The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1879-07-03
miscellaneous.
Some Surprising Statistics Of the Re-
suits of Marriage in Massa-
chuSetts and Other New
England States.

Thirty of the denizens of Cape Cod, who
had been married for three weeks to three
wears, and who were mostly very young, re-
Gently shocked Judge Lord, of Massachu-
setts, by appearing before him as applicants
for divorce. The condition of morals on
Cape Cod which these applications revealed
also shocked many other people besides the
Judge, who expressed his mind on the sub
iect 80 earnestly and pungently. If this
l~ooseness as regards marriage obligations
were confined to Cape Cod, 1t would be a
serious matter. But how much more serious
i II when 1t is considered that about the
same state OF things prevails all over Massa-
cbu,etts. and three, at least, of the other
New England States, not to say anything
about other parts Of the country. An officer
Of the Suffolk county court IN Massachusetts
describes the extent to which divorce is in
cTeaSing in that State as astonishing He
saws that the business which his office has
lost by the bankrupt laws and the small
amount of suing that is lone In the State
courts has been largely made up by the fees
IN divorce cases. They are croWdlng in by
the scores and hundreds. The Vermont
Chronicle has collected some startling facts
concerning divorce III Massachusetts, Rhode
Island, Connecticut and Vermont. During
the last l9 years III Massachusetts the whole
number of absolute divorces has been 7,223,
more than half OF which were
PROCURED IN TIE LAST SEVEN EARS.
i'm Rhode Island, for the nine years COW
cred bv the statistics available, there have
been 1910 divorces to u, lis marriages.
The ratio Of divorces to marriages Tor the
period Is to Is. with a slight increase In the
later years. There is l divorce to about
every |, , o of its inhabitants. The divorces
in that State vary from year to year, pro-
baby on account OF changes IN the laws.
In Connecticut the statistics cover nearly
50 years. In 1919 only 81 divorces were
granted. Under the new law of that date,
the number was increased, more than one
third in a single year. The evil grew steadl-
" until 1864. when 426 were granted. But
from that time until the close of 1877, the
number, 4iS annually on the average, varied
but little. the ratio to marriages being about
| to l0.4, and ! divorce to every POO m
habitants. In Connecticut there must be
one divorce to every eight Protestant mar
RACES. \ comparison made from the table
Of the last report of the State librarian,
giving the births, marriages, deaths, and dl-
vorces for II years, will show says the
Chronicle, unless we mistake IN our calcu-
lation, that there Is less variation IN that
State from the average annualn number III the
divorces imam Ill ellllcl Tic DlIllS, tuc ucdULS
or the marriages. If all are collected with
equal care
O | y CONNECTICUT
Is more uniform, if not more certain, thar
death The steady habits of that land ap
pear in her vices as well as In her virtues.
Our State, as will be seen further on, ha,
had the most shameful record in this respec
of any of the four under consideration. One
divorce to every ten marriages
Including Vermont, the ratio of divorce:
to marriages In the four States for the las
few years is as follows: Vermont, ! to l6
Massachusetts, / to %. ! Rhode Island,
to Is; Connecticut, | to lO.4. Massachu
sets began to decline last, and is better off a
vet than either of the other three States
but her downward tendency is f~eartully
rapid. Indeed, is is scarcely paralleled by
the increase Of divorce in Connecticut from
lS49 to 1888. Taking now, the four State:
together, in the year 1877 there were grant
ed I,33I divorces in those States. If Maine
and New Hampshire have a like record o
temporary marriages, not far from 1880 Oh
yorces are granted annually In New England
The recent change for the better IN the law
Of Connecticut has some effect toward IN
proyement, which, is said also to be notice
able in the Vermont courts.-Ae" Haceh
Jourha}.