Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1868-07-01
Marriage and Divorce.

The Rt. Rev. Henry j, ,.Whitehouse, D. D.,
Il. /. D. Bishop Of the Episcopal Church, in
,hisannual address at Chicago, before the
Episcopal Convention, spoke thus with res
pee. t to marriage and divorce:
Ss,If is not to be doubted that, in harmony
wifii' The march Of deeper reflection, moral
seflse and religious principle of our country,
..Ssid,xnaye been shocked and startled by the
.srifS;5saliDe & cprccation Of the marriage tie |;
The iacility with which divorce troI: us ob.
tanned, and the demorahziug, statements aud
facts on lhe subject which are shown in for
NAL discussion, current literature, the daily
nress and licenliods cohabltaLion. would
he thankful if reasonable doubt could be sus-
taint d ON this awful fact of our vehement age.
II is more than an accident 1t is linked
with deep. unprinciped purposes tits m we
uent Of social. socialism and lntldelity, OF
multitude who have grown Up creedess and
hence goddess, OF u education which has in-
s,ruc,ed the mind and neglected the affections.
ola philosophy which glerl6es the lnstlcts
and passions oi our Corrupt nature and deihes
animal impulse, as the voice Of God. As the
marriage contract is ouly civil obligation,
and State law Is, in many respects, loOse, in
the guards and checks uponit, facilities are
offered for separation and divorce which tempt
a resort 10 tnis formal dissolution in cases OF
mere domestic cdisSarrangcment and hardship.
The moral effect of discipline, from the COLI
yiction of the all but irrevocuble force OF the
vow, has thus bccome pervadlrgly damaged.
Husband and wife alike admit the practica
bility ofseparation as a remedy, and the causes
which ultimately force the firal plunge are
allowed to gather and roll on in needless de-
Gance. :,
.."The facility of separation destroys all
mutual confidence aud inAames every trlting
dispute. There are solemn warnings on this
fearful social decadeDce on the page oi hlSto'
~. j. Greece ard Rome, for ages, shame our
Christian licentiousness. Roman philosophers,
poets and satirisls hold up 10 public scorn
and Indignation the wauton aid extensive
abuse of liberty Of divorce which probably
did not equal ours.
nTbe institution Of Romulus made the
marriage indissoluble, and though the twelve
tables gave.to the husband the freedom OF d.
yorce, vet the republic had existed live hun
dred years when tLc first instance Of divorce
occurred, and the distinguished experimenter
was loaded for it with public opprobrinm. Au,
gustus endcayoured by law toput some re-
straint upon the facility of divorce, but the
check was overpowered by the prevailing
corruptness Of manners. It. was the begin
ming Of the end, when that great nation
persisted, utterly DESTROYED by its own eorrup'
tion. s7.ss -
"When the French revolution swept away
the usuage of ages and the sanctity OF relig-
ion,- its special war seemed against the mar
riage contract, and six thousand divorces are
said to have taken place in the City oil Paris
alone, in the space Of two years and three
months.
aThe Roman Catholic Church sustains the
absolute indissolubility of the marriage tie
and in the State of South CAROLINA, where the
same sorupulous policy existed, it Is; stated
that not an instance occurred OF DIVISION
of any kind, either by the sentence OF court
of Justice or by the act oflegislature, from the
, rp,eyuiutlcn down to the opening OF the recent
struggle.
"If4here be truth beyond oil question,
where Gods law, ,acial. experience, the, uni
form record Of our species, every source OF
testimony, warning and appeal concur, IT'S
the sacredness of lhe marriage bond, and the
national decline which attends tolerated
disregard or iacile rupture of its divine con-
stitution. s-.'r
aThe cannon law, though less peremptory
in the esteem of The Anglican churches than
in the Council of Trent, has fully sustained
the obligations Of holy matrimony,' and will
not allow any cause except incontinence as
valid for contracting of another marriage.
II know not what can stay our moral de-
cline in this relation, the source and conser'
yltor Of all the substantial interests of time
and eternity, and rouse an influential control
through our legislative, JUDICIAL and eccesias
tical authority. But must at least instruct
you, brethren of tue clergy, to exercise vigi-
LANCE Of fineuiry and devout respect tor its dl-
vine significance in every case Of marriage
coming before yop. # the world degrades
the contract into mere civil trasaction' you
must never forget that in your own hands it
is the office OF holy matrimony, deep toned
in its sacramental character, where every
charge and prayer is from the conviction OF II! a
Christian faith. Its solemn VOWS are God
ward, and the churce pronounces over those
clasped hands, those whom God hath Joined
together let no man put asuEder. ."
Exercise a discretion becoming your holy