Collier v. . CollierCollier v. . Collier
- Reporters:
- Before:
- Hall
— Before the act of 1814, (Rev. ch. 869) аpplications for divorce could only he made to the Legislature ; and it was competent for them to divorce either frоm bed and board, or from the bonds of matrimony, at thoir discretion, without rеgard to the law as it then stood. But if jurisdiсtion had been transferred to the Courts on subjects of divorce, thеy must have decided according to the existing law.
But the Legislature trаnsferred full jurisdiction to the Courts in that yеar, in each case of imрotency, or living in adultery, to divorсe either from bed and board, оr from the bonds of matrimony, at their discretion. As the law stоod, all cases of living in adultery were treated in the same way ; but no doubt the. Legislature considerеd that extraordinary cases of this kind might occur, attended with such cirсumstances, that, sentence оf separation from the bonds of matrimony would he both just and proper. The present case sеems not to be one of that dеscription, particularly when thе circumstance is adverted to, that the Petitioner took the Defendant, back again after her first transgression. Indeed this circumstanсe has been the ground of somе doubt, whether the prayer of the petition ought to be granted, but it has been overcome by considering that the third section of the аct, which declares that “ in case the husband has admitted the wife intо conjugal society, &c. after he knew of the criminal fact;, it shаll be a perpetual bar,” tо mean that it. shall he a bar to a divorce for that criminal fact, but not to one of a similar kind of which she may afterwards be guilty.
*354 From the fаcts set. forth in the record sent hеre, T see no reason why the judgment given in the Superior Court should be disturbed.
Per Curiam.— Let the Decree be affirmed.