The Sun.
London, England, 1826-11-07 00:00:00

MARRIAGE ACT.

The generat advantage to the public, resulting from
an extensive spread of information, in a plain and prac-
tical manner, respecting those acts of the Legislature
which either protect or consolidate society, needs no
comment. it is hoped, therefore, that the following
summary of the last Marriage Act will not be unac-
ceptable to the numerous readers of the SUN News-
paper.

It is enacted, that marriages may not lawfully be
solemnized in England, except by licence or publica-
tion of banns. The publication of banns must be
made upon three successive Sundays preieding the
Marriage, during the time of divine service, morning
or evening, and immediately after the second lesson.
They may be published in any church or chapel au-
thonzed by the Bishop. If the partks live in dis-
tinct parishes, the banns mina be published in each,
and a certificate, stating the days on which the. publica-
tiou took place, signed,by the officiating minister, is a
,necessary authority for the clergyman who celebrates
the marriage. The parties maybe married in either
of the two churches, as suits their convenience.
If the marriage do not take place within the
space of three months after the complete pub-
lication of the banns, no Minister must so-
lemnize it, but they must be republished, un-
less a licence, according to the Act, be procured.
The Act, also, forbids any Minister celebrating .a
marriage by licence, if the licence has been obtained
more than three months ; it must be renewed. In

order to prevent clandestine marriages by banns, the
officiating Minister is not bound to publish them,
unless the. persons to. be married deliver to
him a notice, in writing, of their christian and
surnames, their respeCtive places of abode, and the
term they have dwelt there, seven days at least, before
the time required for publication.
No Minister can refuse to publish the banns of
persons under the age of twenty-one years ; nor to
solemnize their marriage unless the parents or guardians
of such minors, shall, openly at the time of publica
Lion in the Church or
,Cliapel, forbid the banns. The
Act does not specify, the space of time requisite to con-
stitute residence in .a parish before the banns can be
published ; the clause which requires seven days notice;
is the only one which, bears` on the point, which, as it
respects the marriage of minors, is an important one ;
but no licence to marry can be had, unless one of the
parties shall have livid fifteen days in the parish where
the ceremony is to take place ; these fifteen days must
immediately precede the application for the licence,
This clause allows marriage to be had by licence in
anyplace where one of the parties pleases to reside
for the fifteen days.
A caveat may be entered against the grant of a
licence to marry ; the party must state in writing his
or her objection and place of residence ; this delays
the issuing of a licence till the matter has been ex-
amined, or the ,caveat,-Atiti4aatlOSittt the-party ap-
plying for such licence is„ nOt required to have any
bond or security as heretofore ; he lutist snake oath
before a surrogate, that he-or she belie' rob that there'
is no impediment of kindred or alliance, or any other law-
ful cause, nor any suit commenced in any Ecclesiastical
court, to bar or binder the. said marriage; that one of
the parties bath, for the space of fifteen days imme-
diately before such licence, had his or her usual place
of abode within the parish, where such marriage is to
be solemnized. When either of the parties is under
the age of twenty-one years, not being a widower or a
widow, the Act further requires that an oath must be
taken, that the consent . the persons or persons,
whose consent is required to the marriage by this Act,
has been obtained thereto.

Those who can legally give consent to .the mar-
riage of minors, not being widowers or widows, are
first the father, hen the gniirdians, if there be any ;
then :the mother, if unmarried ; and lastly, the guar-
dians appointed by the Court of Chancery; ...and Such
consent is required for a minor, unless there be no
person authorised .to give consent ; and whenever the
father or mother be insane, or beyond the seas, or
shall unreasonably, or from endue motives, refuse Con-
sent, then the minor, being desirtius of marrying, may
apply to the Lord ChanceTlor, the Master of the
or the Vice-Chancellor, who are respectively autho-
rised, to proceed pion slick) petitions in a_ summary way,
and the consent 'of either of those laW officers will be
legal and good, independeiit'of the father or mother.
The Archbishop of Canterbury can grant a special
licence, which authorises the parties to celebrate their
marriage in any place, whether consecrated O'r not, and
at any time, being not restricted to canonical hours;
the usual or legal:hours are from eight in the morning
till noon. •

Every marriage is declared to be void and null
which is celebrated in any place not authorised by the
Bishop, or without the publication of banns, or a
licence, or by any, person not in Holy Orders, provided
Inailsttprh:staig nthatiito l:ie,
one of the parties wilfully consent to such marriage ;
but every marriage isdeclaredgtorol:es v
had through false swearing or
if it he soklnni,:ed according to this Act.

(To b continued.)

CiTY'S COMMON Gool3*—The various branches
of customs collected by the city were on Monday let
by auction, for two years, in the. Council Chamber,
and whether &ow the indications of returning prospe-
rity, or the adventurous spirit of bidders, they brought
in whole upwards of SOO/. above the sum they were
let at in October. 1824. The following is a state
ment of the two lettings :

1824. 1826.
Flesh Markets £2245 ..t2lOO
Fish Markets ...... 59" 602
Green and Fruit Markets, work per
pack and caw:art:mil
Meal and Corn Markets ......... .
sheep Flakes 444 470
Weigh douse. 206 235
Poultry' Iforket
:Meadows
Miriadeld Links

X6lBO X 6419
Increase in )826.. ............... .. . sO9
—.Edinburgh Evening antra"
0n Monday morning a respectable Irian, foreman to
Mr. Durton, of Snipers' TOWV, was found suspended by his neck
to a rafter iu an unfinished WWII, near St. Margaret's Chapel)
S. Pancras.

SKETCHES IN AFRICA,
Mad• during the SURVEY of the COAST of that CONTINENT,
in Ris Majesty's Ships LEVEN and BARRACOUTA.

No. 11.

The Quilimane is the chid river on the east side. of
Africa, from which proceeds the Zambete. The Portu-
guese have settlements upon its banks, at and beyond Sena,
a very considerable position, and one which is, from its in-
terior situation, the most important of their commercial
establishments. It has been suggested that the Zambeze,
and the Zare, on the opposite coast, go very far, indeed,
towards insulating the southern part of the continent, in a
manner similar, to that which is operated by the Orange
.and Great Fish rivers. The development of the fountain
head of the principal African streams has long been a
desideratum; our knowledge is still confined an the sub-
ject, and every attempt to improve it must be a sensible
benefit to geography.
It was with this object in view that a small party was
detached from. the Barrae9uta in July, 1823. The project
bad been devised and prepared,at the Cape, and the sane-
tion of the Portuguese authorities, with every assurance of
support and protection, obtained. They were to trace the
river upward, as far as it should be found practicable or
convenient, and were afterwards to endeavour to pass by
land to the Cape. The persons who proceeded on this
service were, a Mr. BroWne, midshipman of the Leven,
Mr. Kilpatrick, acting assistant surgeon of the Barracouta,
and Mr. Forbes, a young botanist, who purposely offered
himself at the Cape, where he had been sent by llorticul-
tural Society, for the porpose of making botanical researches
in the prolific and interesting field which that Colony at
to naturalists. Two negroes were also attached to
them ; and they left the vessel with whatever was deemed
needful. They entered with spirit upon their enterprize
with the exception of the botanist, who appeared to leave
the ship with uncommon reluctance, confessing his pre-
science respecting the disastrous termination of this service.
They proceeded, in their canoes, up the river, with
cheerfulness and moderate expedition, until attacked by
that fatal enemy the fever, which has hitherto baffled al-
most every attempt of this kind in Africa, invariably prov-
ing more destructive than armed savages, thirst, hunger, or
beasts of the forest.

None of these gentlemen were permitted to return, har-
ing perished of fever at, or in the vicicity of, Sesa. Mr.
Browne, who was the last surviving of the three, continued
his journal to within three 'days of his death. He laments,
in feeling terms, the sufferings, and fate of his companions,
but his remark's contain nothing interesting to the general
reader, being filled up with the detail oT the river, and Mr.
Forbes's observations upon the botany of its bunks. They
appear to have been well received and entertained at Sena,
and were probably induced thereby to lengthen their stay.
The only complaint of a serious nature, which appears in
this diary, is the exorbitant demand of the Portuguese
Priest of 200 dollars for the burial of Mr. Forbes, by which
we may perceive that the extortions of this peculiar body 11
of men, is by no means provincial or local.
It is, however, a matter of pleasure to state, that the
property, with one or two trifling exceptions, which these
unfortunate individuals left behind them, was scrupulously
sent to Mozambique by land, at which port they were de-
livered on board the Leven, in October 1824 ; and this
circumstance serves, in some measure, to show, that the
inflnenctlof the Portuguese Govmor.General, when seri-
, oualy e tl, is Winch More txMailditible theft ftft iv usually
believed to be .in those parts. These effects travelled
above 400 miles, in the course of which journey they
of necessity 'have come into the power of various tribe,
and, be exposed to the rapacity of needy and unprincipled

Access* to the Quilimane is considered dillkult for
vessels of much draught, by a bar across its entrance. On
this bank, and the adjoining shoals the sea is accustomed
to break with the greatest rage, the tides run also with
considerable velocity, and at those periods when the wind
is violent, ,and iti opposition to the stream, the conflict
between the two elements becomes of the most terrific
description, and; as far es the eye
.can extend over this
scene, nothing. short of destruction appears to be offered to
Whatever 4611 dare to approach it.
On the 23i1 of July, 1823;_the Barrarouta was at an-
chor off this river, without the bar, in five fathoms. She
had expended several of the preceding days in sounding
the entrance, and in endeavouring to effect her entry; but,
discovering hat it was not till the height of spring titles
that the passage could be prudently attempted, it was re-
solved to complete the service by the boats alone. On the
foregoing day, however, with the wind moderate at S.E.
about noon, the sea became suddenly and violently agitated,
and, in a very few minutes, the entire expanse of water
beramea field of breakers : they mounted the vessel's sides
in rapid succession, and rendered the deck impassable by
their breaches across it. The prospect was truly alarming,'
but escape therefrom was out the question till the arrival
of high water, and, even then, it was in the highest degree
doubtful. Many an anxious eye, on this occasion, was
rivetted on the land; but betwixt the vessel and the benell
existed an impassable gulf. It was one of those situations
which frequently occur at sea where skill and experience
are nugatory, and where Chance only can bring relief. The
security of the vessel, on this occasion, rested solely upon
her anchors and cables, until ten minutes past four P.M,
when, being near high water, and the wind little ei;ort of
a hurricane, and it appearing almost impossible for the
Vessel to ride much longer, the cable was slipped, and the
ship stood in, at all hazards, for the river.
4, Poi here ingulfed, and foundering as she lay,
Fate covered round, and marked her for his prey.!'
At .30 minutes past-four she arrived 'upon, and was
passed over the bar, without striking upon it, by a power-
ful sea, which favoured her at the critical moment. She
ran up the river,
and anchored in security. The chief Pas-
'
tuplace was on board upon this occasion,
and as the Captain, oupfu theii , and some others of the most experi-
enced Officers, were at the time on detached service up
river, the salvation of the Earrqpoittnthis day, must be
,mainly ascribed to him.
Having, in this manner, surmounted the difficulty of the:
bar, the survey of the river proceeded with ease. The
water row provided by the natives, and a large quantity of
wood cut,
both for fuel and the use of the carpenters.'
Our whole
intercourse here was carried on with the
greatest degree of confidence, good humour, and mutual
obligation.
On the Bth of August we left this river, re
anchor and cable, and ran along shore South
~
covering,,„rdfoour
r Inhambane.

--inlianibane was entered the 20th August, This is ano-
ther considerable Portuguese post, and of the whole, per-
hqs, the most productive in ivory,. At this visit we
found an immense quantity of store, awaiting a carrier for
Niozambique. The colonial regulations which govern the
whole of these establishments, disallow, under the Penalty
of confiscation, any commercial intercourse with other
iitt.
tions. The attempt has, however, been made of late by
one or two small English vessels, but it is supposed to
have been performed by a mutual understanding with the'
(;°vuetrinirt)ers'enwtihn go abefree; hundreds elsewhere, will never hesitate
,1)o ndreds of ivory, u return for an
equivalent of Europeata commodities. We found thi'i
article so cheap and plentiful, as to be re
from
the natives by exchange for trifling articles of cutlery and
finery, but chiefly fishingfor
inferior les* than fourpence
the pound. Cattle, and !Joule, kindu of vegetables,