The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-02-03
MAuItiED WOMEN.
Their Properly, and What They May DO
with IL.

Their Properly, and what They May DO
with It.
To the EDITOR Of the lntOlllEsneor.
sIE-As we are In the habit Of looking
TO England for laws and decisions Of their
courts, and which the several States are
annually passing and amending our laws
In respect 10 married women, are very i'm
perfect, and arc obseuTed by the decisions
Of our courts, and need amending, l
thought Il might be well 10 give u sketch
OF an act by Parliament which received
the Royal assent on the 18th day Of
last August, and which took effect on
the first day Of January, 1883.
1.-THE new law begins by enacting that q
married woman shRll be capable, alter tue
inst day OF January, 1853, Of acquiring,
holding, and dispOsiDE by will, or other.
wise, Of any properly, as II she was an IN.
married woman, and that she may enter
into any contract, and sue and be sued
without the participation oil her husband,
either In her Losses or gains, but any con.
tract entered into with u married woman,
will not only bind the separate property
she then posslSses, but any property that
she may afterwards Arquire, A woman
Carrying on u trade separately from her
husband will be sub eCt TO the bankruptcy
laws as iishe were unmarried.
BY Section II, a woman married on OIL
alter the First day Of January, 1883, will
be entitled to retain, as her separate prop,
erty, everything Of which she may be pos
sessed at the time OF the marriage, or may
acquire afterwRrd, and by Section Q, awo
man married before January, 1883, will *
entitled 10 retain all properly coming tG
her after .hatdate. Every married woman
will in future have ample remedies ut law
for the protection and security Of her sep
arate property. She will have, even
against her husband, the same civil rene
dies, and also the sans remedies by WY
Of criminal proceedings, for the projection
and security Of her own separate property
as Il she were an unmarried woman; bnl
she cannot take criminal proceeding
against her husband, while they are living
together, and neither husband nor awiit
can sue the other for tort.
As regards the liability OF husbands FOL
debts contracted by their wives before
marriage, We may observe that, subjec
Of course to the statute Of limitation, Z
husband married before the 9th Of August
1870, Is liable Tor such debts, while bus
band married on or alter that day, beiori
the 10Th Of July, 1874, Is totally exempt
though by the marriage he may have &c
auired property by his wife. A husband
married on or after the 3Oth Of July, 1874
and before the LIST OF January, 1884, is re
spOnsible 10 the extent OF the property
which his wife may have brought him; ant
|, husband married on or after the lst da,
Of January, 1883, will not necessarily
audit any responsibility for the ante.nup
tial debts Of bis wife"
What ! think our Legislature ought tr
do, in my judgment in the matter, Is this
"That every married woman shall be capa
bic Of acquiring, holding aud disposing b!
will or otherwise, or any property she ma,
own, as Il she was an unmarried woman, AMI
that she may enter into any contract, ant
sue and be sued without the participation
OF her husband, either in the losses o
gains, but any contract entered into with
married woman will bind not only III
separate property she then potscsies, bu
also all that she may afterwards require.
This Is practically tho law OF New York
j. from which we ret our married woman
law.
This would be putting the wife on a,
! even footing with the husband.
Many women within my knowledge ar
much more capable OF carrying on almoe
any trading business, than their husbands
and ought TO have q hand 10 provide 70
their families.
This old England has now done, when
not long since the wife was the servant 0
the husband, and not much above the con
dition Of the slave.
In all matters OF this kind, think WI
oughtat feast to go hand in hand with on
old mother country. p.
Wheeling, february !, 1883.