The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1874-02-07
PoLYGAMY IN CALIFORNIA.
Sustain His Relations With Both
A Gap in the Walls Of Virtue.
From the Albany Law journal.

The good and moral people of California
have in hand case which, if we may be
lieve the Los Angeles Erpress, "has at,
tracted and absorbed the attention of the
whole community" and which has created
ga universal feeling that the Civil Code
should be at once repealed and the other
codes referred to a competent commission
to revise them" The case that has Gre
ated this universal feeling" is denomina-
ted People VS.. Oades. 1t seems that the
said Oades, who is described as an English
man of good education, went to San Berna-
dino some two years ago, purchased and
settled upon a farm. A year ago he married
"a young widow lady of great beauty resid-
ing in that neighborhood." Some months
ago another woman. with three children,
appeared, sought out Oades ana has since
conrlnueu 10 res1ue w1JII min. The neigh
bors, suspecting that matters in the Oades
household were not going on according to
the decalogue, and "indignant at such
OF en- prohigacy," made complaint against
this woman and Oadcs for 'open and noto-
rious cohabitation and adultery. The par
ties were arrested and brought up for trial,
when they satisfactorily proved that they
had been duly married in England some
twenty years ago. They were acquitted
and similar complaint made as to Oades
and wife No. 2. On this trial it was proved
that some eight years ago Oades and wife
No. were living i'll New Zealand. While
Oades was temporarily absent, the Maoris
made an inroad into the settlement, and
and his family gone. Some human remains
were found in the ruins and from such in
formation as he could gain during the en-
suing two years, he believed that his wife
and children were dead, and had so believed
until their recent appearance. Oades, on
these facts, claimed that his second mar
riage was valid under the Civil Code, which
provides that the marriage of a person
having former husband OF wife living is
void, "unless such former husband or wife
was absent and not known to such person
to be living for the space of five successive
years Immediately preceding such subse
quent marriage, in which case the subse-
quent marriage is void only from the time
its nullity is adjudged by proper tribunal. "
The second complaint was therefore dis
missed. Virtue was again defeated. But
Virtue was not disheartened. Oades was
indicted for bigamy. The learned district
attorney made an eloquent argument in
which he cited Cooke and the Six Carpen-
ters' Case and 4 number of maxims in latin.
On the other hand, the counsel for the
accused, in the language of the E,rpress cit
ed in support of his position the following
maxims: II aer5is legis non est receasd-
atm," % I,ader antnai sermo," and "N0Ee-
dicta erpositio quG corrsmpet te:rtum," the
meaning of which as he explained for the
benefit of the court, was that in the inter-
probation of statutes, eve must SUCK u
the letter. That it is true that the inten-
ton must govern, but the Language is the
evidence of the Intention" and that :" is
wrongly called Interpretation when we alter
the text This was too much for the pros
ecution, and the judge directed the jury to
acquit. Thereupon "all the most eminent
counsel of San Bernadino We're retained by
citizens interested in the virtue of the COM
munity,77 and the counsel finally decided
that the only thing that could be done was
to proceed and have the second marriage
annulled, but that, as under the code, such
proceeding could only be brought by one Of
the parties directly interested, and as Oades
and his two wives seemed satisfied with
existing affairs, nothing could be done.
Again Virtue arose Phenix-like. An en-
missary was dispatched to buy over Mrs.
o. No. /, who, after having once been run
off by Mr.. Oades with shotgun" got pri-
vate audience of Mrs. Oades, and offered
her So, 900 to induce her to move i'll the
matter. She refused. Mrs. Oades No. 2
was offered similar inducements but also
declined. Law and lucre having failed a
Priest was sent to expostulate with Oades.
The latter told him that theoretically he
was "a monogamist but that he didn' t
pretend to be wiser nor more virtuous than
the law, and as the law allowed him two
wives his conscience didn't disturb him. A
mass meeting was then called, and it was
there proposed to petition the Legislature to
pass special act dissolving Oades' second
marriage. But Oades, who was present,
told the meeting that under the constitu-
ton the legislature could not grant di-
vorce. Somebody then suggested that
Oades be lynched, which suggestion Oades
did not stop to answer.