WOMEN'S WORLD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 302, 15 May 1913, Page 6

WOMEN'S WORLD.

MISS GOULD'S MARRIAGE VATICAN DECISION STILL IN DOUBT. l\ view of the possible final dissolution of the religious marriage of Miss Anna Gould (now Princess De Sagan) and Count Boni De Castellane (says the Standard's Rome correspondent), it is of interest to state the exact position in which those concerned now stand and the future possibilities of the case. According to Mgr. Prior, one of the tuulitors of the Rota, the Papal tribunal rchich pronounces sentence in matrimonial questions, there have been two hearings of the Hol} r Roman Rota, the supreme Papal Court of Appeal, which is composed of eleven Judges of different nationalities, all resident in Rome, three of whom sit in judgment in each case. In the first instance the Gould-Castellane marriage was declared to be good, but the second decision, which was promulgated a short time ago, declared it null and void, and the present position is <Jiat Mgr. Parillo, who holds the position in the Rota of "Defender of the Matrimonial Bond," and whose duty it is to uphold the genuineness of a marriage whenever possible, has appealed against the decree of nullity. The case will therefore be heard again by a third set of three Judges of the Eota, whose decision cannot possibly be given for three months, and probably not be delivered before July or August;.owing to the fact that fresh'witnesses may be called and pleadings put in by both sides, Mie first of which have to be deposited before the Court one month and the second ten days before judgment is given. Even should the final decision be for the nullity of the marriage, the children born of it would be perfectly legitimate in the eyes of the Church, because they were born •at the time that the marriage was accepted as valid. Should the third decision be in favor of the validity of the marriage it would probably be final, though, theoretically, marriage being one of the sacraments of the Roman Church, if fresh evidence of sufficient importance could be discovered the case could always be re-opened. To this end the evidence would have to be brought before the Segnatura, the Papal court of justice, equivalent to a Court of Cassation, whose members are cardinals, who would decide whether the evidence suggested was substantial enough to warrant a fresh trial, or whether there had been any mistake in procedure or legal flaw. In this case the Segnatura would return the case to the Tribunal of the Rota to be re-tried. DUTCH WOMEN'S EXHIBITION A number of Dutch women, who were of opinion that in Amsterdam (the capital of Holland) a special exhibition ought to be held to show the evolution of the social and intellectual position of women since 1813, have organised an exhibition officially called "Women, 1813-1913," which will be open from this month until October, and will show a comparison between the life and social position of women in 1813 and 1913. One part of the exhibition, it is stated, will show a middle-class house of a hundred years ago, with all its, accessories, with the enormous kitchen, where all the cooking for the house was done and the provisions of the house made and kept. This part of the exhibition will also show what accomplishments women of a hundred years ago possessed in art, music, literature, sports, etc.; what was their special work among the sick and poor,, and as guardians of almshouses, orphanages, etc. To give an idea of the women of the working class, in the country as well as in town, the home industries" will be shown, and how women were overworked as seamstresses and as diamondworkers, and how some women trudged in a treadmill like horses. Women's other professions, those of shopgirls, servants, schoolmistresses, midwives, etc., will also lend their gay or sad note to the whole. Next to the exhibition building for 1813, another for 1913 will be erected. This will be much more extensive. It will show how woman's field of work outside the house has grown, and how much of her work in the house has been taken away by all the new inventions of machinery. Women architects will demonstrate by different model houses how the factor of hygiene has become important in all classes. Then the exhibition will also demonstrate how the State intervenes now by laws into family life, and also in the life of womanworkers, and how, consequently, women ask the same political rights as men. One room will be set apart for woman suffrage. Furthermore, the work of women as writers, artists, teachers, sick nurses, etc., will be shown. A LADY SUPERINTENDENT Miss Constance Smith, who for 38 ycara has held the position of lady superintendent of the Post Office Savings Bank, and who has done probably more than any woman living to eradicate the idea that women.are incapable of performing highly-responsible clerical duties, has just retired from her position (says the London Mail). Miss Constance Smith entered the Post Office Savings Bank in 1875. The authorities decided to try the experiment of placing a great part of the clerical work in the hands of ' women. The success of the experiment was mainly due to the energy and organising powers of Miss Smith. Under ner guidance the movement grew until she had under her a staff of 1400 women, vnd was responsible for the accurate keeping of 30,000 ledgers, with the particulars of depositors' accounts representing the s'um of about £180,000,000. PRINCESS LOUISE'S MEMOIRS Princess Louise of Saxony, who recently published her sensational memoirs, is now anxious to play a repentant vole in order that she may see her children and obtain the honors due to her rank. She makes the following suggestions:— That she be granted a castle in which she may lead a life worthy of an arch-duchess. That she be allowed a court of ladies and gentlemen-in-waiting. That she should lie free to make excursions and engage in various kinds of sport without transgressing prescribed limits. That all processes instituted against against her at Florence and Brussels" shall be stopped. It is stated that the King of Saxony, during his recent visit to Vienna, obtained the consent of the Emperor to these suggestions. Princess Louise, it will be remembered, is the daughter of Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria and ' Grand Duke of Tuscany. She married ! the Crown Prince of Saxony in ISDI. ' They had five children, but in 1902 the ' Princess fled to Switzerland, and the ' marriage was annulled. In 1907 the Princess married Signor Toselli, an Italian musician, and five years later this marriage was annulled 'by mutual consent. Both Signor Toselli and his former wife have published sensational "* memoirs.