28 N.J. Eq. 409 | New York Court of Chancery | 1877
This is an action for divorce on the ground of desertion. The suit is by a wife against her husband. No evidence has been produced of the circumstances under which the alleged desertion took place. No facts concerning it are stated in the testimony, except those given by Charles H. Hagerman (a fellow-clerk of the defendant in a New York hotel), who, among other things, says : “ I asked him during the early part of the year 1875, if he had any reason for leaving his wife; he replied that he had no means to support her.” He also says: “At another time he told me that he had left his wife for good, and never expected to live with her again.”
The 159th rule directs that in suits for divorce based on desertion, the master shall examine into and report the facts and circumstances under which the desertion took place, and the reasons which caused or provoked it, if the same can be ascertained. This rule has not been complied with, and, in accordance with the practice adopted in Leaming v. Leaming, 10 C. E. Gr. 241, the master must take further proofs, and make a report in conformity to the rule referred to.
Neither the testimony nor the report are in the handwriting of the master; he has merely subscribed his name to the jurats and report. The body of the report appears to have been drawn by the same hand that drew the bill. The duties under an order of reference, especially in a divorce case, must be performed by the master in person; he cannot delegate his authority, nor perform his duties by a subordinate.
Even if a sufficient case had, in other respects, been made, a decree for divorce would not be advised in the present condition of the case. At the time this suit was commenced it appears the defendant resided in the city of New York, and the complainant at Cranford, in Union county. Notice of the suit has been given by publication in a newspaper published in Camden. The object of the law in requiring
In practice, orders of publication are signed, almost as a matter of course, just in the form in which they are presented by the solicitor, in the belief that he has designated the proper place of publication; if an order is obtained directing an improper or insufficient publication, the suitor must suffer the consequences. It is one of the methods of acquiring jurisdiction over the person of a non-resident defendant; the law directs publication to be made, with a view of giving Mm, if possible, actual notice of the suit, and the court ought not, therefore, to assume jurisdiction over Mm until it is satisfied that such publication has been made, in the particular case, as the law intended should be.
An affidavit is on file, stating that notice of the suit has been sent to the defendant by mail; if proof is filed within twenty days, showing that the defendant had actual notice