Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-03-08


desire to occupy only space enough for a
few remarks on the part of the clerk 6. report,
given in your issue of the 5th, and in which
he says: The only thing in connection with it
(the present marriage law that has given any
serious embarrassment il the failure Of min
listers to make proper and legal return after
they have performed the marriage ceremony
which has in many cases seriOuly interiered
with obtaining necessary legal information in
regard to marriages"
Now, in the first place the requiring of "min-
listers" to so to the court house and make
entry in the proper book there of q marriage
is an Inconvenience. indeed to some OF US a
nuisance of no small character. Some min
listers are constantly employed and after a
day routine of pastoral duty the little time
lett to be spent in the study is seriously in
terfered with ii one has to trouble his mind
with the remembrance that he has a marriage
or two to be entered by him in person at the
court house.
If this thing were a necessity, made so by the
experience of marriage returns in the states,
there might be u good reason for retaining this
most annoying feature in the present law. But
1t not only Is not SO done in many of the states
Il know not of one where it is done); it is really
in part to be blamed for the very 'only things
which the clerk of the court says in his report
it is, that has given" the 'serious embarrass-
ment" about it. Some ministers wait until
thus let one trip to the couIt house do for the
batch.
Again, o minister" in making his return
OF a marriage goes 10 the court house, calls for
the volume indicated on the license, and makes
his entry without the clerks inspection. How
liable Is all aged minister" who has bad eyes,
to make q mistake. Or, if hurried or
worried by heat:of summer or by some i'm
Fortunate pleader for help-tramps and i'm
posters. perhaps, who torment ministers
more than any other class Of men-how easily
might a minister under such circumstances
make mistake. Let me give an instance of a
mistake occurring In a case OF marriage per-
formed n little over year ago. 1t was the
case of one of the most estimable young
couples, resident and native of this city. In
a few days. as soon as l could possibly COM
mand the time for the trip, repaired to the
court house. secured the proper volume and,
to my amazement and amusement. l found
that some minister had been in before me,
whether within few hours or day / cannot
say, and in making his return had actually
in an ignoranl way recorded himself as having
performed tue marriage Of this estimable
young white lady and gentleman! OF course,
the couple he did marry were left without q
return" on the record and l suppose they are
left so still. 1t required the most careful
erasing not to tear the leaf of that volume and
to leave the paper thick enough to receive the
proper entry. But this shows the annoyance
house to record the marriages he performs,
and it also shows that this requirement Ii not
the most practical way of obtaining the ire
turn" Suppose in the case Of the marriage
cite above from my own experience had died
or left the District before making the record at
the court house, then the legal return in
that case would ever have been wanting.
Now, the remedy is a simple one and in every
way more practical, more convenient and de-
cidedly superior and more certain of returns
than the present mode. 1t is this, and is used
in Maryland. adopted there q few years ago:
When the clerk Of the court issues a license let
it be in three parts, perforated, to be divided
acros its width. The first part is the clerk 8
authorization to the minister to perform the
marriage; the second is by the minister to be
filled out as the legal return to the clerk of
the court, and the third the certificate of mar
riage filled out by the minister and handed by
him to the couple. The return to the clerk
can be Immediately made by mail and his entry
of 1t always assured and be uniform in all
cases. MINISTER.