The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1862-07-29 00:00:00

Srotlanb.

A SCOTCH MARRIAGE CASE.—Another Oise has just
been decided in the Court of Session by Lord
Ardmillan, in which the law of Scotland in regard to
the constitution of an irregular marriage is curiously
illustrated. In the present instance the pursuer has
succeeded in obtaining the judgment of the Court in
her favour, as wife of the defender. The pursuer is •
young Highland woman named Margaret Mackinnor,
uneducated, and linable to speak English, and who its
1838 was servant to the defender, Mr. Patrick
M'Donald, of Ardmore, in the island of Skye. After
having sent her fora brief period to • school in Glasgow,
the defender invited her to accompany him to America,
explaining to her brother that he had fallen in love
with her, and would have married her, but was unable
to make the requisite stay, and was apprehensive his
relatives would interfere. He, however, made a
promise of marriage, and they left Glasgow with their
luggage addressed "Mr. 11'Donald" and "Mrs.
leDonald." In passing through Liverpool, on the 4th
of March. 1859, the defender signed a paper acknow-
ledging the pursuer as his wife in the presence of two
witnesses, and with this paper in her possession they
sailed together for America. They returned to this
country in May, having cohabited together in the
interval, and at this stage one of the defender's friends
interfered "to gat him out of the scrape." The
pursaer, who evidently did not understand the pro-
ceedings further than that there was a separation
desired agreed to give up the raper signed by the de-
fender, and was induced to grant a dischtrge to the
effeot that the defender had promised to marry her
but had refused to fulfil the promise. The discharge
was given at a meeting of the parties at which the
woman cried very much, and refused money when
offered to her; and the legal gentlemen presentdeposed
that they were not aware she did not understand English,
and that the character of the proceeding was not
explained to her in Gaelic.. The Lord Ordinary held
that the discharge conld not be taken am a renunciation
by this pursuer of her *era, seeing the legitimacy of
her child was also involved. For some time the pursuer
and defender were parted, but before long he reopened
corn municetion with her in affectionate terms, and on
the Ist of December, 1859, he sent her back the acknow-
ledgment of the 4th of March, telling her it would
make her happier and would make the discharge of no
use. In February, 1860, the pursuer gave birth to a
female child, and the defender visited her and got the
birth registered as that of • lawful child to himself, and
to whom he gave his own mother's name. On the law
applicable to this state of facts the Lord Ordinary says
be has not felt much hesitation. Such an acknowledg.
merit, communicated and accepted and followed by co-
habitation, is by the law of Scotland, sufficient to
constitute marriage, unless a different intention—an
intention to deceive others, or give a colour to con-
cubines*, or escape from scandal by a pretext—shall
appear. In much weaker cases a similar acknowledg-
ment had been sustained by the Court. In this case the
pursurer,a Scotch girl, dealing with a Scotch gentleman,
never diellive with him except while she held a written
declaration of marriage of the most express and un-
equivocal character, while the defender's conduct had
been so kind and considerate as to be unexplainable on
any other view than that of marriage; for, though at
different times he appeared to have yielded to the in-
fluence and remonstrances of others, his better feelings,
his sense of duty and honour, and his real affection for
the pursuer brought him round again. The Lord
Ordinary was, therefore, of opinion that the marriage
had been established by sufficient evidence.