Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1890-08-30

made famous, or infamous. The two vii
lagos comprise one long, struggling street,
the Gretna Green or northwestern end
having perhaps score of ancient dwell
ings, an old kirk, kirk yard and manse,
and the Springfield or southwestern ex-
tension fully one hundred houses of the
most doleful and forlorn character. The
latter terminate abruptly on the brow of
sunny brae or bank, below which winds
the impetuous Sark. 1t should be borne
in mind that the center of this stream,
which is not forty rods from the abrupt
and clumped village end, is the actual
boundary line between the Kingdom of
Scotland and England; and that whatever
legal or moral vexations might in the old
en- times, or now, lurk in the '.Debatable
Land" between the Sark and the Esk,
whenever debtors or lovers, flying from
the inexorable harassment of English
statute, once crossed the middle of the
Sark, they were instantly safe from their
pursuers beneath the ever welcoming aegis
of Scottish law. Added to this fact was
the almost equally important one that the
great coach route from London itself, and
indeed from all parts of central and west
ern England, to Glasgow and all western
Scotland, traversing the fortified English
border city of Carlisle, not ten miles dis
tant, led over the Sark which is here
SpdIIftu Df great stone anu
thence on to Glasgow, passed directly
through Springfield and Gretna Green,
forming the long, broad village street;
while down to the here quite recent era of
railways an old inn, first at Gretna Green,
and later the Kings Arms, which is still
an inn at Springfield, was in turn head
| quarters on this ancient post route for the
first change of horses out ot Carlisle on
| the way to the north. In connection with
| these facts it is also interesting to know
that another place in Scotland once en-
| joyed but little less notoriety for ''irregu-
lar" marriages than Gretna Green itself
This was the town of Coldstream in Ber-
wickshire, on the eastern border, Il lies
| on the north bank of the Tweed, which at
| that point forms the boundary between
England and Scotland; and runaway
debtors and lovers from the northeastern
English shires usually chose this route to
safety or bliss as the more expeditions of
| the two. A bridge and ford assisted here
in confusing pursuers; while the ford is
| really famous in border history. By il
| Edward l. entered Scotland in 1896; and
hosts of Scottish and English armies made
their way by the Coldstream ford to raw
age the countries of their respective enc
/ mics.
The direct causes leading TO Gretna
Green becoming faf famed court of Hy-
men are traceable to the rigors of English
marital law and its Interpretation. The
ancient law of England held that any
marriage was legal by civil contract in the
| presence of two witnesses, without the in
| tervention of a priest. Decisions based
| on this law entangled matters in an extra
| ordinary manner. Marriage by civil con
| tract was valid; but for some purposes
| such as the descent of real property to the
| heirs of such marriage-the same was in
valid. The common notion also prevailed
and this principle has always met with
| unceasing though futile opposition in
England-that marriage by priest, or other
cleric in holy orders, rendered the mar
riage tie absolutely indissoluble; a princi-
| pie whose universal adoption would serve
| no end save to place a most dangerous
| power at the disposal of the always hu.
man creatures of the church of the hour
precluding superior and ever safe Judicial
discrimination under the safeguards OF
wise law and intelligent courts. Result
ant upon this inexorability of law was tn,
natural revolution of feeling under whicl
a century and quarter since were nur
| tured the Fleet and other scandalous Lon
don marriages, and to end which wa
passed the English marriage act of Lort
Chancellor Hardwicke in 1854. This ac
abolished clandestine and SO called ''irreg
ularn marriages, and made it compulsor,
on all English subjects, save Quakers an,
Jews, to be married according to tn
Church of England a restriction as infa
nous in its nature as We're the abuses 4
which, as in all similar cases, it legitimate
ly led. The opportunity for evasion o.
this enormity was soon discovered in tn,
rule of the English courts that any mar
riage validly performed in the country il
which it had been contracted must be'hel6
valid in England.
The law of marriage in Scotland has al
ways been practically the same as was an
cient English law. Scotland, as well "a,
England, at the time of the reformation
refused to accept the provision of th'
council of Trent rendering the sOlemniza
ton of marriage by a priest necessary
The Scottish law always prescribed, anC
now prescribes, certain ceremonials fo
observation in the regular celebration o
marriage, which included the publication
of banns and the officiating by a clergy
man. Though any marriage contracted
without these ceremonials is irregular,
it may still be absolutely valid. Scottisl
people, including a large proportion of tn
clergy themselves, ever sturdily withstoo,
the enactment of laws by Scottish parlia
ment, and, subsequent to the union, b,
the British parliament, for Scotland
which might cloud 50 called irregular
marriage or heirship of property growin
out of such marriage with any legal quill
bles or harassments. Public sentimen
| has always been the sole bar to this fori
of marriage; they have ever been rare an
infrequent among the Scotch themselve,
and innocent progeny have never bee
permitted to suffer from conditions n
sultant from that which, while prophet
might question its exercise, justice an
law regarded as an inalienable huma
right. From time immemorial all that hs
been requisite for valid marriage
Scotland has been an interchange of rel
and actual consent, constituting at til
time given an undeniable intention an
determination to enter the relation of hu,
band and wife, with either incontestabl
written evidence of that fact or evidence
of witnesses before whom the same is d,
clared. This was Scottish law two hur
dred years ago, one hundred years az,
, and it is Scottish law to-day. 1t has nevS
been modified in effect in the slightest d.
gree. The strictest conditions of registr,
ton have been imposed as in all other ci'
= ilized countries: and about the middle
the present century-not because a nece
sary restriction upon regular or irreguli
, marriages among Scottish people, bl
3 wholly in Difference to English clamor f,
D a check upon the ''Gretna" and ''Col
q stream" marriages of English people
additional requisite was provided to Il
effect that at least one of the contractii
: parties must have been an actual residel
s of any parish of Scotland for twenty-ol
, days preceding marriage.
. In other words, any marriage in Sec
land always has been, and now is, val
marriage by civil contract; and the prere
q uisites for marriages here to-day are pl
g cisely the same as they always have bee
: with the exception of the safeguard
9 subsequent registration, and the trifiii
|. condition of brief residence of one of {
@ contracting parties. That the Scotch ms
4 riage laws have been liberal, wise and h
n name, and that the best social results
: Scotland are directly attributable to t
o. same, admit of no denial in the face of {
! incontestable fact that in no other knoy
4 country is the marital relation held me
. sacred; and when statistics also show,
!. they do, that social scandals arising out
|, unhappy marriages, and appeals to coul
a for severance of the marriage bond, q
/ practically unknown. The propositi
= therefore can be safely advanced that t
|. Toryocracy of the English law inspired
e the church autocracy in England, and N
q any inherent unwisdom of Scottish la
: was solely responsible for the unenviat
;. notoriety of famous and infamous Gretl
II Green.
g. There seems to be no way of ascertai
1t ing the exact date of the first irregul
is marriage at Gretna, or of discovering t
T. degrees through which its humble priest
o Hymen. reached his zenith of fame. B
i. by dint of perseverance and good fortu
T. at last set eyes on the record of the fiji
| rra r,f which anv rac0rd is nraearvl