The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1820-07-14 00:00:00

MARRIAGE ACT AMENDMENT RILL.

Lor;l4.l.l.ESBolloUGHsaid. Ise Mtn,/ to shove tl►e
second ►eading of this Bull, he felt how deficient
his abilities were for that purpose. It ass a Bill
that ws. not unknown to their Lordships, it having
been on their table three times in three tion'errtst
Seosious. In his opininn there never was a Bill of
great► importance before their Lordships except
that it sought to *mend. He would only state four
carer, which would convince the House of the
utility of the Bill. The case of Johnston and
Parker, where the marriage task .place in the year
1796. seven children were the issue of the soar.
r►sge, but when it took place the hualosiod w►used
five weeks of bring of age, on which *resold the
marriage was annolled iii April lass. The owe of
Hap and iVatts, where the marriage bruit place
with the suineut of the mother of the wife. who
was a minor, the mother thinking she was a widow,
a« her hu►lwud had gone to sea, and hail not heard
of him for true yews. He. tweever, returiied, aid
the want of Ins COINCIIi at the time of sine
os.►rriage of his daughter was the ground on which
it Wan dissolved after 24 years of coloaliiiing.
The case of Jimes red Moslems:W. where tl►e mar-
riage was only annulled sloe last Court do), miter
the parties had cohabited for 38 year., on account
of tl►e y of the husband whom the marriage
.was celebrated. The cove of Little mod .-- was
similar to the last. He would sok, would their
taw&laps permit that an inoinceut woman ehould
.see her ehildeve beatarolieed, mot she. we their mw•
Cher, declared a prostitute, en account of the pew
jury of the thee who might to be the protector of

married the sister Oita fanner wife, **heels is ',d-
ottier place. **uteri' lie called iticestuno., the
riage would be ausisdiede but the sour ot.
ceettsous marriage; *her the death of *lime or
the parties, would be legitimate. There was sm-
other case, whose is iseashmaiodfadow itersied molt
the colored of ell his go ans. bubenty *Pe
nature oils obtained ; was it to be 43..irite that the
man should be deprived of the eliste• of Ina au•
crater* fur this crasiasiOn Hutrianity folossd se—
the law of God and nature forbid it ; sad be heel-
ed that their vote that night would declaim., 41st
the law of England did forbid it.—(7lti 114 Na, .
Lord them sot dom. amidst loud cries of " .
Ater." fro* both eider Vette House.)
The LORD CHANCILLOIt Said, alter the aoatteter
this subject had been introduced by the Noble
Lord, it was with (Liu that be found himself coin-
yelled to vote against the second feuding of the.
• Bill. lie bed am doubt but there might have
beets many cases of very great sevetity coder
she Marriage Act. since the year 1754; and if
the present Bill was brought for tho.e *offering
wider it, who meant right when the 'marriage took
piece. lie for one would not object to it. The Nu-'
hie I.ord had said the Bill required great consideta-
tion, and it hail received it—it had beets before their
Lordships three times previous to its HOW bring lieu
on the table, and the last time their Lordship. dui
nut silo* it to he discussed, because it had been •
before them and rejected the Session before.
Tinge was nut only a civil, bet a sacred contract,
Staid there weight hr 19 we et/ instances of those kind
of cases under the Marriage Act of greet severity,
sod of such a nature that every man must have an
anxiety to relieve ; hut this Bill had a retrospective
effect down to 1754, which would shake the fa..
mily rights of slums* every family in the Coun-
try. For instance. if a marriage was declared
void in the rear 1756, and the honours acd
estate had gone to another branch of the family.
and the bead of that brooch had even the high
dignity of silting in that House, the present
Bill would deprive him of it. It went to re.
beet all notes of marriage' where minors were con.
earned. although the greatest perjury was used
bringing them about. In speaking of morall, it
would be much better to say at once, that all mar-
riages were good ; it mould be ten thousand times
better for public wisdom to pronounce that all
marriages. good or bad, were legal. than to leave
it to the caprice ref en individual, am guard's'', to
say at which time the wife should cease to he *pro..
Bite. and her children bastards. He was lierfectiy
satielied, taking it as a moral subject, (list It ass
much better the Act should stated, than the 1;.1
of Amendment should pass into a law. fir
agreed that iiiiirrtage once celebrated sl td
never be disturbed according to the Act of the 26111
4.1 George 111. There were certaiiily cases where
Parties had acted under mistake, and he had nu
berita.ictis in saying they ought to be relieved a. tar
as losable without disturbing the general law 0!B
the subject. For the reasons he had qtven,
shirred it his duty to say tioo-conteot to the second
reading of. the Bill. .
Tie Esrl of Wassuoiti•No said, if the Came
was such as had been described by the Noble and
Learned Lord, and there was no reused), st would
be their duty lo submit to it, but to has opinion
the only way to come to that conclusion war by
reeding the Bill a second tune and going into a
Committee. lit his opinion itisteml of the
tieing an atnendrueut of the Act. it was only sit
enforcement of it. As the law now stood, sr it sr.
hoed to property, sixty years p ion gave
a title ; but as it related to marriage, sixty yews
pia. ion would nut give a man • right to Iris wife
—(A lungh.)«lintler those considerattous he would
vote fur the second reading of the 8.11.
Lord REDESDALE opposed the Bell, on the
ground that it ought to be prospective, and not
retrospective.
Lord CALTHORPS supported the Bill. and ht.
invited that it did net receive the *import of the
Nehle and Learned Lord on the Woolsack.
The Earl of LIttIiRICIL was or (mignon, that the
Bill ought to be read a second time. fur the Imo.
nuke of going into a Committee nn it, when their
Loidships would have an opportunity of making
amendments to the objectionable parts, mod if the
other House of Parliament did not agree to them. it
would give them time to consider the aintsaitneui..
and frame • Bill next Session on the subject, so ni•
to meet them. Ile hoped therefore Oust the Noble
and Learned Lord on the Woolsack wonielatto. the
Bill to go into Committee.
The Loos CIaaNCILI.OR said, he did nit fouler-
stand what the Noble Earl meant by the. Noble
and Leagued Lord allowing the Bill to go into a
Committee. He would tell him, that the Noble
and Loaned Lord could Dot prevent its beleg com-
mite" if it woo ibs ewes of the Mawr that, it
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