BIGAMO US BRITAIN.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3366, 19 December 1919, Page 5

BIGAMO US BRITAIN.

_ “HALF THE CRIME OF THE pp p COUNTRY.” It seems clear that lleavjer sentences have not frightened the bigamists (writes the London Daily Mail). Once again their crimes are the main feature of the‘ trials at the assizes now proceeding throughout the country. At VV’orces‘fershire Assizes MI Jus‘tice Rowlatt declared that half the crimes of the country is bigamy.” ‘At Old Bailey the bigamy eases accounted for over 25 per cent of those in the list. The popular idea '-§Eems to be- that the oifenders are -practically all men, and there is a very proper desire that womanhood should find eifective protection. In the years immediately pre~ ceding the war, however, women were the victimisers, instead -of the vicv timised in one-third of‘the cases, the totals of which varied between 130 and 139. In 1917 there were 435 cases ‘at the Alssizes and quarter session, and 128 of the prisoners were women. Taken at face value, the figures look disquieting. It has been said that they indicate a- widespread relaxation of public morals. But obviously the standard of morality of these persons was low and fee-ble before the cataclysm of 1914. The War provided the requisite temptation. It made bigamy profitable. Women ‘,f«ma.rried” to obtain ths separation allowance; soldiers discovered in the allowance 3, means of provision fcir clandestine partners. Then soldiers thousands of miles away from home deceived respectable women rather than face the lurking perils of the street. It is noteworthy that in court these “Wives” usually say, “he treated me well.”

When estimating the facts provided by the judicial statistics, one might give due weight to this further fact, that war breeds -divorce and bigarnjf as surely as a swamp ‘nurtures mosqui~ toes and -malaria. An examination of the categories into which the cases fa.ll‘suggest that British bigamy is likely to require fewer policemen when the fevers of war have subsided. Among ofienceg not arising ‘out of war.- conditions are those committed by men la-nd women as tile’ result of illassorted unions in early life. [ln this class is the ignorant. woman who re—ma.rries in the belief that -3. seven years’ separation without sight or knowledge of the missing. partner is sufficient presumption of dceease. This ignorance is being dispelled. There are many, too, who formed illegal ties lie: cause ‘divorce was expensive and out of their reach. Here again, possibly offenders may now be expected to take advantage of the safer methods of re» lease afforded by the Poor Persons Divorce Act, .

In a third category comes the I'ase.alA who pleads that he is “the victim of too much susceptibility”; but he is iiegllgible in numbers. Our island bi-gamist is no mere thief of hearts, The dregs at the bottom of the cup sort themselves out into the wholly despicable mercenary bigainislt, a thief of spoons or of what Mr Wennnick called “*p'rrrtnlm-le ‘pl‘O§¥'3T'[}'.""7 (Heavy sentences may éeter. but will not entirely eradicate -him; The type will persist so long as tongues larc glib/, and so long as Women with a little‘ money in the Savings Bank fail to temper their emotions with sufiicient wisdom.Or until the commission of the crime is made more difiicult by such alteration in the preliminaries of marriage 33 will secure co»mple}te identification of the parties to the contract. As Sir Bernhard Mallet, the Registrar-Geiieral, has pointed out, the marriage laws of this country afford less security against bigamy tll-an‘ "‘~..os~e of almost! any other civilised Strxe.