The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-04-02
a British Royal
Commission Dis
cusscs Diuorcc
BY LAREINE HELEN BAKER

by LARElNE HELEN BAKER.
y unique Investigation has iust hccn
concluded. Mr.. Asquith, in the Kings
name. appointed royal commission
TO examine witnesses and finally re-
port on the question OF British mar
rage and divorce. commission will
shortiy make its reports. and ii is cx.
Dectcd they Will create a scnsa ton.
AS usual with such bodies the more
conservative members Will issue an on,
cial report and there will bc at Las,
one minority report. perhaps seycrnl
for here is subject on which TIC
commissioners doubtless possess long
s will aasb c prnGinles which they
same evidence which their fellow.
members regard as indorsing Quite
opposite views The publication Of th.
evidence Is more Important than any
report, but the value Of the forme.
might have been made more valuable
by II more judicious selection OF Vii
nesses. Indeed, my first criticism OF
the evidence as a whole is that opinion
Is allowed to outweigh experience.
Many authorities" were called i'm evi.
dencc very few. II any. sufferers
were asked 70 SPEAK Fn1s. fanclcs
facts We're mostly quoted At second
hand Religion was over-reprcsented
when It Is doubtful II It should have
mad any place at all surely the pro.
have been content to put in their au-
thoritative commandments Obviously
they could not be expected 10 modify
their creeds on any merely utiliturian
logic.
The mere man" was very much 10
fore Mascuinity pcrvndes the whole
atmosphere. although the women mem
bcrs Of the commission did something
TO justify her position On the whole
however, witnesses and Judges alike
proved their case whatever it was. by
principal reasons In my View for di.
Norce Facilities arc the position or the
child and the need 10 protect a WHO
against I'm. invasive assault, by her hus.
lost sight Of, but rather ovcrcmpha.
sized in the wrong direction. The child
IS Tar too sacred social factor 10 be
pa ani about as a reason for or
tcrcst OF the race that the child should
become an obstacle TO woman's enamel u
patton Besides it is totally unneces
sary.
Women suffering from a thousand
misfortunes through an unworthy hus-
bands denominations will too often
wliiingiy cling to him for the sake
OF sentiment religion or custom. We
need not load the dice agains, her 10
refusing to release her when she finds
her yoke intolcrablc.
louch OF farce vas given to the
proceedings By the attendance Of iaiI
oihcials. who solcmnly declared thar
telons. murdcrers and pickpockets were
often adulterous. and whcr married
on. uiu not particularly miss their wives
The harsh laws in British prisons re.
fuse permission to prisoners wives 10
visit their husbands except under dc.
grading conditions which repel every
sensit'Ve woman from avallins them
selves OF these exceedingly rare OPP
portunities y jailer's opinion on the
subject of divorce Is as yaIuabIe az
that of Zulu.
.
came y, ne front. too. In England
divorce can be obtained BIS. n man If
MS wife commits adultery, She can
only obtain a divorce il he adds nc,..
sonaI cruelty 10 adultery. In practice
this Is by no means the worst feature
or British divorce law as successive
Judges have Whitfield down the deGni-
ton Of cruelty that 1t may mean
desertion or even a few angry words.
the judicial offensc. known as "conni-
Tanc' Is one Of the most obicctionaI
dithcultics thrown in the way OF British
divorce, Earl Russell (to name a
famous instance) proved all the ad,l-
terry the law required against his wife.
Hut the mere fact that the earl de-
slred a diNorce prevented him obtain
ing It,. Divorce for adultery on both
sides is impossible Divorce by mu-
tual consent sounds SO sensible that ono
Wonaers at a sane person refusing it,
~ IN EnSland mutual consent is an eff
fectilal obstacle to divorce and a Kings
proctor exists on purpose TO stop tho
atfoc1ous crime of q husband willing
to acknowledge guilt which i $ not his.
IN order to save a guilty wife from
the murdcrous publicity she breads
more than imprisonment
Curlously enough no mention was
made Of votes for women" Pcrhans
need not say more than this in con
clusion: the most civilized and ad-
vanccd laws in Europe exist in the
only European country where women
have the vote. IN Norway divorce Is
easy. cheap and dignified