The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1881-03-24
HIND THE TIM z S !,
But Rapidly Waking Up !.

But Rapidly Waking Up!
The friends Of the moral idea wi
bc pleased 10 learn that North Carolina
once reputei very Rip Van Winkle
IN her sober sided aud rather ploddin
con, ersatisu OF thought, speech, au,
action, Is fast spurring abreast of Ply
mouth Rockers Mormons, aud othc
Pro grcssive" People Was it no
only day or two ago that promlneu
Legislator announced himself equal I,
SIX wives ? Aud here Is paragraph
from the Newton Enterprise Of la,
week
Two divorces were granted BY III,
Superior court this week. Who i.
afraid to get married since obtaining d
divorce is such an easy matter? Thi,
court grants about two each term
Think of that -Four or five divorce,
In a single county every year instead oi
only one in ten years "a formerly when
we were all so sleepy and stupid
/ 1t is true, Catawba has a large Ger
man population. And we fear our
State, as an whole, has not yet forgot
ten the old fashioned injunction Till
death do We twain part
! AT all events we are as yet far behind
that land Of glorious civilization -
1 New England Here is an article from
! Demorcsts Wonthiy:-
I Surely women ought to rise "a Ole
i man (no ,oke intended) against our ab
/ surd divorce laws. They ought to hold
conventions in every State, and national
j conventions once a year, To urge an
ameniment to the Federal Constitution
making the laws affecting the relation
of the sexes uniform IN every State OF
thee Union. Under our present State
eDactmcnts man may be married III
New Jersey, yet be single person iD
New York while woman might be,
IN the eyes Of the law, wife in one
State, and concublne In another
Then there are complications about
children and property, which are a
source of confusion and loss, as well a.
social discomfort for which really
there is 10 necessity La this State q
! person divorced for cause cannot re !
marry. But in Connecticut aud New
Jersey there i, no impeachment to lheil
takin. another legal partner In the
meantime precedeLts are being estabt
lishcd Of a very grave and dangerous
character. \ woman in Illinois claimed
the portion Of the estate of a married
man after his death She proved that
contract existed by which she wa. to
receive a certain portion of his estate,
in consideration Of having lived with
him and borne him children. Judge
Miller of the United States Circuit
ters. decided that the contract was a
valid one, and the money was paid over
to the woman If this decision holds
good. then it is idle to talk Of Illicit re
latlons between men and women. Fui
concubinage, on the basis of cont act,
has the sanction Of the law At thi>
time the French Chamber is discussing
the question Of divorce La France
marriage is indissoluble, fact which
has proved very great hardship III
many cases. 1t Is proposed to permit
divorces under certain circumstances
VI. Cazot was the principal opp ,nent III
the Senate, and his argument was that
the men of France did not require any
| law of divorce, as custom or convention
gave them all the freedom in marriage
which they wanted This sneer at mar
riage was received with applause. In
/ deed this question OF marriage and dl
! vorce IS agltatlng every country ID
/ Christendom But all good men and
pure WON en- should unite In demanding
marriage laws which would preserve
the sanctity Of the home, and secure to
children the care and oversight Of both
parents. Why don the women move
in this matter?
The stutisttcs Of tie dtrorces me ap-
paUing In the good old State Of
Maine the number of separations of
| husband from wife is steadily on the in
crease. There are twenty three di-
yorces to day where one occurred fifty
years ago, and 50 throughout the coun
try We live in an age when discon-
tent is rife and travelling is easy and
cheap, and the temptation to seek fresh
fields and pastures new is ever present.
! Ndr1io ioge IS no longer regarded as u
| rei,giOus sucrdnae1,t 1t is civil con
tract, amenable to the passion and ca
prices Of the parties to it, and the re
suit is discovered homes. perpetual es-
trangement Of people who in the oldcn
times would have lived fairly comfort
able lives togethc. \ d 40 - than
all IN tens and tholsa nds of homes are
children. deprived, some Of mother'>
care. others of fathers protection.
The birth of children carries with it oi
necessity the indissolubiity of the mar
rage tie. The child has right to de
mand the care Of both It's parents unit
it becomes of age. As this involves al
least twenty years, other children ar,
born in the interval, and 50 the union
naturally becomes one for life. When
ever parents separate they do cruel
WI ong to their offspring. and should b.
under the ban OF ,ociety for 40 doing
| Then here comes the Wilmington
.St0r also preaching on the subject =
| The law Of divorce as laid down b.
the Lord .Iusus Christ is clear, explicit
and irreversible. 1t has been recogniz
ed in the South by legislators bette
than anywhere else on this continent
1t is true, however, that it has beer
ignored even in North Carolina Their
Is but one cause for divorce accordiu-
10 the Divine Law. Human law allcw.
NOR, than one cause. La this is tran
scends and contravenes the Divine. Ii
is to be regretted that the Souther,
people have not insisted In stanGinl
squarely, in spirit and letter, BY the law
of divorce a. taught authoritatively b
Him who spake as never man spake.