, are in every DAYS
practice; they are on record in perhaps
every Regis er's office in the Territory,
hey certainly are in ours, and all this,
more knows better than Mr.. Strong.
So this much abused section Of the Con
stltution, whether wisely placed there or
not, seeks TO do no more, by simple opera
ton Of law, than may now he done by con-
yeyancing; it merely extends to all, a bene-
fit now practically enjoyed only by persons
of considerable means.
Here is no adoption Of the civil law;
here is no right to contract, to trade and to
sue; here is no license to the married wo-
men to form partnerships with her husband
or others, or in the chaste phraseoogy of
this speech, "to take dormant partners;"
here is no declaration that sit will be none
of her husbands business who are her part
ners or her paramous;" here is no license
to the sex TO bear zone fourth Of the chill
dren Legitimate" as is said TO be TIE
case elsewhere under the civil law. The
women of America can be brought, to re-
semble this picture by no law; this ribaldry
Is all applied to the sex, Of whom it is so
truly and beautifully said, tha; without their
pure and gentle ministrations, the begin
ming Of life has no succor, the middle no
charm, the end no consolation.
DEFINING THE GFNDrRs YOU