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

Tho marriage laws Of Great Bri
tain are so various and so conflict
ing, SO liberal apparently, and We
SO hedged about with restrictions
that through some slight insdver
tence or other the marriage of per
sons who have lived together fol
years in what they supposed to be
lawful wedlock had not uufrequent.
ly been declared null and void by
the courts and their children lille
climate. The methods by which
people commit matrimony are va
rious enough, and if su the condi.
tions of the law are observed, says
the Baltimore Gazette, the manner
in which the ceremonial is per
formed is of no consequence.
There is one marriage act for mem
bers of the Church of England.
another for Dissenters, and third
for members of the Society OF
Friends. A Churchman may be
married by banns, or by civil IL
cense- If by banns, the intention
must be announced from the pulpit
On three successive Sundays. If
by license, no publication of the
banns is necessary. But, in either
case, one Of the parties must reside
seven days, if the marriage is to be
by license; or for fifteen days, if by
publication of banns, within the
limits Of tho parish where the cere-
= mony is to be performed. If a
member of the Church of England,
the marriage must take place in
church, and the marriage service
must be read in canonical hours
that is TO say, between eight and
twelve o'clock in the morning
and in the presence of two Witness
es. AT such a marriage no regis
trar is required to be present. If,
however, the church has not been
properly consecrated, or if the GER
emory is celebrated in a different
parish from that in which the banns
were called, the marriage is null
and void.
Dissenters, on the other hand,
may either be married in a chapel
OF the sect-in which case the reg
istrar must be presenter they
may be united at the office of the
registrar, but they must conform to
two conditions-one of them must
have resided for the stipulated pc
riod within the parish where either
the chapel or the registrars Office
is situated, and the marriage must
take place within canonical hours.
Any failure to comply with either
of these provisions of the law, in
validates the marriage.
Members Of the Society of Friends
may be married in meeting accord
ing to the forms of the Society, but
only in the presence of the regis
trar, and within canonical hours.
If we turn to Scotland, another
part of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain, we end there not
only variety of marriage laws,
but also a system of irregular mar
riages, closely allied to concubin-
age. These latter unions do not,
however, differ from regular mars
riages in their effects and validity.
but merely in this-that "the par~
ties united and the witnesses pres
ent are liable to certain small PEN
alties, which are never enforced in
practice"
What are styled in Scotland
Irregular marriages" are such as are
either celebrated in the parish
church, after the public alton of the
banns for three successive Sundays,
or where the parties declare them
selves man and wife in the presence
of the minister of the parish and of
attesting witnesses. In the latter
sSase the marriage need not be in
church, nor is it requisite that the
canOnical hours be observed. When
even the marriage is by publication
of banns, the parties, by fleeing the
clerk, need not pass through the
ordeal of asking" for three sue
cessive Sundays, but may quicken
matters by having the banns read
three times On a single Sunday.
But it is the loose manner in
which irregular marriages are
contracted that grvesrise to so much
painful and protracted litigation in
Scotland, and seriously affects in
heritances. Sir. Rounded Palmer
has recently alluded to the evils
that frequently arise from the Scot.
fish system of irregular marriages
and the uncertainty which attache,
4 TO their validity. Moreover, 8
marriage which the Scottish court,
may declare to be perfectly legal
may be held to be null and vol,
when an appeal Is taken to tn
English House Of Lords. The
YeIverton marriage is case II
point.
According to Sir Rounded Pal
mer, irregular marriages may b
contracted in Scotland in two dli
fcrent ways; but such marriage