eeper it becomes clear that the test to be applied
here is the same as in every relation between the sexes: the
conditions of divorce, like the conditions of marriage, must be such
as best serve the interests of the race. This means, in the first
place, that both partners in a marriage must have the assurance that
when the moral conditions of the contract are broken, or through any
reason become inefficient, they can be liberated, without any shame or
idea of delinquency being attached to the dissolution. "Divorce is
relief from misfortune and not a crime," to quote from the admirable
statute-book of Norway, a saying which should be one of universal
application in divorce. This must be done not merely as an act of
justice to the individual; it is called for equally in the interests
of the race. The woman or man from whom a divorce ought to be obtained
is in almost all cases the woman or man who ought not to be a parent.
We may go further than this. Divorce cannot be considered on the
physical side alone, there is a psychological divorce which is far
deeper, and also far more frequent. The woman or man who for any
reason is unhappy in marriage is unfitted to be a parent in that
marriage, and the way should be opened to them, if they desire, to
have other children born in love in a new marriage with a more fitting
mate. Our eyes are shut to the damning facts which confront us on
every side. Take, for instance, the case of the drunkard, the insane,
the syphilitic, the consumptive, parent bound in marriage. On
biological and economic grounds it is folly to leave in such hands the
protection of the race. It is the business of the State, as I believe,
to regulate the law to prevent, as far as possible, the birth of unfit
children; at least we may demand that Church and State cease to grant
their sanction to this flagrant sin.

It is of the utmost importance to realise that Divorce Law Reform is
needed to bring our jurisprudence up to the level of the modern
civilised State. Our law in this respect lags far behind that of other
countries, and is only one example out of many of our hide-bound
attachment to ancient abuses. The opposition shown against the
splendid and fearless recommendations for the extension of the grounds
of divorce, voiced by the Majority Report in the recent Divorce Law
Commission, prove how far we are still from understanding the higher
morality of marriage. The recent Commission and the strong movement in