BIGAMY AND THE THIRD MARRIAGE
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.1950.tb00177.x |
| Date | 01 October 1950 |
| Published date | 01 October 1950 |
THE
MODERN
LAW
REVIEW
Volume
13
October
1950
No.
4
BIGAMY AND
THE
THIRD MARRIAGE
There
was
an old pnrty
of
Lyme
Who mnrried three wives
at
one time.
When asked
:
'
Why
the
third?'
He replied
:
'
One's absurd,
And bigamy, sir,
is
n
crime.'
THE
humour of the limerick lies in its insistence upon the literal
meaning of the word
'
bigamy
'.
Although this meaning
is
not
adopted by the law, it was very nearly adopted in a somewhat
different context by the Court of Criminal Appeal in
Treanot
(1089).'
In
that case the court held that the defence of seven
years' absence given by the statuteYa being there conferred only
upon
a
'
person marrying a second time
',
was not available to a
person who married a third time. This decision has now been
departed from by the same court in
Taylor
(1050),3
and although
the latter decision
is
undoubtedly right as
a
matter of law, it
reveals
a
serious lacuna
in
the law of bigamy.
The facts of
Treanor
were
as
follows
:-
1016
:
T. married Bridget.
1018
:
He deserted her, and there was no evidence that,
at
any material time since, he knew that she was alive.
1080
:
T. went through
a
form of marriage with Lilian.
1087:
He deserted Lilian.
1088
:
He went through
a
form of marriage with Kathleen.
T.
was indicted for that, beinp married to Bridget, he had
married Kathleen.
It
was
shown
that Bridget
was
in
fact alive in
1988.
T. pleaded that Bridget had been continuously absent for
seven years and that he did not know her during that time to
be
1
[1939]
1
All
E.R.
930;
119391
W.N.
29;
160
L.T.
'286;
66
T.L.R.
348;
27
Cr.App.R. 36.
*
Offences against the Person Act, 1861,
8.
67:
'
Whosoever, being married, shall
marry an other
person
during
the
life of the former husband or wife, whether
the secong marriage shall hove taken place
in
England or Ireland or elsewhere,
shall be guilty of felony, and being convicted thereof ehall
be
liable to
be
kept
in enal servitude
for
any term
not
exceeding seven years
. .
.:
Provided,
that
notging in this section contained shall extcnd to any second marriage
mu-
tracted elsewhere than in England nnd Ireland by any other than
a
subject of
Her Majestg, or
to
any person marrying
a
second time whose husband or wife
shall have een continually absent from such person for the
apace
of
seven
years then last past, and sball not have been known by
such
pereon
to
be
livin
within that time,
or
shali extend to any person who, at the time
of
such
seconf
marriage,
ehall
have been divorccd from the bond of the first marrisge,
or
to
any
person
whose
former
marriage shall havq been declared void by the
sentence
of
any court of competent jurisdiction
.
J
[l950]
2
All E.R. 170.
417
Val
13
28
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