Star. — London, England, 1822-06-19 00:00:00

• pia* systeta. If; 'best Alt iii m eerve calmer, some private pride *Rotes' COlkid . it be more no* gained Malt bit ming the errors and law of ale great laird Hardwick.? Lord STOWELL urged the necessity of caution in altering a law which had for such a length of time received the general approbation of the epuntry.— Bills similar to the present had for the iast Tour years travelled up to that House, and though they had ex perienced modifications up to 'their very last star, yet they had constantly failed. He should be gWI if this Bill should be more fortunate than its pre d1;1 cessors ' • but it was not necessary only to chew t he evils of the existing system, it must be proved that the alterations proposed were likely to remedy those evils, before he could give his consent to the measure. He conceived that the marriage contract was a mat ter that came entirely within the civil jurisdiction. — Before the existence of laws, the contract might be formed before the,Divinity ; but in a civilized coun try, where law existed, that law must be adhered to. Society was then left by the CREATOR to establish its own regulations, and if individuals did net conform to those regulations, what had society to do but t o visit them with penalties and punishments? Before the Reformation, an obligation was imposed upon Courts of Justice to consider marriage as a sacra ment. The consequence was, that a third party had no right to interfere, and that the consent of parents or guardians was not necessary to render marriages valid. Since the Reformation, the subject had un dergone frequent revision; and Bills had been passed in 1677 to prevent marriages without the consent of parents.; and in 1691, to prevent clandestine mar- Tiages. Still they were insufficient ; and under George 11. the grievance of improper marriage rose so high, youths of the best families being seduced by outcasts, and the facilities afforded by Fleet mar riages to du that in a moment of passion or intoxica tiou, which they could not undo during the rest of their lives, that a remedy was universally called for. A Bill, framed by the industry of learned persons not having been received, the subject fell into the hands of Lord'Hardwicke, who brought in the present Mar riage Act, which made the marriage of minors by license, without the consent of parents or guardians, null and void. And certainly, without such a consent, whatever passed in the Church with respect to minors, was a matter of form and ceremony signifying no thing, and binding no one. The Act, thereto: e, did not create the nullity and illegitimacy of those mar s • nages, but it only declared the existence of that nul: lity and illegitimacy which previously existed. The Noble and Learned Lord then examined the various provisions of the proposed measure,. and trusted that their Lordships were not inclined to have one matri monial law for the rich and another for the poor. He PARLIAMENTARI' PROCEEDINGS. HOUSE OP LORDS, JUNE Is. • Mr. Tames, f the Treenry, preowned en Account of the gaseeity Of - Gold Sad atrilimpeltted Jute thb coun since tbe 59th of George the ThirLo-Laid on the table. The Wm of MONTROSE presented a Petition from the Corporation of Weaven in Glasgow what the Catholic Peers' BiU.—Laid on the table. Vi scou nt SIDMOUTH read dal Ifidergi.of CHESTER pre seined similar Petitions from the Borough of Hungerfordi Ind from the Parish of St. Saviour's, Southwark.--Laid oa the table. The Bankruptcy Joint Commisslohs Bill was read a third time, and passed. The Bankrupt Laws Amendment Bill was read a second time. The Colonial Trade Bill, the West India and Aisseks Trade Bill, the Ancient Commercial Statutes Repeal 1114 Mg the Importation of Goods, and the NaTigatim Laws •A• 101 . 1111618t Bilis, weot respectively through Committers, and were ropers* The Bishop of LONDON presented Petitions front die Clergy of Sion College, in the City of London; and the Parish ot St. Botolph, against the Catholic Peers' 11111.—Laid on the table. The Bishop of ST. DAVID'S presented ten Petitions to the same effect, (mm ; Deaneries within Ms Diocese. Laid on the table. The Earl of DARNLEY moved for Copies of an Corre spondence with the Irish Government, relative to the supply of Stationery to the Public Offices in Ireland.—Ordered. The Duke of RICHMOND • presented 'a Petition from Ar thur Chichester, Esq. against the Mirrbge Act Amendment Bill.—Laid on the table. MARRIAGE ACT. The Order of the Day having been 'read, Lord ELLENBOROUGH moved that the House resolve itself into a Committee on the Marriage Act Amendment Bill, which was agreed to without any opposition.—The Househaving resolved itself into a Committee, Lord ELLENBOROUGH said, that he rose with a degree of anxiety which he had never felt before, though it was in some degree lessened by the convic tion that there were many Noble Lords present, who were able to supply what he should omit, and to dis-* play in their .true light all the miseries arising from the present system. The Petition which had just been received induced him, before he proceeded further, to-observe, that the Bill now 'before the House was n.:t introduced to operate on the particular case to which the Petition alluded, or on any particular case. It was not the first time that it had been submitted to their Lordships. Four times had it passed the House of Commons, and two years ago their Lord ships had decided in favour of the principle, though the Bill had been lost in consequence of the lateness of the Session ; and he also feared of his want of abi lity in modifying its clauses. The Noble Lord then described some cases. in which marriages had been &dared null and void after subsisting• for many years, because some accidental omission had occurred at the time of their taking place. 'Their Lordships must see that wider such a system not one of them, however distinguished his rank or his services could be sure to transmit his honours and his property to his descendants. Some accidental omission, against which no one could guard, might not only be found to invalidate his mairtage, but that - Of his father and his grandfather, so as Co bastardize himself and his children, and to throw his property into other hands. It was unnecessary for him to point out the miseries produced by as system under which the happiest mar riage, crowned with children, and subsisting for a length of years, might in a moment be dissolved by the person himself, whose perjury had obtained it, or by the heir at law's discovery of some accidental omission. It was a system the tendency of which was to set wife, husband, and brother, against each other. It influenced them to set aside all ties of honour and affection, to obtain that property which it never was the intention of the original owner er of the law that they should have, but which was given them by the accidental operation of the latter. When so many efforts were made to corrupt the morality of the people, it was of importance not to hold out rewards to 'crime, and instigations to acts of dishonesty. From. suffering the Bill to go into a Committee, as they bad dime, be hived that their Lord.thips felt that the law could not stand as it was, and he trusted that they would approve of the changes which it was now ptoposed to make in its . provisions. The clause which required the consent of parents for the mar. :lase of minors was retained in the Bill, and the principle was further extended to marriages by banns, to which it did not at present apply.—At the same time a certain period was allowed for pa tents and guardians to attempt to nullify the unau thorised marriages of minors, which became valid if tliat time was suffered to pass without any steps being taken for that purpose. If he were to follow his own opinion, he should be willing to throw as many diffi culties in the way of the marriage of minors as pos sible, but once made he would maintain them, and only admit of their dissolution for the crime of adul tery—(lkar, hear, from all sides of the House)4 The Noble Lord then defended the retrospective effect of the Bill. It was not a novelty in*legislation on this very subject, for in 1781, 1804., and 1808, three Acts I:ad been passed, without any opposition in that Douse, to legalize three anterior marriages. In fact, it seemed to him that the present Bill did not go far enough, for lie did not conceive why, if existing mar riages were to be made good, others that had taken place at a more distant period, should not be also le galized. When their •Lcirdships protected their chil dren, why should they not protect themselves? The More the advantages held out by the existing law: to bad men became ,known, the more carefully would the danger be guarded against. This was not the case when they had neither been discovered nor used ;'fewer precautions were then taken, and more accidental omissions occurred. It was therefore still more important to give a retrospective than a pro spective 'operation to the Bill. It was proposed at the same time, thht whatever course property had hitherto taken in consequence of.the existing system, it should remain as. it was at the time of passing the Bill. - 'The only interest which would be effected, woutdc'thpefore be the teversionaryinterest, - which was i :right, but a mere eipectation, a specula t i on , lusble.:likeoll. iathers,.to he disappointed. Theis Lordshilat-wo.uld -- do ' if they maintained the ri g htfra s ilegi*O . crty,.. 'in'iiiplation' of . those of nattire;;:lionappi . sAigtim; lie now left . the Mr in their hailer- hoping that. the Noble and Learned Peeri.whowsientefiesrand understanding unraielled , all t h e distottf e iwithOiv;*uld exert that acute ness *and underozi l in diSCoiiiing the touts and objectionable expressions of the Bill, but , is them. Let him extend his claims to love, and veneration, by enabling to frame themeasure, prospectively Y i as to remedy all the evils of the. up wither matters to soften would effe4t nothing less than that all marriages which had been by law null and void, should bekome valid and legalised..But as he held it to be necessag that the retrospective clause should b e se p arated fro. ' the other clauses of the Bill, he would consideqf their tendency and effect, and put it out of his v . altogether. He deemed k much better that part - entering into the marriage contract should know who: they that contract were binding or not , than that should be . left in the situation in which this Bill wo place them. There was a prcrrition in the first cl which, he thought, no man could support whose heart was in the right place. He alluded to the po*et given to parents and guardians to obtain a sentence of nullity of marriage contracted by minors before they attained the. age of twenty-one. It generally happened that clandestine marriages were contracted by the parties, and particularly by the females, at a very early period. Suppose the wife in such a case to be fifteen, the father, under the present Uill,would have the power of leaving the parties together as man and wife until within a week of the latter be coming of age, and then declaring the illegality of the marriage and the bastardy of the children. It might be said' that this was- examining the Bill too critically ; but he would state his objections in ano ther point of view. It proposed that, in case of the. death of the father, the power of declaring the nul lity of a marriage should be vested in guardians of his appointment, by the mother, or by guardians ap pointed by the High Court of Chancery. With re-* 'gar(' to the latter provision it go happened that,* iirt ninety-nine cases out of a hundred,' the guardian of the Court of Chancery was appointed upon the Feti- . lion of the infant. Supposing himself and the Noble 1, Lord who had brought forward the measure, to have eacha daughter who had married clandestinely; and supposing he were to die a week after the marriage, and the Noble Lord lived (as he hoped he would do for the benefit of his country) some years afterwards; undei the 'proposed law,'if he had not' made his ob jection to ttie marriage during the sytie.k a Sle one mar -1 ifige would be valid,while the other contracted under the same circumstances might be set aside. In ano ther case, let their Lordships suppose a marriage to which the father might think proper to agree after be had discovered it, and then that he should die whilst the child continued a minor. It would lie afterwards it the power of the mother or the guar. dian to nullify a marriage to which the father had consented. Another objection to the Bill was, that if either of the parties died- before attaining the age of twenty-one, they could not have been legally mar ried: He also considered the clause respecting licenses to bleak in upon the freedom of marriages, and to be one its which he could never agree. That with regard to the publishing of banns was still worse. It should be remembered that, by the old . laws, banns not being duly published was not visited by a null i ty of marriage. The Bill required amendment upon this point, if nowhere else, and its necessary postponement was therefore obvious. He did not mean to say that there were not evils in the existing laws which called for some new legislation, but these objections re quired to he removed before the 'present Bill should be suffered to pass. The Earl of LIVERPOOL said, that he might agree with his Noble and Learned Friend in thepro priety of waiting till another Session, until the Bill should be-more properly digested, if he did not re collect how often the subject had already been before their Lordships, and the vast importance which at tached to it. With this reflection, he thought they ought not to put off a full consideration of the ques tion. They should' take the Bill 'under their discus sion clause by clause, and when they had given their minds well to thesubject, it would be for their Lord. ..hips to say whether the whole should be.adopted or not. He agreed with his'Nobliand Learned Friend who spoke last, in the expediency of keeping. a clear distinction between the prospective and retrospective operation of the measure; and'he believed there.was we) dissentient voice in their Lordships' Muse as to the necessity of some prospective amendment. in the existing laws. Without giving an opinion upon the different clauses of this measure,. he should certainly wish at; far as, possible triTemove the means of void ability, - .if he Might use the expression; in all mar riages whatever. With to the power to be given to parents and guardians for annulling them, he should say, that as a principle, if such a Bill 'could be concocted, a marriage, once solemnized,* ought never to be annulled. • He was of opinion that the best way now to proceed would be to take the Clauses separately, and to discuss their separate met its. Lord HOLLAND concurred in the view taken by the Noble Earl as to the course their Lordships should pursue in discussing the Bill. -It was accordingly agreed to consider the Bill clause by clause. Lord REDESDALE did not mean to oppose the first clause ,for preventing the nullity of marriages prospectively, for it was in conformity to what-he had always thought upon the subject. But the sub sequent clauses he consideied to be most mischievous. The Earl of HARROWBY had no objection to the first clause. • He considered it to be a just principle, that where a party obtained marriage' by means of &lie affidavits, and afterwards invalidated such mar ' riage, the sentence .of nullity. should operate _upon, that.party as a conviction for perjury. • 7 'The clause was than agreed to without a division. ' Upon the second clabse being put, Lord HOLLAND rose to. support*. The Noble Lord referred•to the_ancient'laws , to shey, that mar riages voidable in themselves-mighti be afterwards. confirmed' by the parties. •He contended that the. 'clause was drawn _in .tonforthity with the law 'as it stood before the Marriage Act. • • The Earl of- LIVEIIPOOL • disapproved of The Anse as it then stood • but: be thought it might be *wended, so as tol.maite if free from abjection. •He would propose - that a *sit Xor,,annulling.i'mitriage should be instituted witbin.twelve months after the marriage. He thought the consideration of the clause might be postponed. Lord ZIALMBOROUGH thought it better, iuthc urged the danger of improper marriages, contended that the'new clauses Would give an Advantage to a vicious oser a virtuous woman, and trustedlhat the humanity of the House would prevent it.from pass inta measure, which, as it stood, would place the country in'a miserable state. He then examined how it would affect marriages in which the parties wcre of different religions, and maintained that it would leave them in a doubtful and imermediate state, j which might hive unfavourable consequences. Ile lamented that this Bill had been brought in at so late a period of the, Session, which afforded no opportu nity to.xonsider the subject properly, and he recom mended that it should be allowed to stand over till next year, and then be taken into consideration at an earlier period. . . The Earl of WESTMORELAND defended the Bill. Their Lordships must be aware that those atrocious acts of rubbery and injustice which bad taken place under the Marriage Act during these few years were increasing, and would continue to increase, unless they put an end to that course of iniquity and adultery. No system was so dangerous to morality, and the security of property, as that under which the country was now suffering. The Bill proposed no new law, lint merely the restora tion of the ancient law of the land, of which the Mar riage Act was an alteration and subversion, as ad mitted by Blackstone himself.. The effect of this Act, which was intended to prevent clandestine mar riages, had been to destroy real ones. For even clandestine marriages were only null and void after trial, and when made so-by sentence of Court. They were not de facto null and void. The Marriage Act was repealed for every good purpose, and only existed fur purposes of robbery ; for it could be eluded by going to Scotland, or- to France, or by having banns in secret. Marriages thus contracted were confirmed, and no provisions in the Att could invalidate them. And even in cases where it was operative, if the marriage of the .parties had been dissolved against their consent, they might marry again whenever. they pleased, and the only effect would be to render their first children illegitimate, and to legitimatize the second. The Noble Earl then put several cases to shew that even after every kind of precaution bad been taken, it might be found that some accidental omission had • occurred, and' mar riages drat had subsisted. forty years might be dis solved, and the settlement of the property disturbed, even in the hands of those to whom it had been trans ferred by Vale. By the provisions of the present Bill, all interests were consulted; no property was touched; but all remained as it stood, and the only interrup tion was that of certain expectations, which were not property. He called their Lordships attention to the various Marriage Acts upon record, down to those now proposed to be repealed. It was said against the present gll, that it was setting up nullities, and 'taking away Men's right,lo bring actions in particu lof cases. But he contended that this had been done repeatedly by their Lordihips, and that it formed so thlistantial objection to the Bill. - What would, their. rdships say, if heshewed them. that they had done the very same 'thing, even . in the present Session ?-4- He held • in his hand the Common Indemnity Acti Which had been passed this year. Attornies had ..140 ,'been liable to certain' disabilities, if it should be found that there were irregularities in the deeds necessary for their qualificktion.' I'lie 4 Bill staled that .mucls inconvenience. and Injury huiaxiSen to infants from -this lavr f . and it enacted that'such . disibilities • shOuld be reinoved..- With-respect to cues -at issue, .. he - thetight those who "hid entered - into •thrniarriage contract in the face of the Church, were not -jutly entitled to relief. For these reasons he should sup; port the Bill, and he hoped that these who now voted against it, would not,heronfters either in their own . . , . .•• ' 4 . . . ' '-' ' .4 -• .••• . . .. . . . . . - . . . . . . I . • . . . . . ~•. . . • . • . . . . LLLC I lON. IF a void one. The LORD CHANti,..._ the clause. • The Earl of CARNARVON objected to the hold-* ing out of a hope which might afterwards pfove lusive. It was offering a temptation to females. He: 'certainly considered a voidable marriage more dam: - germs than one which was void: lle was' decidedly against the clause. ... Lord REUESDALE also opposed the clause, and said he did not think it would be assisted by any 4.. - teration as to the time to be limited for instituting: suits. 'lle thought some provision might be rotde' for ensuring evidence that persons to be married IT license, and profelsing to be of age, were actually so. The Earl of LAUDERDALE suggested the post ponement of the Committee. The Lord CHANCELLOR then moved that the Chairman should report progress, and ask leave to sit again to-morrow. Lord ELLENBOROUGH bad no objection to withdraw this clause; but if the House desired he should do so, he trusted their Lordships would go into the next clauses. After a few words from Lord HOLLAND, the Earl of Ma *Mir, the Earl of LADDEMBALE, the Earl of 1-trearoot., the [Alan -CHANCELLOR, and Lord • Itanrstrost.a, which were ex changed across the table, the House resumed. The Noble Chair man reported progress r and obtained leave to sit again. The clauie in question was the prospective clause, which gives to parents and guardians the power of atoiding the marriage, in the case of a minority, until the minor shall attain his or her age of twenty-one years. The House adjourned at Ten o'Clock untino-morrow. HOU6E OF COMMON. At four o'clock, hut thirty-seven Members being present, the House adjourned till to-morrow. itittortly against TRIUMPH OF SOUTHWARK, AND PulaTY The Independent Electors of Southwark, friends to Parliamentary Refoim, celebrated the fourth Anni versary.of their Independence at the ilornsTitvera, Kennington, yesterday, Sir ROBERT WILSON, M.P. in the Chair. At half-past five o'clock, the Hon. C!IAIRMAN en tered the great fOOM,uccompanicd by H. G. J 3 .ET, Esq. M.P. J. G. LAMETON, ES -I. M.P. J. C. 110B liq. M.P. JOSEPII Humr, Esc. M.P. C. H. Eitacnlssow, E,q. M.P. S. C. WatTE::E.I.o,. Esq. M.P. Baion de STAEL ; Alderman WooD, M.P. Al- Berman WAITIIMAN, They were glteeted wits most fervent appliuse. Sir Fa ANcis Bennzrr was prevented from attending by a tit of the gout. Between two and three hundred re,pectable Elec tors sat down to dinner. The cloth being r-empved,t!:e CHAIRMAN proposed, ' The King; and the principles which placid his fotni!y on As. Throne," with three' times-three. Tune—" Con save the Toast—" The People, the only true source of le,sitimate puwe:." . with three times three.- Tune—" Ye Gentlemen of England." Tuast—The Liberty of the Press," with three times tht,e, and enthusiastic applause. Tune—" Hearts of Oak." Toast:—" A speedy and effectual Reform in the Commons House of Parliament," with three times three, and long co,a.- nued cheering. When silence was obtained, Mr. Worrreaseoox rove and said, he was called oa by.the Stewards to.give to *the asseMbly a toast, and when he informedlliem thatit was the health of their worthy Chairman, the Anniversary of whoseelec:icn they were about to celebrate, he had na3laubt that they would receive it with all those:demonstrations of respect and attachment. which it had heretofole coinmantled:- (Applause). . Loirking to that flag flag 401**ot-the lOWer end of the room, and inscr with theslate.of Sir Robert Wilson'sreturny 7 it would appear that they ought to celebrate the important event which had called them -rcrgether on-the 29,d of June, that .being.tixe day .onvhieh. the Electors of Sotithw.ark pitied their. freedom,l4 trinaphlitiover a p - owe!ful - 'faction, thatwould. -have continued to hold then] . in thraldom, if they had not resisted their efforts :and frustrated`their intertioris-(2lpflanse). But the & ofJune falling on ' Saturday, the most inconvenient day in the week for such a Alerting, it Was deemed advisable to celebrate their triumph oa the present day, beingthe anniversary of the day cm which they commenced that glorious struggle, he hoped, had ended in the annihilation of the party who oppretsed them, so far, at' least, as political power was concerned—(Applause). Reverting to tl:e period when Sir R. Wilson was first introduced to the Electors of Southwark, that gallant .Pificer could not look back upon it without sensations of satisfac tion; and the Electors, in reflecting un,-it,:.could not but feel . the greatest pleasure in having Zlettetl a Man who was every way worthy . of Re presentative. He came amidst them as' stranger. They knew nothing of his politics but,byripOrt. however, pledged himse'lf to a spec* ii9e , of politi cal conduct, on which, he-dechredor4onld - always act. He pledged himself, in,, the ars; (nkrince; to support Parliamentary Reform, in the widest . sense of the expression ; he pledged himself .to advocate 'economy and retrenchment in every department of the State; he pledged himself, whenever ,the iiOts and liberties of his fellow-subjects were invaded, that he would, in the ,House of Commons, use the best energies of. his chid, to frustrate the intentions of those Who made such baneftil attempts, Who mani fested such wicked. intentions—(Cheeturar 'That he . bad redeemed the pledge thus solemnly given, no person could. be hardy enough to deny ; .sand it any thing were wanting to prove the purity of his inten tions, and the Undeviating temour of his exertions, it Would be supplied by the presence of those illustrious Gentlemen who this day honoured the Meeting with their 'company, and 14 their appearance bore testa . moony. to. the merits of:. their .honottrable,ltcpresenta tive—(Cheers). Although .he had said that the pa.- of Sir Robert Wilson were• at first only known to the Elector's of Satithwark by report, there was, another -.character. in which they . .kliew him well—he meant as the -great defender. of. .those lifho were suffering -under oppressiori-4Applawsel - Vey knew at the timethat lie was only just emanci pated from a French priion for having given way to the belt ;Lad noblest feelings of the human heart— in removing them, pidAic confidence, their Lordships so u turospectively, .•..• . . , . . . . _ • „ , his Per" . 11,1Fi * tl;o1 • mill‘balik mitt ;danced state of the iissijoi a i trocee d pn ) , , pent thaenese bad , . ~.. ~ .-;,- withint delay. He approved of the suggestion of ing TheLOIRDCH N R flawed hisifinnion the Noble Earl who had spoken last; buttithought k e ? that the Rit;dught to be dieldect into two thparitif it woul# be preferable/to - forme the 'clause so as to nin Bills, Mathat the retrospective *Ms* ought to rya give twelve months lei the institution of a'stiltafter the discovery by guardiags or parents, of a voidable inn or not upon its own manes. As it -now stood it car- very marriage. He, on the whole, thoughtthat indefinite tainly looked like ecimeihing that wits considere d r.— 'diffictilt to swallow, and which required to be mixed fore did not think a voidable marriage wotse - than hope was better than definite despair; and P.e there. can H., with aster matters to soften its taste. This clause I I C