THE DECEASED WIFE'S SISTER.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 227, 1 August 1879, Page 2

THE DECEASED WIFE'S SISTER.

The Times of May 7th, has a leader on the much-vexed question of marriage with the deceased wife's sister, the opening paragraph of which is as follows—Tho debate yesterday in the House of Lords upon the bill for legalising marriage with a deceased wife.a sifter cannot but mark an important stage in the discussion of this question. The Bill was rejected, but only by a majority of 20in a house of 192 ; and as 15 bishops voted in the majority, against one in the minority, it is evident that lay opinion was very closely balanced indeed. It must needs, moreover, exert a considerable influence upon popular feeling on the subject, that the Princo of Wales took the unusual course of declaring himself in favor of the Bill. He is a Norfolk landowner, and he presented a petition by no fewer than 3258 v farmers of that country, praying that such marriages might be declared lawful. He i stated that he presented the petition both ! on local and on general grounds. It is his firm 'conviction that the adoption of the Bill would be of advantage to the community at large, and he therefore gave his lisarty support to it. Lordßeaconfield presented a petition to the same effect srom 1152 farmers of Buckinghamshire ; j but he did not accompany it with any expression of his own opinion. Lord Houghton contented himself witli a brief enume- I ration of some of the more obvious and | familiar pleas on behalf of the measure, j and the Bishop of London was equally 'j unambitious in the speech he made in | opposition to it, Lord Cranbrook's remarks at the close of the discussion were ' marked by more animation ; bufctheHousa was evidently in no mood for argument, and the division must be regarded as a spontaneous expression of tho existing balance of opinion, From that point of view it must needs \ have great weight. The perrons who j have married their deceased wive's sistersj and those who are desirous to do be able to say that in the there is a very close balance /olhS@§|l on the subject, and that the jHHJffiP" must be regarded as at least an opewSffeT The consequence mnst be to give encouragement to such marriages, and thus to increase tho presure which i 3 brought to bear upon Parliament in favour of an alteration of the law.

A Philadelphia Presbyterian minister remarks:—'No man of greatness of mind has ever been a dancer." It don't seem to strike him that a man might get more tyn ont of dancing than by having greatness of mind.—Boston Traveller.

An exchange says:—' Alcohol will clean out the inside of an inkstand." It will also clean out the inside of a pocket book a little more thoroughly and quickly than anything else on record. A Much-used EeCeipt—For making fools, idiots, madmen, murderer, t i ves, robbers, paupers, orphars and widows, use " Solution of the Devil." Sold by all publicans, quoth the tcmperaice editor. " Whisky is your greatest enemy," said a minister to Deacon Jones. " But," said Jones, "don't the Bible say. MrPreacher, that we are to love our enemies?'' 0, yes, Deacon Jones, but it don't say we are to swallow them."

True happiness —A friend says that no man can know what true happiness is who has never been married, and had a mother-in-law and a wife's aunUiving in the house with him, and them asm tkem die,