Guardianship—Welfare of Child.—The First Point to be Considered, in adjudging the custody or guardianship of a minor, is the best interests of the child with respect to its temporal, mental and moral welfare.

Guardianship—Preference of Minor.—In determining what is for the best interests of a child, in adjudging its custody or guardianship, the court may consider the child’s preference, if it is of sufficient age to form an intelligent preference.

Guardianship—Welfare of Child.—In guardianship matters the court acts for and on behalf of the child, and must regard, as the paramount consideration, the interest and welfare of the child. To this every other consideration must yield.

Guardianship.—The Father is Prima Facie Entitled to the Custody of His Child. But this is not an absolute right; it may be controlled by other considerations; and, if the father is unable or unfit to take charge of the child and educate it suitably, the court will not interfere to take the child from those who are fit and able to so maintain and educate it.

Guardianship—Father’s Eight to Child’s Custody.—As a general rule, courts assent to the proposition that natural right and public policy, as well as the safety of the social structure, require that the father should have the custody of his child. But this is not imperative upon the court; it bends to the interests of the child.

Guardianship—Considerations in Awarding Custody of Child.—It is within the court’s sound discretion whether the custody of a child will be given to the father. The court should consider not only the father’s fitness, but the condition of the child with its present custodians, its relation to them, the present and prospective provision for its support and welfare; the facts as to its present home—its duration, and whether with the father’s consent, and upon understanding of permanency; the strength of the ties formed, and the child’s wishes if it is of an age of discretion.

Guardianship.—Where the Best Interests of a Child require that it should remain in the home where it has been fostered from infancy, that consideration will be deemed paramount to the father’s natural right, although the father is in every way competent and suitable.

Guardianship.—The Custody of Minors is Always Within the Discretion of the court; and this discretion is to be exercised in the light of the particular and peculiar circumstances of each case. The court is not bound to deliver the custody to any particular person, not even the father.

Guardianship—Election and Nomination by Child.—It has become the rule, in awarding the custody of a minor, to give the child, if of proper age, the right of election in the matter. In California, fourteen years is the age fixed, when the minor has a right of nomination, subject to the court’s approval; and the law also permits a minor, “if of sufficient age to form an intelligent preference,’’ to express such preference, which may be considered by the court.

Guardianship—Child’s Choice of Custodian.—Mere mental precocity is not the test of a child’s capacity to express a choice of custodian; acuteness of apprehension, sharpness of intellect on the part of the child, will not alone be sufficient for the judge. The minor must be capable of exercising a discretion in the premises; its mere impulses will not weigh. In this case, a child thirteen years and eight months old was held “of a sufficient age to form an intelligent preference,’' within the meaning and intent of section 246, Civil Code, relating to the custody and guardianship of minors.

Guardianship.—The Welfare of a Minor Means Its Permanent, not temporary, welfare. The court is governed by that which, looking to the previous condition, and the future continued residence of the child, will contribute to its permanent happiness and welfare.

Guardianship—Examination of Minor.—In this case, in accordance with the practice of the court in matters of guardianship, the minor was examined, separate and apart, at length, first by the respective counsel and the judge, with the official reporter; then by the judge alone, counsel being absent; and finally was requested to express her own wishes in writing, she being alone and without any influence whatever. Her written views, with her transcribed testimony, were then filed as part of the record.

Guardianship.—One of the Objects of the Court’s Private Examination of the Minor, in guardianship matters, is to discover the child’s capacity; its appreciation of the object of the proceedings; the strength of the natural affections, and its idea of filial duty and parental right; and the child's freedom of expression, that is, absence of influence or teachings adverse to parents. The court looks with distrust upon any choice of the minor contrary to the natural affections in favor of a parent.

Guardianship Awarded to Aunt Rather than to Father.—In this ease an application for guardianship of a minor was filed by its aunt, and a counter-application and opposition presented by its father, the mother being deceased. The minor was aged thirteen years and eight months, and held to have proven herself fully capable of expressing an “intelligent preference” in the matter, which she did in favor of her aunt, after undergoing a thorough examination. The child was born in the dwelling of her aunt while her parents were members of the aunt's domestic circle; and the mother and child ever afterward continued to live with the aunt until the mother’s decease, when these proceedings were instituted. The child's mother had, some years before her death, obtained a divorce from the father, by default, and with it the custody of the child; and it was her last wish that her child should remain with the aunt.

Guardianship Awarded to Aunt—Right of Father to Visit Ward.— In this case the court found that the best interests of the child required that it should remain with the aunt, with the right of the father to visit and enjoy the society of the child at all reasonable times; and, in awarding the minor’s custody to the aunt, the court said that the parties ought to reach an amicable understanding whereby the child should spend part of her time with her father, and so allow opportunities for mutual affections and interests to grow up between her and her paternal relatives.