The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1877-04-13
MARRIAGE CUSTOMS ANO LAWS.

The inheritance Of regulating mar
riaue has been recognized III all clFh
;<ed countries. BY the laws Oh Ly
curgus. Grim nal proceedings might oe
taken against those who married Lot
late AS well as against those VINO uio
not marry at all. Among the Jews
marriage is permitted to males at The
oga of thirteen and a day-to females
at twelve and a day.
In this country marriage is, oy Jaw
o,Iv a civil contract, magistrates as
well as clergymen having riShU W
celebrate. The age OF consent at coliii ii
mon law is fourteen in males anu
twelve in females. When person
under this age marries, such person
,.,, whom he or she arrives at the aye
.,bove specified. avoid the marriage OF
sucb pprson. or both, may. II the oth
er is of legal age, confirm II. ii eith-
or of the parties is. under seNeh' Vhe
,,orri,ge is void. The parties must
each he willing to marry the other IL
either party acts under colnpulsioh' OF
is under duress, the marriage ID Voio-
able
In England no male can be married
uuder the age of fourteen no letiialcS
under that uftweivc. Clyll marriages
take place, on due public notice OF IN
,antinn before a Registrar, but more
generally in place OF worship. IL III
a church of the Protestant EplscGpal
denomination, public announcement
of intention must be given by the cicr-
gvmen, during morning worship, on
three successive Sundays. This IS
called "publishing the banns, and
marriage can be celebrated in church
oulv between eight O'Clock III the
morning and noon. In marriage by
license. which costs about eleven dol
lars the banns need not be published.
By a special license, which costs Sl9o,
q marriage NAV be solemnized Ill any
church. without notice and at any
hour. and even in a private house.
In Austria. bride and bridegroom
must each have completed the age OF
fourteen. In Bavaria, the legal age OF
marriage varies, for males, from four
teen to eighteen, and for females from
thirteen to fifteen, in different districts.
In Baden, the law allows man to
marry at eighteen and woman at nj
teen but the consent of parents Is
necessary until they have respectively
completed the ages of twenty-five ana
twentv-one. Consent being withheld,
the young people cannot appeal, as IN
Austria. In Saxe-COburg Gotha, no
male can marry before he is twenty
one wears old. Females may marry,
if they have been confirmed, at the age
of fourteen. In Denmark, the ages
are twenty for the man and sixteen
for the girl. The Minister Of Justice
NAV dispense with the rule. In
France, no men marry before eighteen
no woman before fourteen. Under
the old monarchy, the ages were four
teen and twelve BY the ancient laws
of France, the age for male was
thirty, and twenty-five Tor female.
In Hesse Darmstadt the rule was that
the man must be twenty-five but this
was reduced seven years ago to twen-
tv-one, and the number of marriages
has much increased i'll consequence.
There is no limit as to the girls age,
it being left to the parents or guar
dians to take care that no mere child
is welded In Greece, males cannot
marry before fourteen nor females be-
fore twelve years of age. In the
Ionian Islands, now part OF Greece,
the age is sixteen for the male and
fourteen for the female. In Hungary,
the Catholic (Or sacramental) mar
riages are regulated by canon law,
other marriages by civil law. Under
cannon law, the ages are fourteen and
twelve. and minors cannot wed without
the fathers consent. The civil law
also fixes twelve as the earliest age at
which a girl may marry. Men cease
To be minors ut twenty-four and women
ut sixteen. A minors marriage, with
out paternal consent, is null and void.
In Italy, the legal marriage is above
the usual standard, being eighteen for
males and sixteen for females. In
Lapland, the age is seventeen for
males. In Norway, no limit of age is
required In Sweden, it is twenty-One
for males and fifteen for females. In
the Netherlands, eighteen in the case
Of males and twelve for females. In
Portugal, fourteen for males and
twelve for females. In Prussia,
eighteen for males and fourteen for te-
males, and a late law has made mar
riage merely a civil contract, like the
leasing of a house. In Roumania, the
ages are eighteen for males and fifteen
for females. In SaXony, the limits of
age are eighteen for males and sixteen
for females; in Spain, fourteen for
males and twelve for females. In
Switzerland the limits vary from
fourteen to twenty for males and
twelve to eighteen for females, accord
ing to the Cantonal and other laws.
In Turkey, there is no age limitation
In Wurtemburg, the limit is fixed at
twenty one for males and fourteen fol