1. Petitioner obtained a divorce from his wife, custody of the infant son of the marriage being awarded to the mother and the petitioner directed to pay $150 per month for his maintenance. Petitioner was at all times in a position to comply with the decree, but he resisted compliance from the very beginning, and even when his wife was stricken with cancer, of which she died. He now applies for custody of his twelve-year-old son. His failure to comply with the decree was willful and contemptuous and there is nothing in his past conduct to recommend him to the court's consideration. Held, petitioner's application will not be entertained until he has paid his arrearages, amounting to over $1,500, in full.
2. Under the circumstances of this case, the infant child will not be forceably removed from people to whose care his late mother entrusted him and who have been kind to him, and turned over to his father for whom he has no regard or affection.
3. The principal concern of the court of chancery is the welfare of the infant child. It will give the petitioner father every opportunity to become reconciled with his son and win his regard and affection. Pending petitioner's compliance with the decree providing for maintenance of the child, the father will be required to post a bond conditioned that he will not attempt to remove the child from the jurisdiction without order of the court.
4. The death of the mother, to whose custody the child was awarded by decree of the chancery court, does not automatically operate to revert the custody of the minor to the father.
PER CURIAM.
The order appealed from will be affirmed, for the reasons stated in the opinion filed in the court of chancery by Advisory Master Grosman.
For affirmance — THE CHIEF-JUSTICE, TRENCHARD, CASE, BODINE, DONGES, PERSKIE, PORTER, HETFIELD, DEAR, WELLS, WOLFSKEIL, RAFFERTY, WALKER, JJ. 13.
For reversal — PARKER, HEHER, JJ. 2.