Known to the Police

indecency. Such proceedings ought to have no place in our courts of penal administration. The effects of thriftless and ill-assorted marriages are so palpable in police-court

ave been delivered from the bench upon youthful and thriftless marriages,

ttend them-educated gentlemen of position and experience appear to take pleasure in arranging them

g

is considerably enhanced by the press, which duly chronicles

romantic. While I have seen the results, and have had to alleviate some of the miseries following such marriages, I am thankful to say that I never did a

hat the arrangements for a marriage of this kind were duly

Magistrates seldom see the after-results, but those results are far-reaching. From this one case alone grievous burdens have already been cast upon the public, and future generations will b

the consequences of these marriages, but

charged in one of our courts with abandoning her illegitimate ch

eless, the magistrate adjourned the case, and offered a sovereign towards the wedding expenses. The hero in this business-the chivalrous young man!-was penniless and out of work; in fact, if he himself spoke truly, he had done no work for a year; but, seeing publicity had been gained and inter

olice-court, many of whom never seem to seek for work. I have no hesitation in saying that the man who comes forward in a police-court and offers to

trate and a fellow came forward with a like proposal, I would order him out of court; in fact, I should experience some pleasure in kicking him out. But in this case the

ree. But morbid, and I think I may say maudlin, sympathy is one of the prevailing evils of the day, and is not fo

here was nothing to be said in her favour. The untrue statement she made before the magistrate was, however, duly circulated. In a few days I received a large number of letters, many of them f

had prayed over the matter, and it was laid upon his conscience that he must marry the young woman and save[Pg 69] her. He also enclosed a postal order for 10s., and

"S

e you to submit your children to the care of an abandoned woman? Marry

ours t

T. Ho

et he assured us, in spite of the poverty of the persons concerned, and notwithstanding the disgraceful circumstances that had brought them within his province, all these marriages had turned out happily. I sincerely wish that I could believe in the happiness of couples of this description, married un

g

clergy, who insist so strongly on the sacredness of marriage and of its indissolubility,

e none the less immoral though they be legalized by the State and blessed by the Church, and the evils of them will not bear recapitulation. On divorce our leaders have much to say; on marriage with deceased wives' sisters they have advice to give. Are the poor to have n

ing that if she would consent it would make a difference in the sentence imposed. The matter was adjourned to the next session, the prisoner being allowed his liberty that the marriage might be effected. During the adjournment they were married, and when next before the magistrate the marriage certificate was produced. She saved the man from prison, and the judge bestowed his benediction in the following words: "Take her away" (as if, forsooth, she had been the prisoner) "and be good to her. You have assaulted her before: don't do it again"-thus giving him every opportunity of doing at

s can be cured by matrimonial ties, especially when these ties are forged and rive

ed to be thankful that comparatively few do so. But there is enough of this business done to warrant my calling attention to it, and in expressing the hope that "romance" of this kind may speedily die a death from which there is no resurrection. It may be that among the long list of sordid cases that come before the courts there are some in which marriage seems the best way out of

es use their positions and the power of the law to comp

life with the shadow of disgrace over them, rather than take as partners those that have been ei

a few months to apply for separation orders and maintenance orders. I may add also that it is no uncommon thing for magistrates to grant them. The extent to which separation prevails may be gathered from the fact that under the Summary Jurisdiction (Married Women) Act, 1895, there have been granted up to the e

ght to compel serious t