Widnes Examiner. — 1896-09-19 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

THE LAWS OF MARRIAGE. 111 Sir.—The circumetances of the tragedy which occurred in Warrington on the 7th September. and reported in your issue of last Saturday brings to light some of the evils arising from the injustice of the present laws of marriage. In that little room in which lay the corpse of the mal-treated woman an epitome of the tragic side of life was revealed birth, life, love and death. Had the laws of marriage been less binding and more just probably that tragedy would aot have occurred. The same may be said of the murder of Mr. Ma.vbrick which occurred some years ago and many ethers. When people are married it is so very desirable that they should live together in peace and love that to speak against the laws of marriaee may be mistaken for a want of sufficient regard for the holiness of love and the sanctity of domestic life. The meaning of the sentence, " Those whom God bath joined together let no man pot asueder," is very often misunderstood. When people are married without sufficient and proper affection Ide not think that God has joined them together and when people marry because they love each other,it is not right to bind them together for life for better or worse, save for certain forms of unfaithfulness, They ought to be able to obtain a separation when it can be clearly shown that their living together is no longer conducive hut injurious to each other's highest welfare and their children's interest:, for we should never sacrifice the noble and the pure. Every man ought to desire the woman whom he loves to be unsullied by the love uncorrupted by the attentions of another man.and when a woman Levee a man if that man is not faithful to and woethy of her, she ought to withhold from him the expressions of her love, but the laws f marriage render this more difficnit than it ought to be, yet we are compelled to submit to these frightful laws or live in disgrace and be looked upon as being immoral and as haying too little regard for the affections round which when rightly directed our sympathies revolve. The binding nature of these laws prevent people having the influence over each other for good which they would otherwise have. They lesson the Influence of affection because the injured nary cannot separate from one by whom they robe- be practically dieregarded, and affection often basely wronged must eurelv die at last. Is it not sinful to cause such persons to live together when the affections which sanctified their union have fled. Such is my opinioh of the marriage bond, and believing that an alteration of these laws is of great importance I desire to make it known. Fortunately there are persons who could live happily together under nearly nev conditions who do not feel the injustice of these ,nstrons laws, hut that is no reason why they should not be altered, for they often lead to misery, sin, and murder. I would ask all who are happily married, to whom it would make but little difference whatever the laws of marriage were or if there were no marriage laws, and I would nett them to consider this subject for the sake of their children and those who arc' not so fortunate, in order that they may in some little degree do something to promote the beauty and the heppinese of human life, that we may live in harmony with the laws of this wondrous universe in which we play though it is such an nitely little "vet it may be a never-ending part."— Yours truly,  S.