Lord Buckmaster and the Bill The Matrimonial Causes Bill having secured a third reading in the House of Lords, the way is now open for a clear pronouncement upon its principles to be made by the House of Commons. Lord Buckmaster explained to an "Observer" representative why &cme of the provisions originally proposed were omitted from the measure. These provisions, hee ever, it will be quite open to the Lower House to add.
"A few words of explanation," Lerd Buckmaster said, "may not be out of place to acquaint your readers with the meaning of the Matrimonial Causes Bill, which has just secured a third reading in the House of Lords. This Bill was originally introduced by Lord Gorell with the consent of the bishops for the purpose of giving effect to the minority report of the Royal Commission. Apart from questions of procedure and extended reasons for granting decrees of nullity, it affects divorce only by enabling a woman to divorce her husband on the simple ground of adultery and by presuming the death of any absent husband or wife who has not been heard of during a period of seven years.
"The added causes for divorce found in the Bill when introduced Jast year—desertion, permanent Junacy, cruelty, amd habitual drunkenness, found no part in the measure. To have attempted reintroduce all these provisions into "the new Bill would have revived the prolonged controversy of last year, and the time consumed might have prevented the opportunity for the effective introduction of any measure in the House of Commons. Accordingly only the most important of all these causes was put forward as an amendment in Committee, namely, desertion, and this was passed cly a_ considerable majority. Lord Gorell then declined further responsibility for the Pill, and its final stages were entrusted to me.
"(As it now stands, the House of Commons ought to have an opportunity of giving a definite pronouncement upon its principles. It will be open to them to add the other censes for divorce which were omitted, and if this be done it may be assumed that the House of Lords will not change its opinions, and the Bi'l that will become Jaw will then be identical with that which was introduced last year. In whatever form it leaves the House of Commons it will almost certainly pass into law. The House of Lords is not likely to engage in controversy with the House of Commons over a question of this kind. The matter, therefore. rests with the other House.
"Tf left to the unfettered judsement of members of that assembly it ought to be easy to foretell the success of the measure. But every form of influence and pressure appears to have been. exercised through small and active societies in attempting to persuade Members of Parliament against the Bill. I
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.