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Short title.

Application of Act.

By and to

whom orders

for.

24 & 25 Vict. c. 100, s. 43.

X.

MARRIED WOMEN SUMMARY
JURISDICTION.

SUMMARY JURISDICTION (MARRIED WOMEN)
ACT, 1895.

58 & 59 VICT. C. 39.

1 This Act may be cited for all purposes as the Summary Jurisdiction (Married Women) Act, 1895.

2 This Act shall not extend to Scotland or Ireland.

4 Any married woman whose husband shall have been convicted summarily of an aggravated assault upon her within the meaning may be applied of section forty-three of the Offences against the Person Act, 1861, (a) or whose husband shall have been convicted upon indictment of an assault upon her, and sentenced to pay a fine of more than five pounds or to a term of imprisonment exceeding two months, or whose husband shall have deserted (b) her, or whose husband shall have been guilty of persistent cruelty to her, or wilful neglect to provide reasonable maintenance for her or her infant children (c) whom he is legally liable to maintain, and shall by such cruelty or neglect have caused her to leave and live separately and apart from him, (d) may apply to any Court of Summary Jurisdiction acting within the city, borough, petty sessional or other division or district in which any such conviction has taken place, or in which the cause of complaint shall have wholly or partially arisen, for an order or orders under this Act: Provided that where a married woman is entitled to apply for an order or orders under this section on the ground of the conviction of her husband upon indictment, she may apply to the Court before

(a) See ante, p. 161.

(b) What amounts to desertion is a question of fact depending on the circumstances of each case, but where cohabitation has ceased to exist by mutual consent, there cannot be desertion. See Piper v. Piper [1902] P. 198; R. v. Levesche [1891] 2 Q. B. 418; 60 L. J. M. C.

153.

(c) See Poor Law Amendment Act, 1834, s. 57, post, p. 197.

(d) By sec. 5 (1) of the Licensing Act, 1902, if the husband is an habitual drunkard the wife may apply for an order under this Act. See post, p. 193.

whom her husband has been convicted, (e) and that Court shall, for 58 & 59 Vict. the purposes of this section, become a Court of Summary Juris- c. 39. diction, and shall have the power without a jury to hear an application, and make the order or orders applied for.

5 The Court of Summary Jurisdiction to which any application Powers of under this Act is made may make an order or orders containing all Court. or any of the provisions following, viz. :

(a) A provision that the applicant be no longer bound to cohabit with her husband (which provision while in force shall have the effect in all respects of a decree of judicial separation on the ground of cruelty):

(b) A provision that the legal custody of any children of the marriage between the applicant and her husband, while under the age of sixteen years, (f) be committed to the applicant:

(c) A provision that the husband shall pay to the applicant personally, or for her use, to any officer of the Court or third person on her behalf, such weekly sum not exceeding two pounds as the Court shall, having regard to the means both of the husband and wife, consider reasonable:

(d) A provision for payment by the applicant or the husband, or both of them, of the costs of the Court and such reasonable costs of either of the parties as the Court may think fit.

powers of Court.

6 No orders shall be made under this Act on the application of Limitations of a married woman if it shall be proved that such married woman has committed an act of adultery: Provided that the husband has not condoned, or connived at, or by his wilful neglect or misconduct conduced to such act of adultery.

7 A Court of Summary Jurisdiction acting within the city, borough, petty sessional or other division or district, in which any order under this Act or the Acts mentioned in the schedule hereto, or either of them, has been made, may, on the application of the married woman or of her husband, and upon cause being shown upon fresh evidence (g) to the satisfaction of the Court at any time,

(e) But see R. v. Corrigan, 62 J. P. 522, in which case a husband was indicted for attempting to shoot his wife with intent to kill her, and pleaded guilty to a second indictment of common assault; Wright, J., held that this section did not apply.

(f) Previous to this Act the age limit was ten years. See 41 & 42

Vict. c. 19, s. 4.

(g)"Fresh evidence" must be such as would afford ground for a new trial or rehearing in any other class of case. Evidence which could reasonably have been made available at the date of the order is not "fresh evidence." See Johnson v. Johnson [1900] P. 19; 69 L. J. P.

13.

Court may vary or

discharge

order.

58 & 59 Vict. c. 39.

Procedure.

Court may
refuse an
order in cases
more fit for the
High Court.

Appeal.

Repeal of Acts.

alter, vary, or discharge any such order, (h) and may upon any such application from time to time increase or diminish the amount of any weekly payment ordered to be made, so that the same do not in any case exceed the weekly sum of two pounds. If any married woman upon whose application an order shall have been made under this Act, or the Acts mentioned in the schedule hereto, or either of them, shall voluntarily resume cohabitation with her husband, or shall commit an act of adultery, such order shall upon proof thereof be discharged.

8 All applications under this Act shall be made in accordance with the Summary Jurisdiction Acts, (i) and in the case of a conviction of a husband for aggravated assault upon his wife, her application may, by leave of the Court, be made by summons to be issued and made returnable immediately upon such conviction.

9 The payment of any sum of money directed to be paid by any order under this Act may be enforced in the same manner as the payment of money is enforced under an order of affiliation.(k)

10 If in the opinion of a Court of Summary Jurisdiction the matters in question between the parties or any of them would be more conveniently dealt with by the High Court, the Court of Summary Jurisdiction may refuse to make an order under this Act, and in such case no appeal shall lie from the decision of the Court of Summary Jurisdiction: Provided always, that the High Court or a judge thereof shall have power by order in any proceeding in the High Court relating to or comprising the same subject matter as the application so refused as aforesaid, or any part thereof, to direct the Court of Summary Jurisdiction to rehear and determine the same.

11 Save as is herein before provided, an appeal shall lie from any order or the refusal of any order by a Court of Summary Jurisdiction under this Act to the Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division of the High Court of Justice. Rules of Court may from time to time be made regulating the practice and procedure in such appeals. And, until altered or repealed, any rules already made (1) as to appeals under section four of the Matrimonial Causes Act, 1878, shall apply to appeals under this Act.

12 The Acts specified in the schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent therein mentioned, except so far as they apply to Ireland.

(h) If a wife commits adultery after an order has been made in her favour, the husband is entitled to have it set aside even though he has himself been guilty of conduct conducing to adultery (Ruther v.

Ruther [1903] 2 K. B. 270).
(i) Post, p. 219.
(k) Post, p. 205.

(7) See Order LIX. rr. 4a, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12 and 16.

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Interpretation.

Establishment of retreats.

Persons may be admitted to retreats on their own application.

XI.

INEBRIATES.

HABITUAL DRUNKARDS ACT, 1879.(a)

42 & 43 VICT. c. 19.

3 In this Act-
"A retreat" means a house licensed by the licensing authority
named by this Act, for the reception, control, care, and
curative treatment of habitual drunkards.

"Habitual drunkard" means a person who, not being amenable
to any jurisdiction in lunacy, (b) is notwithstanding, by reason
of habitual intemperate drinking of intoxicating liquor, at
times dangerous to himself or herself or to others, or incapable
of managing himself or herself, and his or her affairs.

Retreats.

6 The local authority may, subject to any conditions which such local authority shall deem fit, grant to any person, or to two or more persons jointly, a licence for any period not exceeding thirteen months (c) to keep a retreat; and may, from time to time, revoke or renew such licence.

10 Any habitual drunkard desirous of being admitted into a retreat may make application in writing to the licensee of a retreat for admission into such retreat, and such application shall be in the Form No. 3 in the Second Schedule hereto, and shall state the time during which such applicant undertakes to remain in such retreat. Such application shall be accompanied by the statutory declaration of two persons to the effect that the applicant is an habitual drunkard within the meaning of this Act.

The signature of the applicant to such application shall be attested by two justices (d) of the peace, and such justices shall not attest the signature unless they have satisfied themselves that the applicant is an habitual drunkard within the meaning of this Act, and have explained to him the effect of his application for admission into a retreat and his reception therein, and such justices shall

(a) The Act is continued by the Inebriates Act, 1888, 51 & 52 Vict. c. 19.

(b) As to who are amenable to lunacy jurisdiction. See 53 & 54

Vict. c. 5, s. 116.

(c) Now two years. See 61 & 62 Vict. c. 60, s. 15, post, p. 188. (d) Now one justice; id. s. 16.

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