The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-03-12
BAD MARRIAGE BILL.
The Vicious License System
Passes the A~ssembly-Text
and Objections.
Special to the Jersey citD Nelrs.

TRENTON, March u, 1S96.-The mar
riage license bill introduced by Assem-
biyman Lloyd of Camden, which has
been endorsed by the authorities of the
city of Newark, passed the House last
night. There was a short discussion on
the bill. As~selnblylnan Lloyd stated that
nearly all the States in the Union ave
a marriage license law, even in the Dis
trict of Columbia; the United States
Senate has recently passed a law some
what similar in it's design to the one
being considered here. The marriage
contract was a very important one and
there were no safeguards thrown about
1t as in other contracts. He said the
bill was not introduced wholly to cure
an evil in Camden county, but for the
entire State. 1t was to make parents
feel safe that their children would not
rush into an unwise alliance, because
there were certain formalities to be gone
through, which would checkmate any
fcolishness or ~illegality. He said that 1t
often happened that a young couple
went out for a moonlight stroll, and
whether under the influence of the moon
or some other influence, they stopped in
at the minister's on their way back and
did an act for which they were after
wards repentant. He stated tina the
questions that would be propounded by
the clerks and registers to the candidates
for matrirnony, would be prepared by the
Attorney General and would be legal in
all respects. He stated that in Camden
county nothing had disgraced it so much
as the free and easy that mar
riages had been solemnized. Next to the
race track iniquity, this was Camden,s
greatest evil.
A~ssemblyman Scovel. also from Cam
den. said that no doubt everyone had
read that novel s They Were Mar
ried,' and this bill was a companion
piece to it in current literature. He then
stated that in Camden county the courts
there have more bigamy cases than in
any other county in the State, and he
cited several cases where married men
had courted and married girls, declaring
that they were single. and afterwards
them.
A~ssemblymon Lower opposed the bill
He said there had been happy marriages
made in New Jersey and there were lots
of happy families made without this
license bill; that really the bill had q
wrong title. 1t should have been called
can act for the increase of the fees of
clerks and registrars" He took the
ground that the bill would become q
great nuisance sooner or later.
Assembiyman Reed thought that #
people went out for a. moonlight walk
got home to get married they should
be allowed. to do so. He thought there
Should be no impeachment put in their
way because there seemed to be a dis
position nowadays among young men to
be bachelors, and young women were
Assemblyman Borton said thai he had
not yet been able to get married. not
that he lacked the courage, but the OPP
p~ortunity, and if he has to go and get
a license It viii be worse still and he
The bill, however, was finally passed,
there being only eight votes against It.
The provisions of the act are as fol-
i. From and after the first day Of
July; ammo ,domini one thousand eight
hundred 7 ninetyesix. no marriage
State until a license therefor shall have
been obtained from the city clerk or
registrar of vital Statistics, IL such clerk
hall not be the registrar Of the city
proposed marriage shall reside, or from
the county clerk Of the county where ST
least one Of the said parties shall re-
side in the event of such residence being
without any of the cities OF this State:
and no such license shall be issued iirilsss
at least one of the parties e such pro-
before him. and It shall be made Is aps
pear to such clerk or registrar that no
I'll igesnss VIXEN iaw ssfs 5ss obfains8 s1 aSa5i &
'antRorl2e the performance of The mars