[470] Act of March 8: _Laws_ (1882), 73-81; _Rev. Stat._ (1887), sec. 1571, pp. 419-24; also VAN ORSDEL AND CHATTERTON, _Rev. Stat._ (1899), 794-800. The first six of the causes above enumerated were introduced by the act which came into force Jan. 1, 1870: _Laws_ (1869), 274-81; but then under the third head, conviction and imprisonment for three years or more were necessary to constitute a ground; and by the sixth cause it was required that one of the parties should be "repeatedly guilty of such unhuman treatment as shall endanger the life of the other." The remaining five causes first appeared in 1882. The legislation of Utah begins in 1852 with an act so faulty that its consequences have become notorious in the divorce annals of the United States. A vicious residence clause, coupled with a loose requirement regarding notice and an "omnibus" provision among the enumerated grounds of complaint, became in effect a standing temptation to clandestine divorce seekers from outside the territory. It is formally declared that the court of probate of the county of the plaintiff shall have jurisdiction in all petitions, and these are to be made in writing upon oath or affirmation setting forth the grounds of action. "If the court is satisfied," continues the statute, "that the person so applying is a resident of the Territory, or wishes to become one; and that the application is made in sincerity and of" the plaintiff's "own free will and choice, and for the purpose set forth in the petition; then the court may decree a divorce from the bonds of matrimony" against the defendant "for any of the following causes, to wit": (1) impotence at the time of the marriage; (2) adultery; (3) wilful desertion or absence without reasonable cause for more than one year; (4) habitual drunkenness subsequent to the marriage; (5) inhuman treatment endangering life; (6) "when it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction and conviction of the court, that the parties cannot live in peace and union together, and that their welfare requires a separation." Nevertheless, the courts are encouraged to adopt a cautious and conservative policy. They are allowed to defer "their decree of divorce, when the same is applied for, to any specified time, not exceeding one year, when it appears" that a compromise may be made; and "during the time of such deference ... , the bonds and engagements of matrimony may not be violated by the parties." Furthermore, the court is empowered to punish by fine or imprisonment or both any person "who shall stir up unwarrantable litigation between husband and wife, or seek to bring about a separation between them."