Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1875-02-24
"THE Supreme Court of Missouri has

Just rendered decision OF IN extra5r-
binary nature. souue os the facts AMI
circumstance, o. which it was based
remotely resembling thuse ruJerly ing
the Meister- Mowery case, recently tri
ed at Pittsburg. 1t appears tina. many
years ago an Indian trader named Gill
lis married couple of Delaware mai
deus according TO the rites Of their
tribe, and had issue by them. He scb-
sequently sought the hand of daugh-
ter of Mango chief, and welded her,
thus having three wives living at one
time. He very soon deserted alt and
went East, returning afferwa' ds TO In
dependence, No., where he aiuassed a
large fortune. Ia the meantime his
Mango bride had returned TO he father,
where she gave birth to son. the fruits
Of her short-lived marriage. GIllis
died few months since, in Kansas
City, leaving his vast possessions by
will to his sister. except ten dollars
apiece to each of his children by the
Delaware girls. The Mango siri sued
to prove the intestacy of ellis as far
as they we're concerned, and on appeal
to the Supreme Court decision WAS
given last Tuesday, establishing the
validity IF their claims. The property
thev wilt divide is estimated at from
100000 upwards"
A most righteous dicisien, and 1t
were better foI the morals of the coun
try If more di;isions of kindred spirit
were rendered by courts. To our
knowledge it is the first instance in
which the the marriage Ceremony Of
Indians nave been recognized as binding
on a white man, when brought into a
civilized court.
The very singular feature of the di-
cision is that il divide. the property
among the children of the different
wives. There is NOTHING narrow or
contracted about it, and il it succeeds i'll
becoming the leaven through which the
marriage bonds are Heightened and
widened then indeed will il have accom-
plished great good The marriage
bonds are to narrow they are not com
prehensive enough. Ali that constitu.
ties marriage now, is the ceremony that
the Church delegates to her preacher,
which consists in formulated speech
CT series Of Questions, to be put to
those seeking matrImony, or the cero-
mony of the State which is delegated
to justice IF the peace, who addresses
himself through formulated speech
or series of questions to those who de-
sire 10 be united ia the bonds of we'd
lock. That is what the church and
state cali marriage" of man and wo-
man, and no matter what rela
tionship may exist between men and
women there are not married unless one
or the other of the formulated ceremonies
have been observed. If there be issue. no
matter, says the Ihurch, no matter says
the state, the letter of ceremony and
the law have not been compiled with aud
there is no marriage. Under such q
status men are not responsible for ei,h-
er maintenance of women, or mainten-
ance of children Children have no
recognition under the ceremony or law
and cannot inherit their fathers pro-
perty. They are outlawed aud put
scri:t in the world just as if they had
dropped from another planet and were
of different species of mankind from
our own. We honor the Court who
rendered the above dicision and if there
we're more of kindred spIritin every leg
lslative body in this country, a system of
marriage laws more comprehensive than
those that are now on the statute books
would be enacted, and healthier state
of morals thereby would be brought
about. Laws wou d be enacted that
would hold men and women to strict
accountability They would enact that
If men and women in utter disregard of
the conTentionalities of the better class I
of people, and in the face of the cere-
mony of the Church, and the law of the /
State, would maintain at times the re-
lationship of men and women who have
cOnformed to the ceremony of the church !
and the law of the land. be held
TO the same accountability as fer main
tensnce of the women, and the division I
Of property amcng the issue. In a
word that such people be considered !
people and be held as such in
every particular. The decision Of the 1
Missouri court will result in the enact I
lneut of more comprehensive marriage :
laws.
THE past week ha, produced the first .
new evidence in the Beecher and Til I
ton case since the Church investigation. |
First, MIS-. aIey nurse in Tilton's
house testified that she saw Mrs. Til