Year: 1868

The laws for divorce differ in the several


States. Adultery in all the States, and in some
States cruel treatment, is sufficient ground for
granting an absolute divorce. A bill has been


introduced in our Legislature making cruel
and inhuman treatment Of the wife sufficient


reason for the judgment of our courts dissolv


ing the marital obligations. Before multiply
ing the grounds of divorce it would be well TO
correct the abuses existing in this State in the
lax, often fraudulent dispensatiOn of divorces
which are legally void, but which, until set
aside by the courts, involve the sacred
ties and obligations OF husband and wife,


and parent and child The ease with which
INSCRIPTIONS men and women with plenty of
money obtain pretended judicial sever
ance from the bonds of matrimony, in this
State, has emboldened "shyster' lawyers
to advertise their cailings, and pledge their
clients success in obtaining divorces with
" secrecy and Dispatch Cases have occurred
of great moral turpitude and fagrant wrong.
In one case a resident of Connecticut employed
one of these fellows. He prepared the com
plant, had the jurat of the officer before whom
it was pretended to have been sworn added
to it, and procured and furnished the evidence
of the alleged adultery of the wife, and then
had the Judgment entered upon it, through the
convenient report of referee selected Tor the
purpose. The husband knew nothing about
the evidence or report until the judgment had
been obtained and he was called upon to pay


fee for fixing things sufficient OF itself to prove
that only small fraction Of the charge was
for services the greater part being for the
crmep The husband subsequently rclented,
was rcconciled to his wife, and refused to pay
the bill. His wife, though divorced by pretended
Judgment Of the court. obtained by publication
Of the summons against her as nonresident
defendant, knew nothing Of the divorce Untn
informed of it by her husband. In another
equally hagitious case, a wife was induced hy
an insidious friend to obtain one of these ille-
gal divorces from her husband, gay and
extensive Broadway dry goods merchant.
Upon testimony manufactured collusiycly
with the husband-who desired to get rid OF
his first wife and marry woman in
New -Jcrsey-a fraudulent and void divorce
was obtained There was no truth
in the charge of adultery against tue
husband But, upon slight circumstan-
tial proof. the referee selected for the purpose
reported it as proved. This heartlcss attempt
OF a silly wife would have reduced an interest
ING family of five children. respectable in al
but their parentage, 10 a condition worse than
that of orphanagc. The wife rclcntcd of her
Jealous purpose, and the proceedings were set
aside The Cont and the Legislature should
cooperate to prevent further abuses OF the
character we have described, and the guilty
,l;,. b,ld c,art-u- d, "a, understand that Sucl
divorces. obtained 10y fraud. colluSon, or per
Jury. though under seals of court and engraved
on costly pdrchmcutS with signatures OF judges.
are utterly void and will not avail to protect
the parties who seek protection behind them
from prosecution for bigamy If they marry
again. They are utterly void.