We have now to consider the cases where for some inca-pacity on the one side or the other, it is not possible to consummate marriage. When an incapacity of this kind is absolute or incurable, says Bouvier in the Law Dictionary, and when it existed at the time of the ceremony of marriage, both the ecclesiastical law and the special statutes of several of the American States, declare the marriage void and of no effect, ab initio. But the suit must be brought by the injured party, and he or she naturally incapable cannot allege that fact in order to obtain a divorce.

An incapacity for marriage may exist in either sex, and it may be in either, temporary or permanent. We shall first examine it