Small v. Small

Citations

• 129 Pa. 366
• 18 A. 497
• 1889 Pa. LEXIS 963

Syllabus

<p>1. A single sentence, even though it form a separate section of a statute, is not to be construed apart from the context, or without regard to its subject matter and the general purpose sought to be accomplished.</p> <p>2. The Married Persons Property Act of June 3, 1887, P. L. 332, does not authorize a wife to sue her husband directly and in her own name, for the recovery of money received by him from her separate estate.</p> <p>3. The language of § 4 of the said act, taken by itself, is perhaps broad enough to include an action by one directly against the other, but the act as a whole cannot fairly be construed as authorizing such an action.</p> <p>4. So great a change in the. policy of the law, upon a subject such as the marriage relation, should not rest on inference or implication from general words, but should appear by the explicit and unquestionable mandate of the legislature.</p>