Indiana American. [volume] (Brookville, Ind.) 1833-1861, 1857-05-15

large cInss OF Hmpsctons VINO marry IN /
haste, and repent At their leisure In this
respect. however, Marion comfy only repre-
SCENTS, in certain proportion, state Of
things existing in every county In Indiana
Divorces are in demand, AID wives and hus-
bands and IL next to getting married, the
sasisss thing IN life, TO get unmarried Itis
probable that two thousand applications for
divorce are made yearly in this State.
But, dark as this picture Of domestic dis |
content may be. justice TO our own people |
requires Us TO say that lis colors are not in |
digenous. So readily are divorces procured
amongst us, that Indiana has become the
Alsatia into which, from oil quarters Of the
Union, hundreds Of men and women. tired
Of existing bonds, rush yearly, to undergo
that judicial purestion, which viii qualify
them 70 enter into new ones And this is
our shame, that we open our courts TO the
ulest perjury and invite hordes Of mere
temporary residents into our State, to avail,
themselves Of wicked facility Of divorce
that ought not to be allowed either TO them
or 70 our own citizens
Indeed. We think the Courts might declare
our Statute Of Divorce unconstitutional, be-
cause h does not express, In the title, the
provisions Of the act Il ought 70 be call Cd
AN act 10 promote fainil, quarrels, and 10
encourage adultery II was fabricated Mt
a time when the cry of womaa's Rights
was raging through our streets, and In the
halls Of our constitutional convention; when
silver pitchers were prepared for our great
rsformer, Robert Dale Owen, and presented
By ghosty hands, with torrent Of aduIa-
ton that would have sickened any one who
had moral sense capable Of nausia IL was
Just on the heels Of those movements that
tine statute made its appearance. And now
let us look Cor moment Of IL provisions
Cause. Of divorce are
I, Adultery
2 fmpotency 80 ...a
y Abandonment Cor ono year, or .for a less
period. " ne Curt shaii 5e safis6sd that recon
diiahos . iuprpbati< ftI =
4 Cruel treatment Of either party by the
Other. t ~
s. Hahitual drunkenness Of either party;
or she failure Of the husband 10 make rcas'
enable provisioh for bis family,
6 The conviction, subseq uent TO marriage,
IN any country, Of either party, Of an iniA-
nous crime
I. Anyotker eaussfor chieh nc csnrf shai
d<mf proper aaf dipores shaib % granted
This statute requires that the plain
tiif shall be MONA Ttps resident
Of the county whore the wit is brought
but also permits the eour, TO take the plain
tfrs own affidavit ne prima facie evidence o
the residence, aud Of Ia good fifth How
easy the whole process A complaint Il
iiled. The plaintiff swears that he or sh'
IL bona .fis resident Of the county.
friend makes another affidavit that the de
PENDANT Il non resident whereupon nstlc.
h given TO that party by a publication 70
three weeks, and then the cause is ready 70
trial II l. thus entirely an sr parts matter
True, the statute makes u tie duty ef III
prosecuting attorney 10 resist divorces bu
ne gets nothing for Il, and cares nothinI
about Il II he Is present he looks on In
mere pcrninctory manner and the plaintii
proving. 10 MI probability, by deposition
taken without cross examination, any on
OF the grounds above stated, gets the divorc
perhaps decree for the custody Of chi
dren--and. if q woman, peradventure, 70
alimony, also
Now, such statute as this Is an unmit
gated nuisance. II u not tho expression {
q Christian civilization, but Of that herc
moral intoxicason that placed naked pro-
ttule on a pedestal. and fell down and wo
shipped her ~ the Goddess Of Reason. /
tendency is to bring the relation Of marrias
into d,-repute. 10 teach men 20 de-plse
and prefer to II the looser ties Of vagabor
ooncubinage, 10 set anoat upon the surfa'
Of society pack Of husbandless wives, NJ
witches husbands to prey upon the mari
ageble OF either sex, and in this way TO u
derinIne. corrupt and destroy society, who
only secure basis Is the family. The abus
Of which Il is capable can hardly need TO
pointed out; they are growing with su'
fearful apidiiy that the corrective must q
will be applied at no distant day.
You have to attend bat single sessi
OF one Of Que Circuit Courts TO observe {
illustration Of all that we have said, Y
now recall an instance where female I
Piled for a divorce in county OF this Sta
swore she did in good faith reside there,
though in fact she did not had the publi'
ton made. and hoped for success. But
husbands friends got wind Of the suit, a
appearance was made for him. With,
dismiasing her FIRST suit, the woman w
into an interior county, played there exae
the same game. made an oath Of resideI
in the new place she had selected, and Def
the husband or his friends suspected
dodge, she had gathered up evidence, Def
notary, shom she afterwards married, {
procured divorce, decree for 'he GUST
Of her children, and for $1,000 alimony
And all this, when she was the offend
party, as might easily be supposed from
trick in getting divorce. Not lawye
the State but can relate 10 you instances
this by the hour.
But the greatest element Of misc
which this statue contains is the last ca
enumerated-any cause the Judge may q
Sufficient Here is discretion wide emo
to embrace any complaint founded on
improper conduct Of the other party
might TO the non-professionaI ear, seem
to be subject to that limitation. But
yers know that such general words ar