The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1884-09-10
For the Farmer and Nechsnls
Marriage and Divorce Laws.

~
\ To divorces in some States tic ratio Lea
advanced from say, one ia thirty i've [,
+ one in ten ,-iE some, 10 ore IN -iX; :
I aud N some cities. the proportion .
/ even greater.'
lie dcplores the Indifference shown
10y 80 large a number OF citizens 10 th,
I fearful prospect opening before the IA
4 ton from this state of affairs
/ ~ man who has himself been III
vor.ed. is not likely To admit tia, Il,
\ has been -..ilty ot 4 great crime, aud a,
one in every SIX and one in evely tel
4 hu- bands. in some States, hare been hi
yorced.y there is, of course, a very larg,
party who advocate the practice.
1 We rarely rea'.ze the dangers viii
which We are familiar During tho
| prevalence OF the violent acts OF til,
/ French revolution, the people mad,
I jcSts OF the most horrible crucltieS t
which they were daily exposed; and thu
! ladies went 70 balls with their han
! dressed "a Ia guillotine F"
\ soliier. who fought in the late civi
war betHeeu the north and south. told
me that when lie ti-t saw the carnag,
Of the battle field, although at that par.
] y
ycr himself lie became so sick that lie
almost tainted. But the battle was
over, and a party of his fellow soldiers,
hardened veterans, had engaged in a
game OF cards, seated upon the bodies o
their dead comrades. Probably they
too, when they first entered the service
became blind aud dizzy with emotion
when they saw the bleeding wounds and
dying agonies OF others. Like the
French, they lad become familiar with
horrors. The frequency Of divorces
shows a state of national degradation
which is carry Sing Us rapidly on to ruin
and extinction. The Romish faith, with
ali It's errors, viii possibly again pre-
vail, because It's votarcs alone forbid
divorce. The inqulsition was great
evil, but the results OF divorce, morally,
may be greater.
Treachery between man and man is
ever to be 1eplored. but between man
and women it IS still worse And di-
vorce must, in every instance, be pre-
ceded by treachery in its worst form.
Treachery on one side and incNpressible
mental agony on the other. To true
man or true woman, divorce often
IlChll- llttI l. III Etlh VI SuiGtNlC VI AllSdH =
ty. The guilty side is the unteeln! !
side British Indifference ensures free
dom from suffering arising from such
things as violations of the laws of love,
of conscience and of high principle.
The sorrow all falls upon the more in
nocent of the two, the betrayed hus-
band, the deserted wife The guilty
one survives Would Darwin call this
1.-THE survival of the fittest:''
Yet there are many men of high posi-
ton. and even clergymen in New Eng
land, who advocate divorce. They say,
''Wh hat is marriage but union based
upon mutual love aud respect? anC
when the love and respect ceases to cX-
ist, the union ought also to cease to eX-
| ist." They might as well say that when
parent ceases to love and respect his
children, all parental duties may be
shin ked. Instances are frequently seen
! OF parents who DO not love their chill
dren. All men of pure and noble in
/ stincts love their wives as naturally a
/ they love their children. All women o
| pure and noble instincts love their hus.
/ bands as naturally no they love then
\ children. Only IN the husbands an,
\ wives and parents who are bestial, ant
/ impure and degraded, do we find an ab.
seuoe Of either coniugal or parenta
\ love. But | admit that union be.
/ tween good man and a bad woman i
/ an intolerable grievance which the law
/ does well TO put an end to. Equally SC
| when the wife Is good and pure. and the
! hus sband drunken and licentiOus brute
! Grant divorces III cases like these, bu
| our Savior placed the satety-valve upol
/ the danger OF going too far by single
I sentence, lie that marrieth her shat il
/ divorced committeth adultery. " The
| Century published two absorbingly in.
tcresting romances, both founded OF
I the fact of the hero and heroine, living
in violation OF Christ's Interpretation o
| the seventh commandment, (tound in
( Matthew 9Th chap. 2Sth verse; In one
| of the r0manccs. II Modern HStdnce,'
the hero is in love with married wo.
man, and in the other, "THrouM On,
I Administrations the heroine, (beinC d
married woman and a mother is in
| love with Il man who is not her hus
! band. Only think for a moment of III,
/ horrible influence of such literature upoi
the masses. This magazine has an i'm
| mense circulation. All its influence
| beautiful type, splendid Illustrations
! gifted and cultivated writers-is brou5h
! to bear tavorably upon the subject o
| divorce. For whatever Yenal critic:
] may say to the contrary. these two
| beautifully drawn characters. Mr.. BartlN
! Ialleck and Mrs. Richard Amory. were
| both sinners exceedingly in the sight o
God. As well might the latter have
cast off her own children and fixed he
! heart upon somebody else's children. a.
/ TO fix her heart upon a man who is no
her husband. A woman OF pure hear
\ and noble principles docs not know
such thoughts" as dwelt habitually ii
| her mind. She was immodest anC
| shameless in secret. She deserved M
sympathy. The advocates Of divorce
says Judge Davis ignore the famil,
and e1alt the lndivid al.
When an individual is willfulIv de
| stroyed. we call his destroyer murder
er;-when the family is DESTROYED. W,
call the destroyer an adulterer. Tn,
law mflicts capital punishment upoI
one. ani allows the other to escape
Yet il YOU ask any decent hus band il
the land il he would rather have hi
wife murdered. or stduced. he woul,
answer with Indignation, How can yol
ask such question | would infnitel
rather have her die by the hand of al
assassin than 10 have her love for me
and her purity destroyed aud her sou
lost at the same time"
No jury ever condemns an njure
husband for taking the life of his WIFE
seducer. The law of God is too deepl
written in their hearts to allow them t
murder man who justly Furnishes on
/ who is more guilty than a murders
: According to the laws of Moses and ,
Christ the adulterer should be punishe