The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-03-10
Ghe Wessenger.
THE PROPOSED DIVORCE LAW.

u good many people in North CARROLL
ma must be PANIED ana surprised AT
the action Of the house of representa-
tives yesterday in passing a bill max
ing two years abandonment a JUS
for divorce The people of this state
expected better things OF their rnore-
~sentatives than that. 1t is already too
easy to procure a divorce. If there is
to be any legislation on the subject,
let it make for difficulty not for ease
in procuring diVorces.-Greensboro I6l-
egram-
The house OF representatives at RAJ
leigh has passed a measure that must
Inevitably. If enacted into law. r
mine the sancity of the home. The
measure in question is the rev divorce
bill. making two years abandonment a
cause for divorce. and allowing ether
Of the divorced parties to marry again
at the expiration of five years-ktn-
ston Free Press.
The Messenger fully endorses the sen-
ment of the two papers Above quot
ed. This bill should not become the
law of the state. If the legislature in
terferes at all with the law as il now
exists regarding marriage End divorce
tt should be in the way of restricting
rather than extending the causes for
which divorce may be obtained.
Among the new ideas of the present
era the most denoralizing n is that
which treats lightly the marriage tie.
There Is a tendency to place marriage
upon the same plane as business coE-
tracts-te do away with the holy and
sacred relationship established between
the man and the woman when they
enter into this obligation.
Hasty marriages demand loose di-
yorce laws and are also the results of
such laws. Were the divorce avs Of the
entire land more stringent people would
b. more careful how they entered !nto
these marital contracts and much of
the evil of I'll assorted married couples
would be obviated. Were it harder TO
secure divorces we would lot hear of
young couples riding out Of an after
noon and returning to their homes
to announce to friends that they had
beer married during the drive and lien
each going his and her way as though
they had not gone through this SOLEMN
which under Gods law re-
guired the woman, forsaking all others
20 cleave unto her husband and that he
should be her protector ard provide
for her support and comfort through
Hfe. :.
The constitution of our state prohibits
the legislature granting diS Orces. All
it can do IS to pass general laws. Tie
- - 4-
is in the nature of whipping the devil
around the stump. In other words the
object OF the bill Is to allow certain
persons to secur divorce who. un Ter
the present law defining causes Of di-
vorce are not entitled to the relief de-
sired.
If this bill is passed by this legisla-
ture it. will be repealed ~ the one
which meets two years henoe. because
the parties for whose benefit it il en-
acted will by that time have taken adj
vantage OF it's provisions. This is Lot
the first time in the history of our
state that the legislature has relaxed
the laws of divorce for d special case
n at the next session reT ealel the
law because the special c~x;gency no
longer existed. Such legislation * a
violation of the spirit of tn provision
of the constitution which prohibits The
legislature granting divorces. Be5idos
this it is in its general tendency de-
noralizing to society and calculated to
increase the number of hasty mar
riages and consequently h business
o. the courts in the line of divorce suits.
If the legislature sees fit to tanlper
with the law of marriage and divorce
as now upon our statute books lee it
make marriage of a more solemn and
binding nature and throw more imDedi-
ments in the way of securing divorces
instead of smoothing the way to the
latter. Between South Cardinals no
divorce for any cause and Dakuta's
hose divorce laws let us lean toward
the former rather than the latter in
any contemplated changes in the law
Of our state on this subject