The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1883-03-16
DIX ON DIVORCE.

~ - NAN - - -
sandy New ENGLAND and Her Divorce
Reoord-A Hard One Ia Ilest--rhe Com
Ing Issue; Is Marriage civil ar he
Iigious Compact; strong Reasons Ia Favor
of the Latter Position.
The Rev. Morgan Dix continued his
series Of lectures upon women last evening
OF Trinity chapel. Long before s O'Clock,
the hour for the beginning of the service,
the church was crowded in every part, and
many persons We're unable to get within the
doors Dr. Dix, after reading the tenth
chapter of Mark, said; al am at loss,
brethren, ia beginning this leCturo-at a
loss and in doubt. 1t has been said, and
truly said, that 1t is impossible TO use too
strong language in speakingof divorce, and
am ut loss aud in douAt-at loss for
remarks adequate TO state the kind and
degree of this social course, or how to arouse
men to a sense OF danger and the necessity
OF checking this sin Oi the age; for we all
know that an evil may gain such headway
that to stop il is beyond human strength.
This is one evil that strikes vt the very
cornerstone of cvlli2atiOn-the home,
This chapel has in its basement five furnace
registers, one at each corner and one in the
center II, now, by some magician's art
sulphurous fumes should be made to pour
out of these whereof this whole congrega-
ton should languish and die, no worse
harm would be done to them than that which
is now done TO society by the loose, easy way
Of divorce which dries up from the roots OF
love, chastity, virtue and honor. am not
tlnna in annuktptr tIna Af tHtQ axytI a.
but repeat the words of men much higher
in the church than |, and Of much more
experience and learning. Bishop Williams.
OF Connecticut, in 1881 saul that in 1873
there were IN he state of Maine rs couples
divorced; In New Hampshire, 2ll; in Yer.
mont, l97 in Massachusetts, 600, IN Con.
ncCticut, l0l in Rhode Island, l9G. or In
all OF the New England states together,
., lib divorces, a larger ratio IN proportion
To the population than there was in France
after the days of the revolution. In Maine
there was one divorce to every 1857 OF the
population, IN New Hampshire, to every
! i30; III Vermont, to every l,6S1; in
massachusetts,, To every 297l; IN Rhode
Island, | 10 every l,ill. Listen TO some
more statistics, taken from the disgrnceiul
record OF the New England states. In 1865
thero were b causes iOr which divorces could
be obtained, and there was divorce 10 every
81 marriages. In 1878 the number Of causes
had advanced TO . and the ratio to | divorce
to every q marriages in Maine, aud in
other New England states IL was worse. In
Rhode Island 1t was | to every II in Con.
nectiCut, to every II, and in New Hamp.
shire about the same proportion. But
that does not tell the whole story,
for from the total of marriages those
soIemnized by Roman Catholics must bo
deducted, for they--aud all honor to them
for it-allow no divorce, and the Protestant
divorces run up as hugh ns ! to every II
marriages In Massachusetts and in Con.
nectiCut | in every g. Thcrc are from two
to four applications for divorce to every
one granted. The practical result is that
in New England states 1000 homes are
broken up every year and 4 900 persons are
divorced. While the laws protecting
marriage have been gradually weakened,
the crimes against chastity, morality and
decency have been steadily increasing. In
Massachusetts, from 1860 to 1870 divorces in.
creased q times while the number of
marriages increased hardly 4 per cent.
Those crimes known as being against
chactlty, morality, and deCency--iillhy
crimes, loathsome, Infamous, numeloss
crimcs-had increased threeiold, thus prov.
Ing that license oflegislation had increased
license OF living. Now, whom we reach "A
point where u man can have as many wives
In succession AS he likes and woman az
many husbands, one after another, AS she
chooses We shall have reached the position
OF the Mormons, and when we reach that
marriage Will be ut AN end, and women will
only be legal concubnes. 1t is argued that
marriage is only civil contract partner
ship which can be dissolved at pleasure
| The idea that marriage is anything with
witch God has anything TO do must be
| given up altogether, 1t is said that we are
IN accord with the spirit ol the age. How
can We be when the SPIRIT of the age is a
| spirit Of skepticism2 This is n heresy born
OF free thought in the matter of religion
asserting our right tu choose the religion
which suits us best. Marriage ~ not mere
civil contract; it is u divine institution. 1t
binds man and II woman for life; one
thought, one Will, and IN one another they
should find the most perfect happiness.
Granted that marriage il sometimes most
unhappy, and grant that man and woman
are parted, should either be tree TO marry
again. If marriage Is u civil contract, that
thing could be settled by u state law but
II God has Joined them together, then only
God can answer it, and God has said:
What God hath joined together let no man
put asunder; and there is but one cause
by which the man may be permitted to put
away ms WIG or woman 10 separate from
her husband, and that cause Is tornication.
The rule of the church is that divorce may
DO granted when adultery is proven, and
that then the innocent party may marry
again, and further than that the church
Will not go. The easier 1t is to get divorces
the greater will be the demand for them
In this general decline and laXity of morals
the woman will suffer the most, and if IL b,
not checked, she will be dragged down to a
degradation, from which, | fear, there viii
be no recovery. Harm enough has come Il
her under the plea of lettering her cond
tioh, The man should be the protector ant
support of the woman, but 1t is often tounC
that II is the woman that supports the man
and she will finally sink back to be mans
concubine and slave."-INew York World