ENFORCING CONJUGAL RIGHTS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1306, 17 February 1883, Page 4

ENFORCING CONJUGAL RIGHTS.

Sir James Hannen has just denounced from the Bench the power lodged in his Court, which enables him to issue a decree restoring to a husband his conjugal rights, His energetic observations were called forth by a case which came before him under pecular circumstances., A pe-ron had, in 1881, obtained a decree against his 'wife, which his wife disobeyed—that is, she declined to live with her husband, and would not be compelled. He next got an order of attachment, but failed to wve it, and discove:ing that the 'lady had found shelter in the house of Mr Orrell Lever, M, P., he applied to'the Court for an attachment against him. The contention of connsjl'was that Mr ■ Lever was assisting tit lady to evade the jurisdiction of the court. "I } do not wonder," said the judge, " at anyone assisting a woman to resist jurisdiction which exists in this Court only, and which I wish did not exist here—nimely, the power of committing a woman because she does not return to a husband with whom she "does not wish to live," Every right-minded man will heartily sympathise with these remarks, and feel grateful to Sir James Hannen for having had a moral; courage to utter them. Nothing can be more contrary to all ideas : of fairneßS and self-respect that to attempt to,©n.-' force obedience by means of a Burvival of a law which never could have had any solid justification. ;l The only, theory on which it could be maintained is that ii wife is a chattel,