The Sun.
London, England, 1834-03-13 00:00:00

BILL.

Mr. JOHN A. MURRAY moved the second reading
of this bill.
Mr. A. JOHNSTONE thonght it would be better to
postpone this measure until after the Dissenters' Marriages
Rill had pipsed. lie hoped ton that the hon. and learned
member who introduced the bill would make it more com-
prehensive in its provisions, or, at least, alter its causes so
as to give satisfaction to the people of Scotland, which he
was sure it would not do in its present form. He (Mr.
A. Johnstone) was willing to vote for the bill, if all the
hon. and learned member meant to do was to repel the
penalties to which Roman Catholic clergymen were liable
for celebrating marriages ; but if his intention was to put
the Catholic clergyman on the same footing with those of
the Established Church, he (Mr. Johnstone) would give
the bill his most decided opposition.
Mr. MURRAY thought his hon. and learned friend
puitit not to oppose the second reading of the bill. Even
;base, he conceived, who were most jealous of the Roman
Cdtholice possessing privileges in England must be anxious,
when they knew what the low of Scotland was relative to
the marriages of Roman Catholics, to give every facility
to their marriage by clergymen of their own persuasion.
As the law of Scotland now stood, a tinker or blacksmith,
residing in a certain locality, could marry two parties
coming before him and saying they wished to be married,
and such marriage would be held valid.—(Hear, hear,
and laughter.) There was another instance which might
ioe given of the absurdity of the law of Scotland respect-
ing marriages, and that was, that if two persons ex
changed letters to the effect that they were married, and
aould prove they had been bedded together, the circum-
stance would be held a perfectly valid marriage.—(Loud
laughter.) His hon. and learned friend had said, that
the present bill was not necessary, as the penalties to
which Roman Catholic priests were liable when they
performed the marriage ceremony were not enforced.
His hon. and learned friend was, to a certain extent, mis-
taken. He (Mr. Murray) recollected the case of a Hunan
Catholic clergyman, who, in the year 1815, was tried
before the justiciary court at Inverness; and one of the
charges for which he was indicted was, that he had been
guilty of celebrating marriages. It was true that this
charge was afterwards departed from, but that did not
affect his argument. It was with a view to remove these
anomalies and hardships, that he conceived it his duty to
bring in the bill.
Major CUMMING BRUCE would most willingly agree
to any measure wnic.:l had for it, ob;ect t.) do away with

whatever penal enactments existed against the Roman Ca-
tholic priests performing the marriage ceremony, but he
protested against ti,e passing of any law which would have
the tffect of conferring on Roman Catholics in Scotland
greater privileges than were enjoyed by other Dissenters in
that part of the country. He (Major Bruce) knew that
a strong feeling existed among the Protestants in Scot-
land against extending further privileges to Roman Ca-
tholics, in addition to those conferred on them by the
measure of Catholic emancipation.
An HoN. MEMBER, whose name we did not learn, said
that the law of Scotland was most absurd and anomalous
as regarded the marriages of Roman Gallolies. Accord.
ing to that law, if two parties waited on two Roman Ca-
tholic priests, and said they bad formed a marriage con-
tract together, the circumstance would be held as a valid
marriage, and neither of the clergymen would expose him-
self to any penalty ; but if two persons went to one 11,,man
Catholic priest, expressing their wish to be married, and
he pronounced the nuptial benediction, the priest who did
so would render himself liable to a heavy penalty.
After a fe•.v words from another HON. MEMBER, whose
name was also unknown in the gallery, the bill was read a
second time. To be commived on Wednesday next.
The house then went into committee on the Equitable
Apportionments Bill. The bill went through committee.