The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1850-02-13

manner the legal consequences which result from
this most important contract Whatever may be
the preiudices Of those who have been educated
under the common law all must admit that the
Continental systems in this particular are far
superior BY the common law the legal existence
Of the wife is merged in that Of the husband; her
personal property becomes his; the control Of her
| real estate is transferred to him; she becomes
nonentty. This was the growth OF the Feudal'
system, when society was in complete panoply,
and even law partook Of the spirit of the age. For
| tunately the war power has passed away. That
| form Of society which existed like Mahomet's
Paradise, beneath the points of swords, has ceased,
even in England, but still the relations which she
laws Of barbarous age had created linger in ex-
istence, chilling with their malign influences the
feelings of humaner era, ready to bud forth into
practical institutions Winter still dailies in the
lap Of Spring.
The matrimonial law of the Continental ma
tons always regarded the rights of the wife. Es-
pecially was this the case in Spain and France,
from whom the colony of Louisiana received its
laws and opinions. Doubtless our law requires
amendments, but taken as a whole, it is admirably
adapted to protect the rights Of the feeble woman
| guarding her alike from the tyranny of the hus-
band or the selfsacrfcing affection of the WIFE, 1t
places herbeyond the inadence of the husband by
| placing her beyond herself The property of The
wife in Louisiana is divided into two casses-the
Dotal and Paraphernal.
"The Dowryor Dotal property is that which the
wife brings to the husband to support the expenses
Of the marriage.n-L c. 2317 This must be set
tied at the time of the marriage, and cannot be in
creased after-2320. The income belongsto the
husband to help him to support the charges of the
marriage.-2329 The property is inalienable,
except in few. ensmerated cases, such the
establishment Of children-for the liberation from
gail of either husband or wfe-for supplies of food
for making repairs, or to effect partition when the
property is held in common with other per-
son.-2321.
Marriage contracts containing this provision are
Of rare occurrence among the American popula-
ton. In practice Of twelve years, the writer has
never marriage contract containing settle
nent Of dowry. An American never feels that
property belongs to him unless he has the right to
! dispose of it, He really believes that property
was made to be "swaped Off" and would hardly
accept fortune, if cogged with the condition that
he should never risk it in trade. Hence such stpu-
lations which place property detors commerce
meet with no favor from the new population; and
these provisions of the code the greater num-
| Der of our readers dead letter.
| The second dvisions that of Paraphernal prop
erty- Allrproperty Of the wife, not expressly set
| tied as doial, is paraphernal
The wife has the right to administer this with
out the assistance of her husband If she, how
| ever, does not administer it herself it is con-
| sdered under the management of the husband
When administered by him the income belongs to
| the community Of gains existing between them
The wife may at any time resume the management
Of the paraPhernal property which she has en-
| trusted to her husband If she retains the admin.
istration of her property, she ought to bear pro
portion of the expenses OF the family up to one hall
i of her income, if need be. She has a right tc
ALLEVIATE her paraphernal property, with the consent
of her husband and if he refuses she may cite him
before the Judge and obtain the consent of the
court. IT. however, the price Of the property is
received by the husband, she has tacit mortgage
on his property for its restitution.
/ Tomorrow we will explain the subject of Com
munity property-show the operation of this law,
| point out its defects, and suggest remedies.
MIR. FOrshey's Lecture.
| The third Lecture was devoted to the Animals,
1 Plants, and Minerals of the transition and secon-
dairy periods
Biologists differ in their divisions, but the lee.
turer chose to limit the transition series to the
Grawacke group, including the old red sandstone
Before this period, there seemed to have been ns
animals or plants. There may have been both
but if so, the intense pressure and heat to which
the rocks Of the slra,ifed primary period have
been subjected, has obliterated all traces of them
The animals and vegetables of the transition
were Of character to subsist best through the
violent changes of that remote age. The coral
builders the earliest architects, and are still
at work in the seas. Many Islands have been
wholly produced by them, but they begin to wane,
and are now limited to seas whose mean tempera-
ture is above $50 Fahrenheit Doubtless they will
become extinct ere long. geologcally speaking
and so will all the animals now inhabiting the
planet. Observation teaches that some animals
are able to sustain very high temperature, but a
very low one is not endurable by any. Unless the
law Of animal life be changed land this is not to be
expected, the time will come when
/ The frozen earth will wander yoiceless''
But we turn from the dark picture
The carbonilerous period was one of life in such
multitude and variety, both animal and vegetable
to have parallel before or Since in the history
of the earth
Coal was OF vegetable origin, admitted now by
all. The leaves, limbs and ligneous fibre of tree,
were still plainly tfaceabe in all the bituminou.
Goals. Such is its abundance as to prove the pro
life character Of that period in vegetable life Al
the forests the earth, for the last six housauC
years, would not furnish the carbon Of the Ohit
coal-feld.
The coal was deposited in basins, showing evi
denees of eddies in the seas that deposited them
and explained Prof. Mather's theory of the Goa
basins of the Mississippi valley. This view of tn,
subject was truly grand, but cannot be presented
in our limits. Go, reader, and listen to these
sublime teachings for yourself.
| The lecturer asked the question which has al
ways staggered Biologists: +" Whence came the
slime and the carbon of the secondary beds -
1t is not found in the primary beds, except in
very small amounts in the primary limestone beds
Life could not exist without carbon, nor bones OF
shells without lime. After stating the several
hypothesis Of philosophers, none of which, accord
ing to his searching criticisms, were satisfactory
the lecturer ventured to mention his own, as new
suggestion.
Carbon and lime, or calcium, which is its base
may be derivable from the older rocks by some
analysis unknown to US, made in the crucible OF
nature. The simple substances, regarded as Gle
mentary bodies, constantly changing in num-
ber' Possibly we may yet find that carbon and
calcium are constituents Of some of those lonu re-