Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-01
DIVORCES RARE IN CANADA.
Their Publicity and the Extreme Diff.
Guilty of Obtaining Them.

SuAty VI SoId4A14AiS 4ACAn.
| From the World Today.
| In Canada there are but two things which
| can dissolve marriage-death and infdelity.
| An applicant FOR divorce must act under
| the provisions of a law marked at every
| step by the most rigorous limitations. If a
man a woman-for the requirements are
| the same-wishes to secure divorce in Can
ada he must resign himself at the outset to
publicity. Publicity. absolute publicity, is
an essential to divorce in the dominion;
there is no such thing securing divorce
on the quiet. A formal notice, couched in
the prescribed form of the law, announc-
ing intention to apply for divorce, giving
the names of applicants and accused, with
| the ground of accusation, must be inserted
| for six months in two newspapers publish
| ed in the town or city where the applicant
| resided at the time of separation. A sim.
| liar notice must also be printed in the Can
ada Gazette, the official organ of the gov
! eminent.
| No court of law in the dominion of Ca.l-
ada has anything to do in granting divorce
| no judge on any bench has authority to
| consider any case in which the marriage
| contract is to be annulled, though he may
in certain matters say whether a marriage
has been solemnized or not To obtain
divorce in Canada the applicant must go to
| the dominion parliament 1t Is in the cham
| Der of the divorce committee of the national
senate that he must appear who sues for
i divorce. This divorce committee, consisting
of nine members. has full power. 1t can
| perform all the essentials of court with
! out being a court. Its object is to get at
| all the facts, not to consider some and sup
press others. 1t is not bound by any set
| rules or by precedents.
Prior to the consideration of the applica-
| ton bV the divorce committee natitiop IN
| parliament, signed by the applicant, must
| be presented. The senator in charge of the
private bill for the divorce, on the pre-
! sentation of the bill to the senate must
| also produce the proof of the service upon
| the respondent of the notice of the intend
| ed proceedings. Following this the bill au-
| thorizing the divorce Is introduced and re-
| ceives the three readings essential to all
| proposed bills These divorce bills, in ad-
| dition to the preamble which sets forth
| the facts upon which the enacting clauses
| are based, set forth the following essential
paragraphs: "a That the marriage is here
by dissolved. ca That the petitioner may
| contract matrimony as If not previously
married. 90 That the children of such re-
| marriage shall nave the same rights as IL
| the first marriage had never been solemn
! lied.
| After the second reading the bill passes
to the divorce committee, when the appli-
cant for divorce must appear and present
| his own case At the conclusion of the
committees consideration the bill as recon-
mended by the committee is returned to the
| senate, where that body must pass upon it
| as a committee of the whole. When this is
done the bill receives its third reading and
passes to the lowerIhoHse of parliament.
Should it develop On mature consideration
| by the lower house that the divorce has not
| been fairly granted, this body may refuse
to pass the bill. The senate is q check upon
| the senate committee, and the lower house
| is a check upon both committee and senate
| When the bill has been properly enacted it
goes to the governor general of the domin-
ion, the highest OFFICIAL in Canada for his
| signature He has the power of Veto but it
| is a power seldom exercised it can only be
| exercised, indeed, en- the advice of his min
| listers, who must be members of parliament
| and who are responsible to parliament for
| all his acts. a,
If thdre be those who find that they cannot
| live longer together In peace, they may
| elect to live separateiN the rest of their
lives. This separation may be secured
| through any court of competent jurisdic-
| ton. The children aif there be any, may be
| disposed of as seems. for. their best inter-
| ests, and the husbandfrmay be required to
| provide certain sum in alimony
| In this way the two become as completely
! separated as though they had never been
married They can. of their own will, with
out any process Of law. resume married
| life, but until then they are to all intents
| and purposes unmarried. But neither one
may remarry TO another party. no matter
| how long the separation continues.
! Under the parliamentary law of Canada
| the Invoices III 6cASi oeiou nave not aver
aged over three year. In Nova Scotia
| New Brunswick. Prince Edwards Island
and British Columbia containing relatively
| but a small portion of the whole popula-
ton. divorce courts are still permits ted hut
/ the scriptural ground is the only valid one
for divorce. During thirty-four years the
| divorces granted by the courts in these
povinces have averaged only a trfie over
! six per year. and it is probable that the
! number would have been reduced to the
average of the dominion proper If the par.
| lialeentary law were in force in these prov
iuces