Mr. A. J. Slobodchikov, the well-known lawyer, has raised before the Russian Orthodox Mission in Peiping the important question of the annulment of Church marriages—particular. ly from the point of view of expenses entailed. At present many church arriages are brought to an end in Chinese courts or, simpler still, in the office of some lawyer; because Chi-se law, looking pon marriage as an agreement between two parties, recognizes that form of divorce. Not so the Orthodox Church, from whose point of view no decision passed by the Chinese Court can annul a marriage performed by the Church. Foreign consulates recognize a divorce granted by the Chinese Court and a divorced party may thus marry once more, the marriage being duly registered in the consulate concerned. The children of this second marriage, however, would not be considered legitimate by the Orthodox Church.
What, then, makes Russians seek divorce without the benefit of clergy? Firstly, a church-divorce costs a considerable amount, which, considering Tue British-owned Tung Shang Shipping Company in Shanghai on February 9 dispatched a steam launch, the s. Lokwang, on a trial run on the Shanghai-Hengchow lin says a report to the "Hwa Mei Pao. So far, however, the Company has not received any message from the vessel reporting her arrival in the Chekiang, city. Should the trial prove successful, it is stated, formal Te-opening of the service from here to Hangchow is expected to take place before February 20 at the latest.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.