Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/169

 DIX 161 tion of an infamous offence before marriage without the other's knowledge. West Virginia : adultery, impotence, sentence to confinement in the penitentiary, desertion for three years, pregnancy at the time of the marriage by some person other than the husband without his knowledge, prostitution by the woman before marriage without the husband's knowledge, notorious licentiousness on the part of the husband before marriage without the wife's knowledge, conviction of an infamous offence before marriage without the other party's knowledge. Wisconsin : adultery, impotence, sentence to imprisonment for three years or more, desertion for a year, cruel treatment, habitual drunkenness for a year, voluntary separation for five years, neglect of the hus- band to provide a maintenance, or such con- duct toward the wife as renders it unsafe and improper for her to live with him. The sub- ject of divorce has been extremely trouble- some in the United States, owing to the di- versity of laws, and the facility with which parties might pass from one state to another and obtain divorces without the knowledge of other parties concerned. Some very nice questions have arisen and' been passed upon ; and though the decisions are not wholly har- monious, the following may be stated as the general conclusions: 1. A lonafide residence of either party in any state will authorize such party to institute a proceeding for di- vorce in its courts for any cause permitted by its laws, whether arising there or else- where. 2. An attempt by one not a resident to institute such proceedings is a fraud upon the law and upon the other party, if such other party is ignorant of it ; and the courts get no jurisdiction of such proceedings, and their decree, if one is made, is inoperative, and may be treated elsewhere as void. 3. If a ~bona, fide resident institutes proceedings, but service cannot be made upon the other party by reason of absence from the state, it is com- petent to provide by law for service by publi- cation, and such publication will be sufficient for the purposes of a dissolution of the mar- riage, but not sufficient for other purposes ; as, for instance, the passing of a decree for ali- mony, or of an order for the custody of chil- dren. Before a party can be bound in such matters, he must have personal notice. 4. A divorce once granted with competent jurisdic- tion in one state is valid in any other state or country, and it leaves both parties at liberty to marry again, unless the statute where the divorce is granted otherwise provides ; and even then it is presumed such statute could have no force beyond the limits of the state. It was formerly held in England that a mar- riage contracted in that country could not be dissolved elsewhere, and this led to serious contentions; but the contrary is now settled by the house of lords (9 Bligh's Reports, 79). DIX, Dorothea Lynde, an American philan- thropist and author, born in Worcester, Mass. Left an orphan at an early age, she estab- lished in Boston a school for girls. She soon became interested in the condition of the un- fortunate and criminal classes, and for many years was in the habit of visiting public insti- tutions and ministering to the necessities of their inmates. In 1834 she went to Europe to investigate the methods of treatment for prisoners, paupers, and the insane. Return- ing in 1837, she visited all the states, and her exertions contributed greatly to the establish- ment of state asylums for lunatics in several of them. In 1848, and again in 1850, she peti- tioned congress for an appropriation of public lands to endow hospitals for the indigent in- sane. In 1854 a bill was passed granting 10,000,000 acres for this purpose ; but it was vetoed by President Pierce. During the civil war she was superintendent of hospital nurses, having the entire control of their appointment and assignment to duty. After its close she resumed her labors for the insane. She has published several books, chiefly before enter- ing upon her special Avork, including "Gar- land of Flora," "Private Hours," "Alice and Ruth," " Conversations about Common Things," and "Prisons and Prison Discipline." She has also written tracts for prisoners, and reports on philanthropic subjects. DIX, John Adams, an American soldier and politician, born in Boscawen, N. H., July 24, 1798. During the war of 1812-'15 he served on the frontier with the rank of ensign and as adjutant of a battalion. He established him- self about the year 1828 as a lawyer at Coo- perstown, N. Y., and became identified with the democratic party. In 1830 he was ap- pointed adjutant general, and in 1833 secre- tary of state and superintendent of common schools. In 1842 he was elected to the assem- bly ; and in 1845 he was chosen to fill a vacan- cy in the United States senate, caused by the election of Silas Wright as governor. On the question of slavery he was the exponent of the views of the free-soil section of the demo- cratic party in New York, whose candidate for governor he was in 1848, but was defeated. In 1853 he was made assistant treasurer of the United States in the city of New York, but soon resigned. On Dec. 10, 1860, Howell Cobb resigned his post as secretary of the treasury, and Mr. Dix was appointed in his place. New Orleans was at the time in virtual possession of the secessionists ; two revenue cutters were there, and the new secretary ordered them to New York. The captain of one of them, after consulting with the collec- tor at New Orleans, refused to obey. Secre- tary Dix thereupon telegraphed to the lieuten- ant to arrest the captain, and to treat him as a mutineer in case he offered any resistance, closing his despatch with the words, " If any one attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot." When the civil war broke out, Mr. Dix was appointed major gen- eral of the New York militia, and on May 16,