YOUNG WIVES AND DIVORCES

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 129, 22 August 1927, Page 16

YOUNG WIVES AND DIVORCES

SIXTY PER CENT. OF DECREES RETURNS FOR PAST YEAR (From. Our Resident Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Saturday. The divorce statistics for 1926 just published by the Government Statistician show that in over 60 per cent, of the cases where decrees absolute were granted the wife was under 25 years of age at the date of marriage, and in nearly half of these‘cases the wife was five or more years younger than the husband. The average ages at marriage in the 614 cases where decrees absolute were granted in 1926 were—husbands 27.4 years, and wives 23.6 years. During 1926, 739 petitions for dissolution of marriage, including five for nullity, were filed. This number was 16 more than in 1925, but has been exceeded on three occasions, viz., in 1921 (796), 1924 (768) and 1920 (748). The number of decrees nisi (624) has been exceeded on two occasions, the greatest number recorded in a single year being 660 in 1921, followed by 651 in 1924. The number of decrees absolute (614) is, however, two in excess of the total for 1925, which held the record previously. Of the 739 petitions filed during the year, including five for nullity of marriage, 335 were filed by husbands and 404 by wives. No fewer than 100 of the petitions were filed within five years of marriage, in 239 cases the marriage had lasted between five and 10 years, in 364 cases between 10 and 30 years, and in 36 cases 30 years or over. Adultery was the ground specified in 185 cases, including one case where it was coupled with desertion. Desertion was the sole ground in 199 cases, while drunkenness figured, either alone or with other grounds, in 31 cases. Separation for not less than three years—a ground introduced in 1920 — was responsible for 254 petitions, separation and desertion for six, insanity for nine, and non-compliance with an order for the restitution of conjugal rights for 47. In 641 cases the marriage had been solemnised within New Zealand, and in 98 outside. Civil marriages, the dissolution of which was desired, numbered 248, and represented 32 per cent, of the total. The average age of husbands at date of filing the petition in the 614 cases was 40.1 years, and of wives 36.3 years; and the average duration of marriage was 12.7 years.