Untitled

Colonist, Volume IV, Issue 355, 19 March 1861, Page 2

Below we give a very important Act of the General Assembly—important at least to that portion of the community who have always been hardly dealt with by British law—namely, married women, who by the cruelty, neglect, o<~ drunkenness of their husbands, have been, kept in worse than negro bondage, and subject to worse than negro punishment. It may be mentioned that, comparatively speaking, this Act is a model for brevity and plain language. MARRIED WOMEN'S PROPERTY PROTECTION ACT. Whereas it is expedient to amend the law relating to the property acquired by married women deserted by their husbands : Be h theretore enacted by the General Assembly of New Zealand, in parliament assembled, and by authority of the. same, as follows :—- ---1. The short title of this Act shall be, the " Married Women's Property Protection Act, 1860. * 2. A wife deserted by her hushai.d may at any time after sucb desertion apply to a Residtut Magistrate or to Justices of the Peace in petty sessions, for an oder to protect any money or. property she may acquire by her own lawful industry, and property which she may become possessed of, after'such desertion, against her husband or his creditors or any other person claiming under him ; and sucb Resident Magistrate oxJustices, if satisfied or the fact of such desi-riion, and that the same was without reasonable cause, and that the wife is maintaining herself by her own industry or property, may make and give to the wife an order protecting her earnings and property acquired since the .commencement of such desertion from her husband, and all creditors and persons claiming under him : Provided always, that every such order shall, within ten days after I the making thereof, be entered with the clerk to the nearest Resid. Nt Magistrate; and that it shall be lawful for the husband, and any creditor or other person claiming under him, to apply to the Resident Magistrate or Justices by whom the order was made to discharge, vary, or reverse the same : provided also, that if the husband or any creditor of or person claiming under the husband shall seize or continue to hold any property of the wife after notice of the order, he shall be liable at the suit of the wife (which she is hereby empowered to.bi ing) to restore the specific property, and also to pay a sum equal to double the value ot the property so seized or held after such notice as aforesaid.

3. The provisions herein contained shall be deemed to extend to property to which the wife has become or shall become entitled as executrix, administratrix, or trustee, since the commencement of the desertion; and the death of the testator or intestate shall be deemed to be the lime when the wife became entitaled as executrix or administratrix.

4. The order shall, until reversed or discharged, so far as necessary for the protection of any person or corporation who shall deal with the wife, be deeined,valid and.effectual; and no discharge vnri : ation, or reversal thereof shall prejudice or affect ( any rights or remedies which any person would

have had in case the same had not been so reversed, varied, or discharged, in respect of any debts, contracts, or acts of the wife incurred, en tered into, or done between the times of the making of the order and of the dischavge, variation, or reversal thereof: and property of or to whicl. the wife is possessed or entitled for an esTateir remainder or reversion at the date of the desert i>tshall be deemed to be included in the protection given by the order. 5. The order shall state the time at which the desertion in consequence whereof the same it made commenced; and shall, as regards all persons dealing with the wite in reliance thereon, bi conclusive as to the time when such desertion commenced.

6. The wife shall, during the continuance of the order, be considered during such desei tion as a femme sole with respect to property of every description which she may acquire, or which may come to or devolve upon her, and such property may be disposed of by her in all respects as a femme sole; and on her decease, the same shall, in case she shall die intestate, go as the same would have gone, if her husband had been dea'': Provided that if the order shall be reversed or discharged, and the wife shall again cohabit with her husband, all such property as she may be entitled to when such cohabitation shall take place, shall be held td her separate use, subject, however, to any agreement in writing made-between herself and her husband betore such renewed cohabitation.

7. In every case in which a wife shall have obtained such order as aforesaid, she shall, until the same shall be reversed or discharged as aforesaid, be considered as & femme sola for the purposes of contract and wrongs and injuries, and suing and being sued in any civil proceedings •. and her hus band shall not be liable in respect of any engagement or contract she may have'entered into, o for any wrongful act or omJHsion by her, or foi any costs she may incur as plaintiff or defendant* during sucli period: Provided that, where, up-m such deserciou alimony has been orde ed to litpaid to the wife, and if the same shall not be duly paid by the husband, he shall be liable for necessaries supplied for her use: Provided also that not lunar shall prevent the wife from joining at any time during such desertion in the exercise of any joint power given to herself and her busband.

8. All persons and corporations who shall, in reliance on any order, make any payment to or permit any transfer or act to be made or done by the wife who has obtained the same, sUall, notwithstanding the order may then have been discharged, reversed,. »r varied, be projected and indemnified in the same way in all respects as if, at the time of such payment,- transfer, or other Hct, the or.lei* were valid and still Mibsisting.with-, out variation in fall force and effect, unless at the time of such payment, transfer, or other act, such persons or corporations had notice of Ihe discharge, reveisal, or variation of the oriW..

Nelson Savings' Bank.—The tallowing balance sheet of tbis prosperous institution has been published in the Government Gazette, 'having received the approval of liis Kxeelleucy the. Governor.' It. extends from ihe opening of the bank on March 3>d to December, 1860 :— RECEIPTS. ■ • £ s. d.* To amounts deposited 2332 18 2 . 2332 18 2 EXPENDITURE. To amounts withdrawn by Depositors .. 557 6 0 amount invented -900 0 0 amount of Expenses incurred' 19 11 3 amount of Interest account 5 19 d Balance iv Bank 850 1 11 . ■ ■ ■ 2332 18 2

Fires—We have to record the occurrence of several fires within view of town of more or less jmportance. On Sunday, at midnight, the hedge-.on the side of Mr. Hales ground, by the Nile-street bridge, was discovered to have been ignited by* some unexplained means, fortunately aid was procurable in time to prevent further damage. On Saturday night a#trong glare of light in the direction of Stoke which continued for some hours, appaiently from, the ignition of the fern on ih* chain of porthills where they diverge to the eastward. In this district, two days previously, a fire occurred at a house occupied by a family named Passmore, and the building contents were destroyed. Yes. terday a large bush fire that was observable two days before, apparently in the direction of Bartlett's range, reached nearer town, and assumed a formida. ble appearance, rising above the Wakapuaka range. A vast column of smoke of a cumulus form and of snowy whiteness compared to the lower darl strata, rose f{> an immense height, dispersing, as the intensity o* the fire slackened, into miles of hazy clouds. Towards night it appeared to haveburnt itself out» an<l we do PQt B"tfcipate that any damage h a -, <jnsued, unless it be to some fern;*in isolated W U ie j. Several instances of firos.haviNt; originated from carelessness, ami in sumo c.mfrom boyish mischief,-cannot- •>« ?«»» strotitrly oo;;----demned : for in the pivaent seisoti of drought," when once commenced, no one can fqn\see 11*»----serious results that may possibly follow incautious ness in this respect. Bishop Sblwyn.—A Taranaki paper says—' I: is currently rumored,though not easy io believe that the Bishop of \New Zealand is about to tak< up his abode in Tarauaki for a stated time.' It expresses a hope, that^there is no * foundation fo, the rumor'—alludes to the Pastoral Letter and Naboth's vineyard—says ' we cannot but feel thai the natives have been fanned into insurrection by the active sympathy entertained for them by Bishop Selwyii and his party —asserts of the Bishop that' the feeling "of. pity is not aroused, and he is not the man to simulate what he does nor feel,' for the ' heavy bereavements and misfortunes even for members of his own church—and winds up this shocking category of ' treason, stratagem, and crime' by threatening him with 'consequences the Bishop would probably be the first to regret.' A Veteran.—Our obituary contains a notice of the death of Mr. Lyford, of Happy Valley. The deceased was one of a number who are fast passing away —an eyewitness and sharer of the perils of Waterloo, where he served in the waggon train. The funeral will take place this day at the buria' ground for the district at Wakapuaka, attended by the Volunteers of the locality (No. 4 Company), a firing party of whom will pay the usual military honors over the grave of the deceased. The Court.—Saturday was not remarkable for anything more at the Magistrate's Court than an addition to the fines for stray animals. These have of late been so numerous, that either the owners have been more than usually careless, or the police have exercised increased watchfulness. Three more names were then added to the long list for horses wandering at large, namely, Messrs. A. Scott, G. Tarr, and T. B. Louisson, and fines of 2s. 6d. to ss. iuflicted.

Christian Association.—We are glad to find that the Young Men's Christian Association arcabout to give an earnest of their desire for extending the influence of the body by building a room

foi <>'the purposes-of the- Association. The spo chosen for the erection, is in Bridge-street, near Collirigwood-street, and- is therefore bo centrally situated as to obviate any objection oh the score of convenience to its members, wiio are increasing. We hope that the, benefits accruing will lead to a still greater and speedier augmentation of par-

ticipators,