The Trinity journal., 1856-11-08
In what Light should Marriage be Held ?

We are euncompromlSlngly opposed to vest
ing in the Courts of the State the power Of
granting divorces. Every additional facili-
ty for severing the ties of marriage but rem
dcrS the compact less sacred, and removes
another stone from the foundation of the
moral fabric of society. No one can dispute
this for history as well as our own cxperien-
ces abundantly test its truth AS an evil
dencc of the effect of liberal divorce regula-
tions look at this State, for instance. The
number of divorces granted in this city du-
ring the last tweyemonth is appalling, and
well calculated to give rise to the question,
whether the act under which they have been
accorded is not inconsistant with sound So
cial jurisprudence
The aim of law should be to guard against
the growing immoralitieS of the governed as
well as to suppress and punish crime, for it
is in corrupt public sentiment that crime
finds its origin moro than in the natural de-
pravity of the heart 1t does not jump full
grown upon a community armed with knife
and dark lantern, hut is encouraged and fos
tered from its infancy by corrupt example,
and the display and practice of those small
but perncouS vices which law winks at in
stead of correcting.
Marriage is the foundation upon which
the moral structure of society is reared
How important is it, then, that the founda-
tion should not be sapped by unwise legisa-
ton, in the effort to conform to a mistaken
idea Of Justice or to the wishes of the few
who should be made the exception instead
( of the rule
Marriage should either be regulated by the
DEGREES of stern legislation, or left entirely
to the option of the parties, to live together
or separate, as best suited them The tie
should be made either the next thing to in
dsso!ublc or recognized as mere matter of
choice and convenience A the law now
stands in California, it amounts to little else
than a compromise between the two eX-
tremes In a country like this, whose peo-
pie are by no means celebrated for their
strict adherence to the social usages of the
older States, it is easy to discern the abuses
to which an Indifference to the sacred nature
of the marriage compact will lead. Area
dy has a decision been made in one of our
Courts making an illegitimate child the le-
gal heir of the father and every day but es
tabliShes more firmly the conviction of the
increasing popularity of the &" free love" sen
timent throughout the State. These are the
legitimate consequences of liberal divorce
lnws, or of giving to the Courts the power
of "pntting asunder" those whom Heaven
has joined as one
All legislative acts increasing the facli-
ties for the legal separation of the married,
originate in a mistaken sense of right, and
are productive of nothing but evil they do
not even benefit the few for whom they are
especially enacted but are moral curse to
ALL Men always shape their conduct to the
law, aud usually avail themselves Of the full
extent of its Iiberaity. Were it a more
difficult matter to obtain a divorce the eau
ses for such an extreme measure would be-
come less frequent, for selections would be
made with more care, and more pains would
be taken to render the union agreeable On
the other hand, were the mutual wish of the
parties to be considered ample grounds for
legal dissolution, experimental marriage
would become the rage, and the man Of sey
enty who had comtcnted himself through life
with one wife, would indeed he a curiosity.
When we have been convinced that either
public morality, the happiness of the people,
justice or humanity, are subserved by our
existing divorce law, we will pronounce it
sound and polite until then we shall pray
for its repeal Golden Era.