Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-09-19
A MARRIAGE LAW.


riagc law has always been deemed one OF
the most essential laws OF any civil
lied country, as the institution OF
marriage itself is one oi the most
important things in all civilized
society. Here any and all are au-
thorized TO solemnize the marriage
cremony, and no doubt the consent OF the
parties and their announcement OF their
intention TO live together as husband and
wife, would be valid marriage. But
should there not be some Legislative con-
troll OF so important thing rs the mar
riage relation when the importance of
the relation and its results are consid-
cred? The intimate association OF man
and woman as husband and wife is an
important thing OF itself, but it is not so
important as the children who are born
Of them. And the fact that the relation
OF husband and wife Is entered
into for the purpose Of bringing
children into the world, and that
the rights OF those children before the
law depend upon the legality OF the
formation OF the marriage relation is the
primary and the strongest reason for the
enactment OF marriage law. Ii children
are innocently born into this world out
side OF the legal relation OF marriage, the
law gives them no rights and the world
gives them no charity The innocent are
made to suffer for the wrongs OF the
guilty. Such should not be the case. Can
such condition OF this be in anywise
amended in Utah? 1t can. There should
be enacted stringent marriage law
requiring that all marriages should
be performed by civil magistrate
who should be required to keep register
OF marriages Whether marriages should
be allowed without bans is q question OF
minor Importance, and one TO be con-
sidered when the details OF marriage
law are considered. 1t should be made a
crime for anyone to perform the marriage
ceremony who is not authorized by the
law, and the solemnization of marriage
as n religious rite should only be per-
mitted after the ceremony by the civil
magistrate and upon presentation of
his certificate. In connection with
a marriage law there should be law re-
quiring all births TO be registered, with
the names OF the parents. II any child is
born whose father is not known, or Ii the
mother knowing the father OF her child.
refuses to divulge his name, such
child should be taken by the
State and reared and educated
as a State ward. The mother OF such
natural child should not be allowed
to lay any claim to any property OF
which it might die seized nor to
any portion OF its earnings. The name
oil the mother OF a nuilius .flius
should also be placed upon a public
registry kept for that purpose. All these
records should be open to puplic inspec-
ton the same as records OF deeds, etc.
Whenever the father OF Il nullius illus is
discovered, no matter after what length
of time, he should be punished Grim
inally, and the expense that the State
may have been at to maintain his child
should be made Il lien upon any property,
whether real or personal, that he may
have at the time of the discovery OF his
paternity Of such State ward, or any
that he may acquire subsequently
to such discovery. Ii such father should
be q man without family, the law should
give to his natural child an interest in all
his property and should deprive the faith
er of the power to divest himself by deed or
devise OF his property unencumbered Of
his child's interest, unless such interest
shall have been satisfied and the evidence
placed upon record. To say when that
interest has been satisfied should be the
duty OF Il court OF chancery, whose care
wards interest peculiarly is.
1t is very doubtful whether the local
Legislature will pass any such measures
as are contemplated above, us all the
members oil that body, save one, are be-
levers in the illegal polygamic system OF
marriage which obtains almost univer-
sally throughout Utah. It is for the very
purpose OF doing away with that unlawful
system and the evils consequent thereon,
that marriage law should be enacted.
That system brings into the world many
children who have no standing before
the law, which IL wrong that should be
eradicated, and its continual tendency il
to destroy the unity and harmony Of the
family, and thereby introduce discord-
ant and disturbing clement into society.
Ii the law recognizes In large number
OF men and women no rights, it
is but natural that such men and women
SHOULD be more or less lawlessly inclined.
They have been placed without the law
by others acts and not their own. This
being the case, those who bring into
being and the world large and growing
larger class OF persons whose status IL
defined by the law as being the children
oil no one, should be punished and their
practices stopped, because they introduce
into the State large class that may from
the very nature OF things become danger
GUS to the peace and welfare Of the State,
and because they iniict Il most grevous
and ineparable wrong upon the innocent,
who must ever remain without the means
OF redress Utah must have a marriage
law, or social chaos will reign.