James Moore Wayne

“ In the consideration of these questions, we must not allow ourselves to be misled by the general rule which prevails in England, that a suit cannot be maintained at law by a feme covert, and that, notwithstanding a divorce a mensa et thoro, a wife cannot sue or be sued in a court of law; for in England she may in several cases maintain a suit in her own name as a feme sole, both at law and in equity. ”

“ The privileges allowed to a wife under such circumstances rest upon the facts that the separation is only grantable propter Saevitiam; that the alimony commonly allowed is no more than enough to give her a home and a scanty maintenance, almost always necessarily short of that from which her husband has driven her; and that as a consequence she should be permitted to change her domicil, where she may live upon her narrow allowance with most comfort and the least mortification. ”

“ These citations have been made to show the large jurisdiction which a court of equity has to secure the rights of married women, when it may be necessary to exert it with the assistance of the husband, or when he improperly interferes with them, so as to make it necessary for the wife to defend herself against his unwarranted claims to her property. ”

“ Except in such cases, a feme covert cannot sue at law, unless it be jointly with her husband, for she is deemed to be under the protection of her husband, and a suit respecting her rights must be with the assent and co-operation of her husband. ”

“ In South Carolina, where the court, having no power to grant divorces, decreed to a wife alimony, on her bill praying for that remedy only, and ordered the husband to give security for its payment, the sheriff, having taken him into custody, suffered him to escape ”