Arthur Hobhouse

“ The good that it works is not discoverable. "Therefore," say reformers, "the law is a bad one; let us alter it and set people free: where it now does no evil, it is because people of their own free will manage their affairs with good sense and good feeling; where it does evil, it is because one is unduly subjected to another. ”

“ Then what justice is there in providing that a husband's property shall be secured to him by the simple operation of the law without any misconduct on the wife's part, but that a wife's shall be taken away from her unless her husband ill-treats her and she has the courage to embark in a litigation and the luck to emerge successfully from it? ”

“ And depend upon it that where, in a delicate and painful matter, so much comes to light, much more remains in darkness, and that for one case that could be reached by the action of a magistrate, scores, or even hundreds, would be reached by a simple change of the principle of law. Those who contend that the principle of the law is not bad are bound to give some satisfactory explanation of the phenomena, to tell us why sufferings are so frequent among those who remain subject to it, and why all who can escape from it, do so. ”

“ One is that as protection orders may be cancelled, outsiders would never know without searching a register whether a wife was under disability or free from it—a most inconvenient state of things. The other is that women with bad husbands would be better off as regards the power of applying their money to their wants than those with good ones, for the well-conducted couples would remain under the law of strict settlement; whereas the wife who earned half the family expenses might dispose of her property according to her own judgment. ”

“ The mother of a family has something to do besides earning money. Numbers of cases might be put to show the fallacy of such a test. I will put only one, which may easily happen in factory towns. Suppose a woman with a large family of children, doing little paid work herself, but receiving and managing the earnings of the children, superintending the household and keeping it together. Why should not she have any little property of hers protected against a bad husband? ”

“ During the recess numerous volunteers meet in various parts of the country, write in public journals, interchange their ideas, explode many crotchets, find some that will stand the wear and tear of discussion, prepare, on all tenable views of a question, that mysterious and spiritual, but very real, power called Public Opinion, and so clear the field for action. ”

“ The argument must come ultimately to this—that women when they marry are such poor weak creatures that they cannot be trusted to deal with their own money; they cannot judge whether to keep it or spend it; whether to bestow it on their husbands or themselves, or their children, or elsewhere; therefore the law shall step in, assume in every case that a woman ought to settle money on herself and her children, and make that arrangement for her. ”

“ Wife's property to be fettered. The main principle is that a wife shall not, irrespectively of the question what she earns, be free to own property, but that her property shall, in the absence of contract, be placed under strict settlement.
Plan for Trustees. For this purpose trustees must be provided. And it is Trustees, proposed, in the first instance, to make the husband himself the trustee. If, however, the wife chooses she may obtain from the County Court an order of the Judge making himself and a Vice-chancellor the trustees. ”

“ At the present time, if a wife is deserted by her husband she may apply to a magistrate, who may grant her an order of protection, the effect of which, to use popular language, is to place her as regards ownership of property in the position of a single woman. ”

“ The most important was that which is founded on the principle that the husband must, in case of dissension, determine the general course of family affairs, e.g., the common residence and perhaps the common occupations. To this it was answered, that the wife ought to have due weight in the family councils; that there are many domestic matters in which women are better judges than men; that there are many women who are wiser and stronger than their husbands ”

“ The plan, doubtless, is suggested by the course usually taken in marriage settlements, and would naturally be one of the first things to occur to lawyers more familiar with such arrangements than with the short and simple annals of the poor. I will not here discuss the policy of the ordinary marriage settlement for the rich. I do not admire it, but it is not necessary for the argument to take so wide a range. It is sufficient to say, that for one rich person affected by the measure there will be a thousand poor; that it is, in fact, a measure for the poorer classes of society ”

“ Give liberty to all, and that will be the best guarantee for the good conduct of their private affairs." Upon which up start a set of philanthropic gentlemen and declare that the remedy is not to be sought in the spontaneous action of each family, but in the extension of a paternal government which shall dictate to all how an important portion of their private affairs is to be managed. ”

“ Raikes and others have introduced into Parliament a Bill which may be taken as embodying the views of those who are at length persuaded of the necessity of a change in the law, but who cannot make up their minds to accept freedom with its consequences. ”

“ It may be a long time first; the Legislature is the last body to be moved; and quite rightly so, for laws ought not to be altered lightly, nor without clear proof that mischief flows from them, and that reasonable grounds exist for expecting better results from the alterations propounded. It is therefore natural that when Parliament meets we should look to see which of the subjects that occupy the national attention will be selected for actual operations, and what course the operations are likely to take. ”

“ Besides and beyond the crippling effect of tying up money comes the demoralising effect of expectations. They are peculiarly noxious to the poor and ignorant, who always exaggerate them, often relax their exertions on account of them, and not seldom discount them. ”

“ Such provisions appear to be as inefficient against the evil-doer as they are oppressive upon the innocent.
Arrangements when the wife earns half the family expenses. The foregoing provisions relate to gross amount of property, irrespective of the wife's earnings. With respect to earnings, the Bill provides that when a wife can show that for six months she has earned more than half the expenses of her family the judge of the County Court shall have power to grant her a protection order. When the order is granted the provisions for making her a free woman need not be excepted to. ”

“ Past stages of the controversy The important subject indicated by the heading of this paper is one on which the Legislature will certainly be asked to act in the ensuing session; possibly by the Government, but, if not, then by private members of Parliament. And it seems not inopportune to take a brief review of the position of the case, and to direct some observations to the only features of it which possess any novelty or are left uncovered by argument. The subject is one of those which have been agitated for many years, and has gone through the usual stages of a novel truth. ”

“ Mr. Gurney's Bill. In the session of 1889, a Bill was introduced into the House of Commons by Mr. Russell Gurney, which embodied the principle contended for. It provided in effect, that married women, or at least those married subsequently to the Act, shall be as capable of holding property as single ones. The Bill was referred to a Select Committee, by whom the principle was preserved uninjured. The third reading was carried in the House of Commons by a large majority, but the measure was stopped in the House of Lords, on the ground that its provisions required further consideration. ”

“ And this, doubtless, is the great originating and determining force of modern society. The man who has carried his point through the open public arena of discussion, will surely, sooner or later, carry it through the Legislature. ”

“ Those efforts represent the uneasiness of the parties affected by the settlements. The sum falling under such an Act as this would in few cases exceed £300 or £400. And sums of that or of much larger amount are far more beneficially applied when left free to be used for the exigencies of the family, than when tied up, and made available only by way of income. Rich people may afford to put by a sum of money, and say that there it shall lie for a term of years. The poor cannot ”