The Telephone. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE POVERTY BAY STANDARD. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 240, 20 September 1884, Page 2

The Telephone. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE POVERTY BAY STANDARD. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20.

A Bill dealing with the rights of married women's property has just passed the House of Representatives and is now in the hands of the Lords. The Act, although unobtrusively introduced and passed into law, opens a wide field for argument as to its probable effect upon domestic happiness and the relations between husband and wife. It is admitted there is no rule without an exception, and it is clear that the Act in its operation will have its good and evil effects. The divine ties that should bind husband and wife, love and affection, will now often be that of self interest, particularly so in households where separate properties do exist or may be created by the wife. We are not inclined to take the “ trenchant Lord of the creation view,” and picture the frightful examples of domestic unhappiness that may accrue by giving so much power to woman. We believe that the natural love and kindness of woman would lead her to err on the side of liberality and gentleness, rather than on that of domineering assumption of power over her natural protector, the husband. The proportion of bad wives to that of bad and worthless husbands is very small indeed. In every community, and in every class, too many sad and glaring instances of the worthlessness and depravity of husbands are to be seen. The wife—loving, devoted, struggling, suffering in body and mind, maintains the useless partner of her existance from her own hard earnings, or from any portion of the estate she may fortunately possess through her marriage settlement. Woman’s nature is naturally pliant and loving, and it is only when she is driven unjustly and reminded of her dependence upon the too often arbitrary will of man does she resist, as the weakest insect will turn when trodden upon. We are inclined to think that placing woman on an equality with man in the rights of property will tend to foster domestic happiness and comfort rather than mar it. Woman entrusted with management is generally more saving than man. Man may wreck in a day by reckless speculation the accumulated earnings of a lifetime, at once, unwarned and unprepared, casting his children upon the world ; himself and wife impoverished at a time of life when it is too late to retrieve the wasted past. We have not space to print the whole provisions of the Act, but will touch upon the most prominent points. Section 3. “A married woman may acquire, hold, and dispose of separate property, and may will, as a femme sole. She may make contracts, sue, and be sued. She may be subject to bankruptcy laws if she trades separately from her husband. Section 4. Every woman married after the passing of this Act shall possess her separate property. Property lent by a wife to her husband for purposes of business is to be treated as an asset in case of bankruptcy, and she may claim as a creditor. Sections of the Act up to thirteen have no particular bearings except upon bank deposits, stocks, &c., and in cases of the wife investing the husband’s money without his consent. Section 13 relates to insurance policies, and provides that a woman, by virtue of power to make contracts may effect a policy upon her own life or that of her husband for her own separate use. This clause was strongly opposed in the House on the second reading of the Bill, but Mr. Stout strongly objected to any amendment, and the clause was passed. We were in the House at the time of the Bill passing, and had the pleasure of listening to the many pertinent arguments for and against the Act. Many such dreadful arguments, as cases of a “ wife insuring her husband’s life and afterwards procuring his death for the sake of the money,” or of 11 a wife being of a sudden summoned to the R.M. Court to defend some contract.” The children left undressed, the household in disorder, and the husband called home to do domestic duty while Mrs. so, and so’s name was being called by the constable at the Court door, versus Mr. Somebody for breach of contract, &c.” These are the dreadful and facitious sides of the arguments pro and con and are usable ad lib. We think the power of insurance a wise and good one, a wife can assure a competency for self and children, in the event of .the husband’s sudden death instead of being left penniless and at the world’s mercy, as is too often the case now. Man’s pursuits lead him into greater danger than woman’s, and he is more liable to accidental death. Section 18, makes a husband liable for his wife’s antenuptial debts. A husband and wife may be jointly sued for a debt contracted by a wife prior to marriage but not after. Disputes between husband and wife as to rights of property are settled by a Judge of the Supreme Court. Section 23, m. kes a woman who has separate property liable for maintenance of her children and grand children, and maintenance of a destitute husband, but nothing relieves the husband from liability by laws imposed on him to “ maintain her children and grand-children.” By this Act a husband need not join with the wife in the transfer of stocks, debentures, property, &c. The sections of the Act referred to will show the almost revolutionary principles introduced into the social and domestic relations as man and wife and we feel confident that the Act will be generally beneficial in its operations on conjugal prosperity and happiness woman being invariably more just in her judgement of mankind, and farseeing in the calculation of chances, not like ambitious man so easily led by guile and self-conceit. “ A mountain is made up of atoms, and happiness of little matters. And if the atoms hold not together, the mountain is crumbled into dust.”