The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1860-08-20

The adoption of the Code, presenting the
statutes OF Maryand, for the first time, 10 the pub
lic in a convenient form and under systematic
arrangement, was certainly long step forward
in wise and useful legislation Unprofessional
readers, seeing the laws which govern them COL
lected together in order and made consistent with
each other their redundancies pruned away and
their absurdtes for the most part, discarded their
body and essence condensed into two portable
volumes in Mr.. MURPHY's excellent type and with
Mr.. MACKALLs admirable summaries and index:
can hardly form an idea of the desolate and
bewilderng path, which it was previously neces-
sary to pursue, through more than forty volumes
OF laundering legislation, i'll printed and worse in
deXed, in orderto arrive at probable conclusion
concerning the most important rights of the citi-
zen. We do not intend to say, by any means,
that the codiiiers have given perfect system as
substitute for all this. 1t was not their province
to make new laws; they were only authorized to
codify the laws already existing. Yielding neverthe
less to irresistible temptation they have ventured
here and there, to root out some piece of intolera
Die stupidity or stale antiquity or to substitute the
good sense which the Legislature had probably in
view, for the nonsense which appeared on the
statute-book; and the result is that the new Code
has been made, by the process, in some partcu-
lars, an entirely new system. So far as we have
observed, the alterations appear 10 have been care
ful and wise. We only advert to them, however,
at this moment, for the purpose of calling the at
tentIon of our readers 10 some decided changes in
leading title of the law We refer to the law of
property, as affected by the relation of husband
and wife ITO Of fba
and its accessibility to all readers would
seem to render the present suitable occasion
for noticing the alterations alluded to,
which may not be as generally known as their
Importance deserves. Prior to the adop-
ton of the new Constitution, the common
law doctrine under which the husband took
the personal estate of the wife absolutely and
life estate in her realty, while the wife, on the
other hand, took her dower-interest in the hus-
bands realty, and third or half of his personally
at his decease, had undergone comparatively little
alteration. BY the act of 1S4l, ch l6l the hus-
bands Interstate in his wife's realty was protected
from execution at the suit of the husbands credl-
tors during the life of the wife By the act of
1912, oh. 293, it was made competent for married
women to acquire real estate and slaves in their
own name and right, under certain circumstances.
without the intervention of trustees, and to hold
the same as their separate property, free from La
olty for the debts or contracts of their husbands
They were likewise empowered to execute wills in
certain cases, with the consent of their husbands.
and also to acquire, by their industry as their |
own separate estate: thousand dollars worth |
of property, real or personal The construction |
placed upon these acts by the Court of Appeals, |
regards them as intended to secure the property of
the vile against the creditors of the husband
rather than as limiting the common law rights and
powers of the husband himself With this restricted
modihcaton of the pre-existing system, the proec-
ton OF the wifes estate was left to special settle
ments and the guardianship of courts of equity.
The Constitution of 1851 art g. Sec 3s. reouired
the General Assembly to "pass laws necessary to
protect the property of the wife from debts of
'the husband during her life, and for securing the
'same to her issue after her death" No legisla-
tive action however was had, in obedience to this
requirement. until the act of 1853, Oh. 245, by
which nothing material was added to the existing
law, except that the privileges confined to slaves
and real property by the of 1912, were extended
to personal property in general, and the inter-
position of trustees to separate estate TO mar
rled women was declared unnecessary. This act the
Court of Appeals interpreted in the same manner
as the previous Legislation to which we have re-
1erred, and the consequence was, that until the
adoption of the Code, the Constitutional provi-
sion was fully executed, only so far as it related
10 the debts of the misunderstanding the security
Oh 'le wife and her issue, as against the acts and
cohuoi Oh the husband, only to limited extent
PROVIDED for By Article As of the General Code
however, the omission has been fnIlv sunnlied
anu TUG 20" nv" provides as satisfactory mar
rage sel'ie'iei' as need be- in all cases. without
the aid OF conveyancers or the interuos;tiop of
trustees. All of the property, real and nersona1
belonging to the wife at her marriage or ocou;roa
by her afterwards, Except fraudulentlv from h.r
husband, and up to one thousand dollars OWL
when earned by her Industry is not only pro.
tected from the husbands debts, but declared 70
be the separate property of the wife, which she
may dispose of by will, as if she were single
woman, and may convey, during her life, by a
joint deed with her husband. No trustee for the
wife Is necessary, though she and her husband
may appoint one if they choose, or the wife may
herself have one appointed by the Courts If
she has no trustee, she may sue at law or in
equity by her next friend in all mat
tiers relating to her property. Should she die
intestate, leaving children, her husband has life
estate in both her realty and personally. If she
leaves no children and makes no will. her Inns.
band has life estate in her realty, and takes her
PERSONAL estate absolutely-but as we have said,