244 AMERICAN FARMS. 



births, abortion, disinclination to family life, have in- 

 creased also, not indeed at the same pace everywhere, 

 or all of them equally in all countries, yet have decidedly 

 increased on the whole. Surely in few parts of the 

 wide world is the truth of these strong words more 

 evident than in those parts of our country where loose 

 divorce laws have long prevailed." ' 



From a total of 9,937 divorces granted in the United 

 States in 1867, they increased to 25,535 in 1886 : an in- 

 crease double the increase of population. Near to every 

 tenth family is broken up through difficulties between 

 husbands and wives resulting in divorces. In fact, in 

 some cities of America it is the exception to find a 

 family that is not in some way afflicted by this growing 

 evil. While this is the case in the cities, the separation 

 of husband and wife is of infrequent occurrence in the 

 country. 



Woman — whose history, until a very recent period has 

 been one of subordination, shame, and suffering, from 

 the hands of her lord and master ; who looks forward 

 to the days of equal rights and greater freedom ; who 

 would sit enthroned in her proper sphere, honored, re- 

 spected, and deferred to as an equal in intelligence and 

 in worth, — has every thing to fear from the breaking up 

 of the small land proprietories. 



Every consideration, however, pales before the last 

 that we shall mention — our tendencies towards those 

 conditions least likely to preserve or increase Christian 

 characteristics. Statistics bearing upon this subject are 

 to the effect, that the country people have been greater 

 church-goers than the city people, and that these pro- 

 clivities have become in the past more and more marked. 



1 North American Review, November, 1889. 



