The extraordinary case of "Peaty versus Peaty" has ended in
a somewhat unusual way. The relatives of a Mrs. Peaty, wife of a clerk in the Bank, applied to the Divorce Court to annul her marriage, on the ground that when it was contracted she was insane. Both Mr. Peaty and Mrs. Peaty resisted the application, and it was proved in evidence that at the time of the marriage Mrs. Peaty was insane, that Mr. Peaty did-not know this, that he had no motive other than affection for marrying the lady, and that he had treated her with uniform kindness and care. It is clearly most unjust to dissolve such a marriage, but still by law no lunatic can make a contract, and marriage is a contract. The marriage, therefore, must, if a decree is pronounced, be dissolved ; but Sir James Wilde, determined that justice shall be done, sus- pends his decree until Mr. Peaty can bring forward evidence of the present state of his wife's mind, which, again, he is not appa- rently bound to do any sooner than he likes. Mr. Peaty, there- fore, may retain his wife until the law, which is clearly unjust, can be modified. People cannot be permitted to marry lunatics from interested motives, but the judge ought to be allowed a discretion.
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