, 1873-02-23

/ ago, q special court was provided fo'
the convenience Of those who cou1d
not afford tho luxury OF going into the House
OF Lords. That Court has already worn out the
life Of one Judge. Lord Penzance was = nan
who had withstood successfully the ve1ations OF
ordinary litigation for many years, but lie speedi-
ly succumbed to the pressure and complications
Of divorce trials. And now lis successor, Sir
James Hannen, pleads for help. He says that
he does not know how hs will cope With the
business Of his Divorce Court There
ia list Of 243 divorce causes without
jury before him and, besides these, there
are twontJ-seven special jury and forty-four
common jury cases awaiting trial. Ho has beon
holding court from 10h o'clock in the morning
till 51z o'clock in the afternoon, giving his undi-
yided attention to ladies' and gentlemen who
seek new connections through the dissolution
OF the old, and yet the divorce cases accumulate
go much faster than he can dispose OF them
that he is in despair. He says that his is case
| Of ons Judge doing the work Of four, which, il
true, shows that London alone now requires
four courts that shall be devoted exclusively 10
! divorce trials.
When the Divorce Court was started in Lon
don, it WAS believed that there might be as many
as eighteen or twenty cases year. That was
not very many years ago. Yet the number Of
! applications was largely in excess OF the esti-
| mate the very first year. Then the theory was
started that the rush was simply the accumulation
Of former years, when the facilities Of the Di-
vo1ce Court were not be had and it was held that,
when the first ruah could DO disposed Of, the
! Court would be able to settle down to = quiet,
comfortable business. Instead OF this, the num-
ber OF applications has increased with every
year, until the Divorce Court fluids itself 1t q
dead lock, and cries out for assistance. The
late Judge of this Court declared that the posi-
bility of freedom begets the desire to be free
and the greatest evil Of dissolving one marriage
is, that it 1oosens the bonds OF SO many other
marriages. The history Of the London Divorce
Court certainly indicates that the number
OF divorce casos increases indefinitely
With the facilities for securing legal
separ.tion. The tendency thus established
is certainly not in favor Of Mrs. Elizabeth Cady
Stanton's notion Of National Divorce lan in
this country, anording broad and equal facilities
throughout tho continent. The plainest deduc-
tion is, that affection, honor, children, and the
other ties which should cement the union OF
marriage, arc not enough to assure the constancy
which is demanded By the interests Of society.
The same couple that might be contentcd
and happy under legal restrictions against
their separation, could easily grow restless
and adventurous With easy facilities be-
fore thom for trying new associations. The
probability that this is true is further confirmed
by the fact, noticed in the London Divorce
Court as well in American experience, that appli-
cations Of divorce are not so frequently made
for the purpose Of breaking existing ties as for
that of making new ones. The prospect Of re-
lease once presented, there seems to be temp
tation to make it available for the purpose OF
forming new partnerships that may possibly suit |
better. The case. beforo the London Court, in !
which parties appear for the second divorce:
illustrate this tendency, and the frequency and
haste Of remarriaSs has induced. the belief that
nearly every applicant for divorce has d new
alliance in vieN. !
The Divorce Court Of London has bean used |
principally by the middle classes. The great |
scandal that follows divorce in hugh life, out of |
which the English newspapers mako creator sch !
sationa than the American press, has tho effect !
- tho f1r 1nr~
divorces among the aristocratio classes.
They usually come to some private agreement
to disagree, and make alliances Of = quasi-mor-
ganatic nnture which suits their purposes
equally well. The Iower and working classes
do not seek the Divorce Court for the reason
that their marriage relations-so an English
journal explains it-are OF so loose a character
that they do not require ceremonies either to
unite to dissolve. It is the respectable middle
class, therefore, that has found the Divorce
Court 80 great boon, and'las made such liberal
use Of its facilities It is very evident. from the
increase Of the business, that the London
Divorce Court will have to be enlarged or the
Divorce laws materially changed. At all eTenta,
with this exhibit before ne, the aneer At tho
divorce mania cannot honcsforth be directed
exclusively at America.
!
THE LESSONS OF RAILROAD DISASTERS.
Tie annual report Of the Massachusetts, Board
of Railroad Commissioners contains some inter-
csting and important facts concerning the rail-
road disasters which occurred in that State dur
ing the past year. The Commissioners first
made the chapter Of accidents conspicuous
feature OF their report after the Revere disaster
of ,1s71. They now propose to continue this
feature, and it promises to become one ct the
most useful portions Of their labors. They en-
counter serious obstacles. however, in the cir
that, while the law provides that the
railroads shall report their accidents to the
it fails to provide penalty for