In London, the House of Lords defeats a bill which would have allowed a widower to marry his dead wife's sister

Several times in the past, one member of the House of Lords, a Viscount Bury, had introduced a bill that would overturn the current ban in British law against a man marrying his dead wife's sister. This time, the bill had passed the House of Commons easily. Back in the House of Lords, however, the bishops who sat there took the laws of Leviticus quite seriously and after a day's debate, the bill was defeated 39 to 49 on its second reading. This marriage prohibition was not lifted in Britain until 1907. (By John Osborne)