The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-08-31

The law of marriage In Scotland has al
ways been practically the same as was
ancient English law. Scotland, as well as
England, at the time of the Reformation re-
fused to accept the provision OF the Council
of Trent, rendering the SolemnlZatlon OF
marriage by priest necessary. The Scot
fish law always prescribed. and now pre-
scrbes, certain ceremonals for observa-
ton in the regular celebration of marriage,
which included the publication of banns any
the officiating by clergyman. Though and
marriage contracted without these ceremonl-
ais is irregular" it may still be absolutely
valid. Scottish people, including large
proportion OF the clergy themselves, ever
sturdily withstood the enactment of laws
by Scottish Parliament, and, subsequent to
the Union, by the British Parliament, for
Scotland, which might cloud so-called
" irregular marriage or heiIship of prop
erty growing out of such marriage with
any legal bubbles or harassments. Public
sentiment has always been the sole bar to
this form of marriage; they have ever been
rare and infreGuent among the Scotch
themselves; and innocent progeny have
never been permitted to suffer from condi-
tons resultant from that which, while
pI opriety might question its exercise,
justice and law regarded as an inalienab!e
human right. From time immemorial all
that has been requisite for valid marriage
in Scotland has been an interchange Of real
given an undeniable intention and de-
termination to enter the relation OF
husband and wife, with either In
contestable written evidence of that
fact, or evidence of witnesses before whom
the same is declared. This was Scottish
law 200 years ago, 100 years ago and 1t is
Scottish law to-day. 1t has never been
modified in effect in the slightest degree
The strictest conditions of registration have
been imposed, as in all other civilized eoun.
tries, and about the middle OF the present
century-n0t because necessary restrlc-
among Scottish people. but wholly in defer
ence to English clamor for check upon the
"Gretna" and "Coldstream marriages Of
English people-an additional requisite was
provided to the effect that at least one OF
the contracting parties must have been an
actual resident OF any parish OF Scotland lOr
twenty-one days preceding marriage
In other words, any marriage in Scotland
always has been, and now is. a valid mar
riage by civil contract; and the requisites
for marriages here to-day are precisely the
same as they always have been, with the
exception of the safeguard OF subsequent
registration, and the trifling condition OF
brief residence of one of the contracting
parties. That the Scotch marriage laws
have been
LIBERAL, WISE AND HUMANE,
And that the best social results in Scotland
are directly attributable to the same, admit
of no denial in the face OF the lncontesta-
Bile fact that in no other known country is
the marital relation held more sacred; and
when statistics also show, as they do, that
social scandals arising out OF unhappy mar
riages, and appeals TO courts for severance
of the marriage bond, are practically un-
known. The proposition therefore can be
safely advanced that the Toryocracy of the
English law inspired by the Church auto
cracy in England, and not any inherent un-
wisdom of Scottish law, was solely re-
sponsble for the unenviable n0t0riety Of
famous and Infamous Gretna Green.
There seems TO be no way OF aScertaining
the exact date of the first irregular mar
riage at Gretna, or of discovering the
degrees through which its humble priest Of
Hymen reached his zenith of fame. But by
dint of perseverance and good fortune L at
last set eyes on the record OF the first mar
rage of which any record is preserved at
Gretna. The date is 17T1, or but seventeen
years subsequent to the passage OF Lord
Chancellor HaTdwicke's English marriage
act, and it is not unlikely that this one was
the first; the heralding of The ludierous
adventures of the parties to the same being
quite sufficient for directing attention to e
new way Of escape from the rigors
OF English marriage laws. The young
man and woman who at this date
attained bliss by the Gretna route
Jean Scott, of the parish Of Hetheral, both
in the adjoining English county of Cumber-
land. These two, tradition hath it, instead
of coming by coach and four over the old
post-route from Carlisle, escaped their rela-
tiyes by boat across the Solway, were up
set by storm and an incoming tide, whose
violence drowned one OF their pursuers and
caused the others to abandon the chase !;
the couple themselves barely escaping with
their lives; and, bedraggled in brine and
sand, finally made their way on foot from
Greenhouses, where they reached shore on
the Scottish side. to the safe haven Of
Gretna Green.
This marriage, as we'll as thousands fol-
lowing, was performed by Joseph Paisley,
who from this date until the time of his
death, in 1914, a period of forty-three years,
was the most notorious, if not noted,
man in Scotland, as well as the most exc
Grated single individual known to the an
nails of English social anathema. From all
accounts this Joseph Paisley was an odd
character. He was of unusual height and
frame, and was accorded one OF the strong
est men in Scotland. He was a tobacconist-
not a blacksmith, as according to general
literary tIadition-and presided over the
destinies of an insignificant licensed depot
for tea, tobacco and snuff, where also snug
gled whisky was to be had by the ''muckle
right Sort" who could be trusted. Gretna
Green then, as now, while the western end
of Springfield village, consisted of
NOT MORE THAN A HALE DOZEN HOUSES,
A little cluster of buildings about tn e
olden farmstead of Meg's-hil. There was
the residence of Colonel Maxwell. an ex-
tensive landowner, the old straw-thatched
kirk with its little kirk-yard in which |
now find head-stones in memory of Paisley
and his new successors as :" Bishop of
Gretna" as they were each styled, the
parish nanse behind the kirk, carpenters
sht nr Nil Ia
shop of Paisley. The man was so grossly
ignorant that he could scarcely write his
name, but was still possessed of much
canny shrewdness and cunning. He is
credited with tremendous feats of strength,
and with his two hands he could straighten
a horseshoe in its cold state. He was
also the possessor of such stentorian
lungs that his helloa could be heard
further than any post-horn in use between
Carlisle and Glasgow; while he was
the most capable drinker then known in
Scotland-a no little tribute at any time to
come increased. he became a tremendous
mass of fat, and, while never known to be
drunk, consumed two English quarts of
brandy daily. The fact is of record that on
one occasion he sat down with a bottle
companion on Monday morning to an anker
of Cognac, and without aid in its drinking,
or at any time being intoxicated, they
kicked the empty cask out of the door on
the succeeding Saturday. The cutlery
throughout England over the Edgar-Scott
marriage in 1871, simply resulted in turning
the attention of countless other couples to
Gretna, and the insignificant hamlet in
stantly became famous. Paisley was
treatened with all manner of harm, upon
which he set Scotland and England at de-
fiance, all of which gave him added import
ance and dignity. He was canny enough
to secure the highest Scotch legal advice,
and Immediately settled the form of proceed
urs according to law, by atteSting
marriages simply as witness. The
absolute legality of these Gretna marriages
thus established and advertised, their re-
nown and that of the man Paisley COM
pleted the essentials for aequaintng every
soul in England with the extraordinary OPP
portunity offered for evading English law ;
Paisley gave up the selling of tea, tobacco
and snuff for the more lucrative vocation Of
self-constituted Bishop of Gretna"; the
Maxwell residence was transformed into
commodious inn; extra relays of horses
and chalses for use of pursued and pursuers
were soon in reQuisition at convenient
points for hundred miles distance south
of Carlisle, in England; and flood-tide
set in toward this little Scottish hamlet
which, in its aggregate of throbbing- hearted
humans. far exceeded the mightiest army
that Scottish or Saxon King ever hurled