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Show MARRIAGE A PROLIFIC SOURCE OF PAUPERISM. The following from an address delivered deliv-ered by the Right Reverend Bishop Spalding of Peoria before the Conference Confer-ence of Charities and. Corrections at" Bloomington. Ills., on the lst.inst., has attracted wide attention: "If it were possible, though I do not see how it ever can be, it would be right, it would be a duty, to prevent half the marriages that take place. People enter into these relations in the same spirit that they would purchase a horse, a house or a suit of clothes. They have no regard for the sacredness of the relations upon which they enter. Education cannot be a preventive of the necessity for charity, a preventive of pauperism and crime, unless it be an education of love. It must be a vital power with him who teaches. In such a way the home is the best school. But where the one who marries is a sot, a criminal, the home gives no education. Where the shadow of. divorce hangs over a home, or separation has already taken place in one, the children of that family are ready to go out as workers to the detriment of socety. Our American Amer-ican home depends upon the vigor with j.icn e ngnt divorce. We talk of qualifications for franchise and of demanding de-manding that a man prove his worth to cast the ballot. We say nothing to the end that a man should show his qualifications for marriage." We fully agree with the sentiments of the learned Bishop of Peoria with regard re-gard to the Injury done to society and to the individual through foolish and in some esses, criminal marriages. Marriage is a contract, not only be- ' tween the two persons who accept each ! other as husband and wife, but it is a contract with God and with society, in which the marrying couple bind themselves them-selves as agents of the Creator and of snnipt-v Any defect in them or in their manner man-ner of entering upon the fulfillment of their duties' towards God or society, it is manifestly the right and duty of religion re-ligion and society to take cognizance. Habitual criminals, habitual paupers, those afflicted with serious and heredit-able heredit-able diseases have no right to propagate propa-gate among men and add to the number num-ber of those who already are a burden upon society. But as the good bishop freely admits, it is impossible by-law at .least, to prevent this evil. As to criminals, it is impossible, ow. ing to the fact that the man known' to be a criminal in one state is frequently a church deacon in another. In might also result in curbing the amorous tendencies of the petty pil- ferer while permitting the man who steals , whole states at national elec-i.'ons elec-i.'ons tpr whole counties1 in the holy cause?, of freedom V or the higher(?) cause of universal Anglo- Saxon ' dominion do-minion to marry , as often as he may choose." " '. ' . With paupers also It is impossible to deal arbitrarily. You may prevent t marriage bteween the inmates of public pub-lic institutions, but once they are fit to leave the confines of the poorhouse, who can dictate to them a cause of action? ac-tion? ix An experience of countries where a property list has been required before the' issue of a marriage license has proven that persons .forbidden by law to marry have entered Jnto-commmon law marriages and lived content to be called concubines in the eyes of the law. Disease also it r impossible to combat com-bat by law. The more infamous the disease, the more difficult it -would be for any matrimonial bureau to detect it. ' .. -'. But if it be impossible to prevent unwise un-wise and criminal' marriages, 'it is entirely en-tirely possible to do away .with the other evil mentioned in the bishop's address, namely, divorce, which is workjng more evil to society in this country today than all the other causes mentioned in the address of Bishop Spalding. Frequently a sober, pious mother will shield the children from the baleful influence in-fluence of a drunken father. Many a marriage entered into hastily and without sufficient thought would be rectified after the contracting parties had come to see the seriousness or their acts' were it not that divorce offered an easy solution of their embarrassing situation. sit-uation. We do not doubt but that many readers, of the bishop's words will grasp at what he says about marriages of drunkards and criminals ancT use it freely while condoning in themselves and others the more terrible evil of di-' "vorce. .v ..,'". |