DRUNKEN HUSBANDS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 424, 4 August 1928, Page 11

DRUNKEN HUSBANDS

MR. WILFORD ON DIVORCE LAWS “FRYING-PAN” WIVES (THE SUN’S Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, To-day. “I would give any woman a divorce whose husband is an habitual drunkard. Under our law to-day a woman with a drunken blackguard of a husband has to live with him as long as he gives her some of his wages.” These observations by Mr. T. M. Wilford excited interest when the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Bill was under discussion last evening. “The facilities given for divorce in this country are not sufficient,” said Mr. Wilford. “There is no more fearful thing than to make a woman live as a wife with a man who is always drunk. At present she has to put up with it as long as ho gives her money for food and clothes.” Mr. Wilford said that he did not advocate making divorce generally easier to get, but he did not think divorce was increasing in New Zealand, except in the larger cities, where the increase was due to young men marrying “frying-pan” wives. In those cases the true cause of divorce was indigestion. Mr. Wilford said that another flaw was the fact that in suits for divorce the male co-respondent had to be served with papers, while the female, HALL’S Anti-Fat Pills for reducing are purely herbal, safe and sure. Do not affect the heart. Twenty days’ treatment sent on receipt of ss.—Hall, Herbalist, Christchurch.

in the same position, could be unaware of the charge against her character until she saw her name appear in the newspapers. Mr. H. E. Holland, Leader of the Opposition, referred to tlje cases of New Zealand girls who married American sailors when the fleet was here. To obtain divorce under the past law these girls would have to go to the United States. That would be clearly impracticable. Did the new clauses meet these cases? Mr. Wilford: No, they don’t; but with the addition of a few words I could make them do so. The Minister of Justice, the Hon. F. J. Rolleston, said that the Bill was really a consolidation, and should not be extended to deal with the grounds for divorce, as that was a matter of Government policy. The principal new feature of the Bill, which was read the second time and referred to the Statutes Revision Committee, is that a wife who is deserted by her husband does not, when the husband flees overseas, need to go to his new domicile to obtain divorce.