Arguing from this basis, counsel for " petitioner at the Norwich ASsizes said that neither party to a
evidence to say that a child was not cree suit coald now, give direct theirs. The husband in the ease had said that after separating from him his wife gave birth.to a child of which he was not the father. Mr.
Justice Sankey referred the case, with two others, to London, "What will probably happen" said a prominent authority on divorce to a Press representative, "is that the President of the Divorce ion will give a general ruling, based on the House of Lords judgment as to what evidence is admissible and what is not.
"We anticipate a certain amount of argument to result from the Russell decision, but once a definite ruling is given things are likely to settle down again.
Lord Birkenhead's Decision, It will be recalled that in the Russell ease judgment Lord Birkenhead sai "It is said that the view recom? mended above will revolutionize the practice of the Divorce Court, My attention was called to the fact that an undefended divorce euse which 1 myself tried at nisi privs I had admitted evidence of non-access bastardising the issue and given by soldier petitioner was not, argued, so that my atten rected to the point. With argument I'am sure that I should have reached my present conclusion. In such eases the no access can almost always be estal ished aliunde, TE it cannot be so proved, the practice of the Divorce Court must accommodate itself t> the authority of the rule, A well-known barrister said: "It is a curious commentary on the uncertainty of the law of England, as administered in the courts, that a decision in the year 1777, which has been reaffirmed by the' House of Lords, in the Russell case, should have come to be ignored. Unfortunately the issue has not been taken to the supreme tribunal before, with the result that numerous eases have been decided during the long. interval contrary to what has now been established ax the law of the lund, The Russell decision is one of the highest possible public utility, and importance."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.