Bismarck daily tribune., 1908-10-15
BREACH or PROMISE.
Manner In Which the Law Treats Il
In Different Countries.

Manner In Which the Law Treats it
In Different Countries.
England Is the best place. from the
plaintiffs point Of view, for a breach
Of promise action. All other coun-
tries seem to regard with grave sus-
picion any attempt to recover none
tary compensation for the loss Of a |
prospective husband, and unless the
plaintiff has very strong case indeed |
it Is never worth her while to carry !
her grief into the law courts.
& In France breach of promise cases
are rare for the simple reason that |
the law requires the plaintiff to prove
that she has suffered pecuniary loss.
Now, this is not an easy thing to do
ON the part Of the lady, especially In
a country where girl without dot
that is, a marriage portion--has poor
chance Of finding husband Holland
and Austria have adopted the French
system, and the result has been about
the same. Breach Of promise actions
are rare, the injured damsels or their
relatives usually taking the law into
| their own hands. Z
Practical Germany, as might be ex-
| pected, has perhaps the best method
| for solving this problem. When q
1 young couple become engaged they
have to go through public betrothal
ceremony that ought to knock all the
shyness out of them. In the local
town hall the pair declare their affec-
ton. willingness to marry, ETC., ending
i by signing collection of documents
that apparently leave no loophole for
escape. But IL either party to the con-
tract wishes to withdraw another jour
ney Is undertaken to the town hall
I and another collection of documents
signed, witnessed and sealed. Then
the authorities determine the question
of should it be claimed.
/ In this connection it may be said that
4 the man can and often does claim q
solatium for his wounded feelings.
The usual award is one-fifth of the
marriage dowry. It is easy to under
stand when all this is remembered
how loath the young people of Ger
many are to break their beHothal
oaths. III
AS the law of Italy affords little or
no protection whatever to Tilted DAM
sells or swains, it is not surprising that
the stiletto should be the favorite mode
of deciding breach Of promise cases.
= The italian law demands that the per.
. son suing for the breach shal produce
written promise to marry from the
defendant; otherwise the action cannot
proceed. This difficulty is almost in.
surmountable, and the Italian judges
: are seldom troubled to adjudicate be-
n tween one time lovers.
To bring an action for breach OF
promise of marriage against a reignine
u monarch is an achievement, but it has
e been done, and by an English lady
Miss Jenny Mighell sued the sultan Of
Il Johore, and as there was a doubt
whether the dusky one was actually {
reigning monarch the case was allowed
u to come into court, but the judge quick
IS ly disposed of the action by ruling /
inadmissible for the reason referred to
v and Miss Mighell was nonsuited.
1t is remarkable that one Of the tw
. actions which have brought verdict
s for 100000 each to the plaintiffs shoul'
lie have had for its defendant the edito
r, of matrimonial paper. The secon,
If case was between a well known actres
&c and the eldest son of an, earl.-Londo
Tft-BitS '.