He has no intention of keeping up the payments, and
sometimes he disappears from the scene altogether
and the wife is left in the lurch. What is the wife to
do when her husband fails her ? All she can do is to
enforce the agreement in a Civil Court, but this takes
time and money. It would be better by far if there
was some mode of registering these agreements in a
Police Court, and of enforcing them, by an order of a
Magistrate, when required, just as is done by orders
made in Bastardy, &c. With regard to the relief
which husbands can now obtain where their wives are
habitual drunkards, it is too soon as yet to express any
opinion of the value of such a concession. What is
certain is that it seemed to be imperatively called for,
judging by the numerous complaints which are made
by husbands in the Police Courts of ruined homes
owing to the drunkenness of their wives. The legal
definition of an habitual drunkard is very exacting, and
the difficulty of satisfying this definition may deter
some husbands from attempting it ; but with every
difficulty allowed for, it seems impossible to doubt that
the provision must do ultimate good. The mere fact
that a husband has such a weapon in reserve is calcu-
lated to have a restraining effect on a wife's intemper-
ance. A home means very much to a woman, and to
be cast adrift on a small allowance, or find a refuge in
an Inebriate Home, is a choice of alternatives either

256



Grain or Chaff

of which is enough to have a very sobering effect on a
sensible woman. When you realise that the sword of
Damocles is hanging over your head, you are not likely
to let it drop if you can help it.
