A printed
pamphlet copy of this opinion contains 61 pages, of which 18 are
taken up with a statement of the case. The opinion commences at page
19 and covers the remaining 42 pages of the pamphlet.
From time to time, as the reading of the opinion progressed, Mrs.
Terry, who was greatly excited, was observed to unclasp and clasp
again the fastening of her satchel which contained her pistol, as if
to be sure she could do so at any desired moment. At the 11th page of
the opinion the following passage occurs:
"The original decree is not self-executing in all its parts;
it may be questioned whether any steps could be taken for its
enforcement, until it was revived, but if this were otherwise,
the surrender of the alleged marriage contract for
cancellation, as ordered, requires affirmative action on the
part of the defendant. The relief granted is not complete
until such surrender is made. When the decree pronounced the
instrument a forgery, not only had the plaintiff the right
that it should thus be put out of the way of being used in the
future to his embarrassment and the embarrassment of his
estate, but public justice required that it should be formally
cancelled, that it might constantly bear on its face the
evidence of its bad character, whenever or wherever presented
or appealed to.
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