The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1882-08-16

as settled to her separate use, but in
other respects the separation ceases.
A widower may not marry his de-
ceased wife's sister. nor widow her
deceased husbands brother. nor a
widower his deceased wife's sisters
daughter; nor may he marry the daugh-
ter of his deceased wife by q former
husband, nor his deceased wife's moth
er's sister. There is no blood relation
between these parties, therefore no
physical or mental deterioration can
possibly arise from such alliances; but
cousins may marry and are married
constantly, and hindtics may contract
marriage during lucid Intervals! Can
insane legislation go further? Never
theless, marriage with deceased wife's
sister is valid IN England If it has been
celebrated in country where such mar
riage is legal, prouided the contracting
parties were domiciled there at the
time of the ceremony. In 1857 one
Mr. Brook married his first wife's sister
in Denmark, and the question being
raised as to the legality of this union in
England, it was decided that as the
parties were domiciled in England, they
had been guilty of an illegal action!
Widows may suffer. but the crown al
ways comes in for tid-bits. If a man
dies intestate, his widow is entitled to
one-third of the personally; if there be
no children, to one-hah. The rest goes
to the husbands next of kin, among
whom the widow is not counted If
there be no kin, the moiety goes to the
crown. If the British husband enter
tain special animosity toward the dear
est partner of his greatness, he can, by
will, deprive her OF all rights in his per-
sonalty and realty. Being unjust, of
course the law steps in to negative it
self where its fulfillment would be ab-
surd in the eyes of the world; there
fore, the Queen is unlike other married
women. She is a law unto herself. She
purchases land and makes leases, re-
ceives gifts from her husband, can sue
but not be sued; in fact she has more
rights and fewer disabilities than mar
ried woman in the State of New York.
Though the highest Office in the land
may be held by a woman, almost every
other is closed to her. Occasionally
women are governors of prisons for
their own sex, overseers of the poor,
and parish clerks. A woman may be a
ranger of park. and it has been held
that women are eligible to the Office of
high chamberlain, high constable, COM
mon constable, sexton, church warden,
and returning officer at q primary cleo
ton; but the eligibility is more hon
ored in the breach than in the observ-
ance. A woman duly qualified can
vote upon parish questions and for par
ish officers, overseers, surveyors. vestry
clerks, etc, and women are at last tax
ing their place upon school boards, to
the intense satisfaction of an enlight-
ened public. But does the first lady in
the land give aid and comfort to re-
form? She has been known to make a
gift of twenty pounds to the writer of
pamphlet denouncing any change in
the legal and political condition of her
sex.
is it not time that marriage in Eng
land was more like roses and less like
thorns than it is in the present year of
our LordP The status quo allows a
heavy premium on vice, and then kind,
unthinking people wonder why virtue
is not rampant.-Kdte Field, in Demo
rests No1lthllJ.