Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-09-07

Mary, for my wife, and when the
woman says, Il take you, John, for
my husband this is sufficient proof
of their marriage" provided the
words so spoken were uttered at
the time with due seriousness.
ga promise of that kind" says Sir
Rounded Palmer, "being brought
up at "any future period, even al
though the people have never lived
together, will hold good, and will be
sufficient to overturn any perfectly
honorable and reputable marriage
that either Of the parties may sub
sequently enter into, and this aeta-
ally occurred ia the celebrated DALI
rymple case
Another way in which marriage
may be contracted is by proving a
promise in writing, attended by CO.
habitation. Any young man and
woman, whilst walking out together,
may write upon piece of paper a
mutual promise to marry, and cal
though nothing may be said to
anybody about the writing" and
although no witnesses were present
at the time, "yet if the parties after
ward lived together in a certain
way, that would be valid marriage
though nobody might know of tho
fact of marriage for years alters
wards"
A third method of contracting
marriage is still simpler. 1t is mere
ly by cohabitation as man and wife,
and their recognition as such by
friends and neighbors. "No promise
or consent is here required to be
expressly proved; for such is pre-
sumed, if the parties have for q
length Of time openly lived together
as man and wife," AS these differ.
Ont modes Of marriage require diff.
ferent kinds of evidence to substan-
tiate them, and as the fact of mar
riage "does not depend on any one
specific form or act of the parties
but on a long course of conduct
which admits of endless variations"
The difficulty of proof is often so
great that "some persons in Scot
land cannot tell whether they are
married or not, and it requires an
and ruinous litigation to
clear up the point"
In ireland the laws in relation
to marriage are the same as those
Of England, so far as members of I
the Established Church, or Dissen-
Lers are concerned. There is no =
law, however, which regulates the
marriage Of Catholics-the form in
The latter case being left to be de- :
lermined by the Church. There is, n
nevertheless, special act of Parlia- =.
nent which makes it penal offence Il
Tor any Catholic priest, officiating :
either in Ireland, or in any other
part of the United Kingdom, to
mite in wedlock a Catholic and a :
Protestant, unless the latter has alb
ured Protestantssm for a period of ,
welve months preceding the date
If marriage. If this fact cannot '
&c established the marriage is alb
olutely void.
1t is this "tangle" Of marriage
avs to which the attention of the
English House of Commons has
ecently been called as a proper -
ubject for legislation. Its consid-
.ration was, however, postponed, tie
or want Of time, until the next ses- ct
ZION of Parliament. AS the meas
Ire for promoting some sort of
Uniformity in the marriage laws
throughout all parts of the King
ION owes its introduction to the /
Liberals, and will receive their
hearty support, there can be but /
little doubt that some bill will '
finally be passed which will get DI
rid alike of the evils arising from ,
.he stringent clauses of the marriage 9
acts in England, Of the loose def 9
nitions that render so many mar :
riages of doubtful validity in Scot y
and, and will sweep from the q
statute book the proscriptiVe and Il
arbitrary law which annuls the u
between Catholic and a
Protestant, and visits with severe
pains and penalties the priest who .
officiated on the occasion.
.,uv-z,.rs,rsuuuzW ii