 Although the custom had no basis in law and frequently resulted in prosecution , particularly from the mid @-@ 19th century onwards , the attitude of the authorities was equivocal . At least one early 19th @-@ century magistrate is on record as stating that he did not believe he had the right to prevent wife sales , and there were cases of local Poor Law Commissioners forcing husbands to sell their wives , rather than having to maintain the family in workhouses . 
