[34] _Rev. Stat. of the State of N. H._ (1843), 293. In these cases the time may be counted before and after the act, or if the three years have already expired, then a divorce may be granted in one month after it goes into force: _ibid._, 293, 294. The period for joining a religious sect was reduced to six months by the act of Jan. 4, 1849: _Laws of N. H._ (1848-49), 707; _Comp. Stat._ (1853), 377. [35] _Laws of N. H._ (1854), 1424, 1425; also _Gen. Stat. of the State of N. H._ (1867), 335. [36] They are still in force in _Pub. Stat._ (1900), 591. To constitute a cause there must now be conviction for a "crime" punishable in the state by more than one year's imprisonment; and there must be actual confinement under the sentence. At the close of the colonial era and until 1850, it will be remembered,[37] the legislature of Connecticut continued to grant divorces on various grounds; but jurisdiction in most cases was exercised by the superior court,[38] where it still remains.[39] Legislative divorce is not prohibited by the constitution; and it appears to be still permitted by the law. A recent act provides that "whenever any petition for divorce shall have been referred to any committee of the general assembly, such committee may give to the attorney general reasonable notice of all hearings on such petition, and he shall thereupon take such action as he shall deem to be just and equitable in the premises, and he shall appear before such committee ... whenever in his opinion justice so requires."[40] Since 1667, as elsewhere seen, divorce from the bond of wedlock had been granted for adultery, fraudulent contract, wilful desertion for three years, and for seven years' absence without word. To these grounds, in 1843, "habitual intemperance" and "intolerable cruelty" were added.[41] Three more new causes followed in 1849. Divorce was then sanctioned for sentence to imprisonment for life; "infamous crime involving a violation of conjugal duty;" and for "any such misconduct ... as permanently destroys the happiness of the petitioner, and defeats the purpose of the marriage relation."[42] The remarkable "omnibus" clause last quoted was not repealed until 1878.[43] The number of causes was thus reduced to eight, and thereafter no further changes seem to have been made.[44] [37] See chap. XV, sec. i, _c_). [38] So in the _Acts and Laws of his Majesty's Colony of Conn._ (1750), 43; in _Acts and Laws_ (1784), 41; _ibid._ (1805), 457; the _Pub. Stat. Laws_ (1821), 178, 179; _ibid._ (1835), 162, 163; _ibid._ (1838), 185, 186; _Pub. Acts_ (1849), 17. [39] _Gen. Stat. of Conn._ (1887), 612. [40] Act of March 21, 1899: _Pub. Acts_, 996. [41] _Pub. Acts_ (1843), 20; _Rev. Stat._ (1849), 274. For a construction of "intolerable cruelty" see Shaw _v._ Shaw, 17 _Conn. Reports_, 189.