"WANTED: A WIFE."

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 157, 28 July 1909, Page 1

"WANTED: A WIFE."

ABOUT MATRIMONIAL ADVERTISEMENTS. SOME INTERESTING OPINIONS. Auckland, Saturday. J.M sensational statement by Mr. Rule at Christehurch in regard to the character of men advertising for wives lea to an Auckland pressman making some 'enquiries as to how those statements would apply to this city. The result was, on the whole, fairly comforting. The superintendent of the Door of Hope, Mrs. Hutchison, spoke warmly in support of Mr. Rule's remarks, "Advertisements of the kind," she declared, "might easily lead simple girls into the arms of wicked and unscrupulous men. I have known cases where marriages have taken place after the man and woman have been brought together by advertisement, and I do not know of a single instance in which those marriages have proved successful. In two cases 1' Rave known the unhappy wives to be deserted. Of the actual duping of wpmen by this means I have not heard of any case in Auckland, but in the big cities of Australia there have been instances of the kind. A man who Is ■ vicious enough to do what has been done ill Christehurch would keep on | committing the same grievous wrong like the burglar or the forger, whom the police know will never adopt any but their own special branch of crime. With such men as these it becomes a mania, and frequently wlicn I have seen the advertisements I have felt inclined to write and warn those who might be tempted .to trust themselves with men they have never previously known, and whose intentions may not be honorable towards th©m." Adjutant Gunn, of the Salvation Army, .stated that during his experience in Auckland he h ad never come across a case similar to those referred to by Mr. Rule, and he was inclined to think that the Christehurch missioner had been exaggerating a little when be stated 'that & considerable number of women were now bearing the brand of shame as a result of one man's advertising for a wife. The adjutant considered, however, that there was a certain element of danger about this method of seeking a husband on the part of women who answered the advertisements'. Adjutant Tillett, of the Salvation Army Rescue Home, Parnell, stated that only one case of a marriage which had been the outcome of a matrimonial advertisement was known to her. In that instance the marriage had been a hopeless failure, and for eleven years the man and woman had been compelled to 'live apart, the man during that time paying regularly for the woman's support. The Rev. W. Gray Dixon, when interviewed, smilingly remarked that the people of his congregation were so eminently respectable that the possibility of such things had never been thought of. Speaking seriously, however, the minister of St. David's said that it could not be considered surprising that such a revelation had been made. One would naturally expect people to be suspicious about matrimonial advertisements—suspicious of the man who advertised, and suspicious of the woman who answered the advertisement. Some people were eccentric and peculiar, and possibly the shyness of some men led them to in all sincerity advertise, but the principle he regarded as a bad one, and though he had nijver heard of a case in Auckland sinAr to those in Christehurch, he thought no harm could result from trying to put people on their guard against possible deception. Mr. Rule, .Mr. Gray added, was some time ago an assistant of his, and had charge of Edendale. The Rev. J. Wilson, of the Auckland Central Mission, said he hail not experienced anything so deplorable in Auckland as Mr. Rule had unearthed in Christehurch, but he felt that it was a most undesirable thing that men and women should meet and marry without any actual knowledge of' one another. ".My experience in the big cities of Australia makes me believe that Mr. Rule is on the right track," said .Mr. Wilson, "but, bad as the matrimonial advertisement may be, we have reason to be thankful that we have no matrimonial bureaux in' New Zealand like they have hi Sydney and Melbourne. There they .will marry you, provide the ring, and find the witnesses, all for 10s Gd, My experience of the matrimonial bureau was that it was a most unmitigated evil. A woman could drag a man oil' the street in a state of inebriation into one of these places, and the man would sober up to And himself confronted with a wife who would wave in his face a duly-witnessed marriage certificate. It is gratifying to find that the Victorian Parliament is at last taking steps to bring in special legislation to deal with these bureaux," A police official to whom the subject was referred said: "Bad as the matri- . lnonial advertisement is, the facilities that are given under New Zealand law for the licensing of persons to perform marriages are a much more prolific source of trouble to the police. A man can come to New Zealand, and no matter .what his past record may have been he can become a legalised clergyman if he finds a dozen followers who will swallow his beliefs and accept him as their high priest." The marriage law tipOii this question shows how easy it is for any person desiring to become a "reverend" clothed with the legal power to perform marriages to get a. license. Section. 10 of the Marriage Act reads: "Any minister of religion not connected with any of the bodies enumerated in the third schedule (giving the recognised religious bodies) who furnishes to the Registrar-General a certificate signed by the recognised head in New Zealand of the religious body to which he be longs, or by two duly recognised ministers of such bodies, or by ten adult members thereof who append tg their signatures their description as being such members declaring such minister as their officiating minister, shall be entitled to have his name inserted in the list of officiating ministers within (he meaning of the Act." The result is that persons may obtain authority to perform marriages i\vho never ought to be entrusted with such an important privilege. • |