Show LEGAL MARRIAGE IN NEW YORK THE laws of the state of new york upon the subject of rn marriage arrige and di vorce have heretofore been regarded as aa very strict but according accord mg to an article la the new york world a recent le legal leal al decision in that state slate will go tar jar t towards relaxing their rigidity what may constitute a legal marriage has been thus stated by the court of appeals of that state A man and woman who are competent to hsrry each other way take upon themselves the relations of husband and wife and be bound boul d to themselves eState th the state and society as such auch without goins going before a minister mini ater or magistrate without the presence of any pers person onas as witness and no record or written evidence of the act kept than merely by words of present contract between them if after that the marriage is denied proof ot of actual cohabitation as aa husband and wife acknowledgment and recognition of each other to friends friend and acquaintances and the public and the refutation thereof will enable ahlo court to presume that there was in the beginning an actual bonafide marriage such for a long period has ihas been the t he law upon this subject but a decision which in a great measure supersedes that quoted has bad been rendered ered by judge churchill Ch archili in a somewhat celebrated divorce case in which charles L davis the actor widely known a as alvin alvigi joslyn was sued for absolute divorce by jennie noble davis who claimed to be his wife from the testimony lu in the case care it was shown show that lor nearly three years the parties lived together as aa man and wife he introduced her as such tu to his bis friends and acquaintances from maine to california Cali tornia A sort of ceremony took place at albany wherein a ring rig played its accustomed part and vows of love and were exchanged the woman was billed as davis wife in the theatrical troupe they were playing with aud and in numbers berkof of let tellers Lers that between them lie he recognized their marital relations A child was born to them a year and a half after their informal orwal agreement to live together the defendant did not deny the foregoing pacts hib bib only defense beil g that jae he permitted the woman to 10 take his name in order to 10 avoid bc adal tue court thereupon decided ther s lad had been no mainaga which the law cound recognize as such and that do gortot sort of responsibility attached to the defendant in of ni share in lh the e affair davis clairs to have won in nis s case by the argust ut thai a court wi oi law or equity will not sauci il a rela L lion iou between mail luau aud where the inception aula tile were ere immoral and 11 the tenor of the article IS s regretful that the law should be so changed as to make it easy for men so disposed to establish with women the relations of husband and wife only to disbo dissolve lve them at will the popular tendency is to undermine the safeguards of chastity and of the family and to make riess difficult tor for unprincipled men mea to gratify their unholy passions |