The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-03-16
,ERMS $500 PER ANNUMIN ADVANCE

aged to secure a private interview with Mrs.
Oades No. l, while Oades was out riding
with his second wife. She appeared to be a
MID, tlmid woman, but it was impossible to
induce her to move in the mattar-although
Hewlett offered her S5 900 to do so. Oades.
she said, had sworn that if she attemnted To
annul his second marriage he would not only
beat her half to death, but also would never
live with her any more; that she knew Oa,ies
well enough to know he would keep his
WORD; that she wouldn't mind the beating so
much, but that she preferred to submit to
the present state OF circumstances rather than
to lose Oades altogether, especially, as being
married 10 him, she couldn't marry any one
else. Hewlett therefore returned without
efectlng anything; and, after consultation of
counsel, was again dispatched to make the
same proposition to Mrs. Oades No. 2. But
neither would she accept the offer. Ifthere was
any way she said, of annulling Oades' first
marriage. she might be induced to move in
the matter, although she really didn't mind
Mrs. Oades No. l much, as she was getting
too old to be very formidable rival, and, be-
sides, she found her considerable help about
the house but as to her bringing suit to an
nul her own marriage, there was no use of
talking about it, as she was perfectly well sat-
isiied with Oades, even with the incumbrance
OF his first wife and children
Upon the receipt of this information Rev.
! MIR. Kiggett, a minister of great and deserved
| influence in the community, was despatched
| TO expostulate with Oades himself Oades re-
ceived lin courteousy, and discussed the
matter with great frankness. Theoretically,
he said he was monogarnist, and believed
that the law should not allow a man to have
more than one one wife. He therefore Join
ed with bis reverend friend in saying that tho
action of the Code Commission in allowing
bigamy could not be too severely condemned.
| tut such matters, he continued, after all,
are to be settled in each State as the legisla-
| tors in their wisdom should deem best, it be-
ing now settled principle in jurisprudence
| that all rights and obligations have their
source solely in legislative enactment; that all
the most eminent jurisprudents, including
the New York and California Code Commits
sioners, are agreed that right is what the Leg
| islature wills, .his being tie fundamental idea
upon which the Civil Code is based As to
the old notion OF natural right, that is entire
ly exploded. If there were such thing he
| continued, the appointment of the Code
| Commission to reduce all law or right into a
code would have been as absurd as to have
| appointed them to coGiiy chemistry or maLh-
| ematcs-would, ill short, have been to repeal
principles established by the Almighty, and
to substitute in their place the shallow no.
tions of ignorant and fallbe men. For his
part, he didn't pretend to be wiser or more
virtuous than the laws, and as the laws al
| y
disturb him for having them; neither OF his
wives was willing to give him up, aud, to tell
the truth, he could not get along very well
| without both OF them. He loved them both
so well The added facetiously) that he was
like the ass between two bundles of hay, and
didn't know how to choose between them.
Besides, if either marriage was annulled, it
would have to be the last one; and while be
| might possibly stand the loss of the old wom-
an, THAT is, his first wife, nothing on earth
would induce him to part with the last The
| reverend gentlemen thereupon left in great
| and just indignat iop, which was greatly in-
creased on Sunday at seeing Oades-who had
always been regular in his attendance at
church-seated in his pew with his two wives
listening complacently to the sermon.
As we stated yesterday, the san Bernardo
no lawyers had written TO one of the Code
Commissioners. Our correspondent was
shown the answer, but did not have the ol-
portunity of taking copy. He was abe,
however, to send us a very full abstract OF its
contents, The codifier, who appears from
his letter to be a much more sensible man
than one would think, Judging only from the
codes,) wrote that 1t was bad thing, and he
didn't see what was to be done about it, but
/. that the commission was not responsible for
it; that all they had done was to COPY the
code OF that eminent codifier David Dudley
Field, that it was evidently the intention Of
the Legislature that the commission should
pursue this course, for if they had wanted a
new code made they certainly should have
known better than to refer the matter tC
them; that it couldn't be expected that a
commission OF three men, without any spe-
cial training or experience for the purpose
could complete in two years work for which
Justinian had found it necessary to employ
the great Tlibonian and seventeen other OF
the most eminent lawyers in the Empire dur
Ir,n mo oil r0fa,, Il.
difhculty that the greatest of English juris-
prudents, Austin, had thought it necessary 10
recommend that large number OF the ablest
men should be especially educated for it. and
should devote their whole lives to it; a work
finally SO extensive that it had taken even
David Dudley Field some time to accomplish
it. As Tor himself, he said he never had pre-
tended to be much of a codifer, but the DO
sition was offered to him with good salary,
and he didn't feel called upon to decline it ;
that be made it rule never to decline any
thing that was offered on account of his own
!, | incompetency-thatb being a matter that con-
cerned only those who employed him that II
any one were to offer to employ him to make
piano or a steam engine-which was as
, much out of his line as codylying Itself he
would accept the offer, provided always that
ii was on salary, ard that he was not to b.
paid by the job; that, in his opinion, the 9TH
er Commissioners were no letter than him.
self. and, finally, that the whole commission
reminded him vely forcib6 Of Pantagl uel'
opinion of the French lawyers, which he
quoted as follows: Seeing thar the law is ex-
cerpted out Of the very middle OF moral and
natural philosophy, how should those fools
have understood it who have studied less in
philosophy than my mule?
All other means failing, yesterday mass
meeting was called to deliberate about the
matter which was largely attended by tn.
citizens of San Bernardino, and also of Los
Angeles and San Diego. Alter much dis
cussion it was finally proposed, as the only
remedy. to petition the Legislature to pass ;
special act dissolving Oades last marriage
But Oades who was present, immediatel,
| arose to address the meeting, and told them
that, that was no go; for by the twentieth sec
tion of the fourth article of the Constitution
of California it is expressly provided that no
divorce shall be granted by the Legislature.
As Oades produced the book itself. this argu
ment was unanswerable. 1t was then pro-
posed th,t the Legislature should be petition.
ed to call a constitutional convention for the
purpose of aunulling one or the other of Oades
marriages; but Oades produced the Copsti-
tuition of the United States, and read thf
tenth section of the first article which ex.
: pressly provides that No State
obligation of contracts and marriage , h,
l H..
therefore no earthly power could deprive hin
OF his vested right in his two wives Thi,
brought the assembly to stand still; for II
was very evident that nothing short of ar
amendment to tie Constitution of the Uni
ted States could reach his case. AT length
however, the silence was relieved by prom.
inent citizen of Los Angeles, who proposed
as simple and effectual means of meetin.
the difficulty, to hang Oades. This,' b,
said was very common way of arrangips
such affairs in Los Angeles, and it had always
met the public appreciation except on one
| occasion, when indeed, they had perhari
| gone little too TAR in hanging seventeen
Chinamen.' This suggestion took so wei
with the meeting that Oades took the hin
f and left while the Los Angeles man was ex-
planning his views. The meeting at QUO
, broke up in dispute, but Oades after clos
/ race, reached his house, where he barricade,
| himself and drove off the crowd with shot
gun. After the crowd had dispersed, ou
: correspondent interviewed Oades at his house
e He found him jnst sitting down to suppe
a with his two wives all in high spirits, and wa'
# cheerfuy invited to join them. He had q
= long and interesting conversation with Oade:
r. but this morning it had entirely escaped hi