The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-03-22
MARRIAGE LICENSE HEARING.
Opposition to the Reform
Proposed.
Special to the Jersep C4ty Nsp

opectM 20 le JcT6ep CflI Ns7ES-
TRENTON. March %. 1S97.-A hearing
will be given on the marriage license bill
before the Senate Committee on Tuesday.
An interesting fight has developed on this
bill in the upper House, and the outlook
is not favorable to the institution of a
marriage license system in the State.
The only hope now is tha the represan-
tativeslof the Women's Christian Tenn
perance Union, who are to assert them
selves Tuesday, will do so with the same
enthusiasm that they presented their
cause when securing signatures to the
numerous petitions.
The Methodist ministers are against
the bill, and the Camden Ministerial AS
ISOLATION have a committee who have
already appeared before the Senate Com
mittee and have said that the present
law is all right, If the ministers will
conform to it and use better Judgment.
The Baptist and Presbyterians are al
most unanimously in favor of the bill.
The Episcopalians nave united in a petit
ton against the current practices with
Bishop Scarborough's autograph heading
the list The Catholics are against the
bill. Bishop McFaul thus expresses him
self officially through the Chancellor of
the diOceSe.-
The Lloyd bill does not meet the APP
prevail of Bishop McFau1. He thinks that
it Is likely to produce greater evils than
1t has been designed to prevent. The diff
Guilty is with those clergymen who. with
out proper safeguards, unite in marriage
parties calling upon them,
There is no reason for the appoint
ment of a retinue of clerks. Let lain
listers uniting people without proper in
qu1ry regarding matrimonial i1npediments
he Sllh1pcf IN nrnnnr ard lnco >,.-f.l-
ment. To those careless ministers is to
pc attributed a large number of unior-
tunate marriages.
THE Catholic Church throws the prop
er safeguards around marriage, and al
lows her priests to unite no one in mar
riage unless they are satisfied of the
non-exlstence of matrimonial impedf-
ments."
poll of the ~clergymen of Trenton
has been made on the question with a
view of using it before the Senate Com
marriage license law are largely in the
majority. The Rev. j. w. Morris of ST.
Pauls M. E. Church, is opposed to the
bill, and thinks the present law good
u h Rev. Joseph Garrison of the
Warren Street Methodist Churc is OPP
posed to the bill because he thinks that
minors would be as likely to take. a
false oath before the city clerks as before
a clergyman.
The Rev. j. f. Shaw, pastor of the
Broad Street M. E. Church., is not in
IdVof OF the Dill because III simply trans
fers the responsibility from the minister
to county clerk
DR.. Samuel NJ. Studdiford of the Third
Presbyterian Church differs from a ma
jority of the ~clergymen of the Presby-
terrain Church. by declaring himself
against the bill. He quotes the expert
ence of the late Or. Ezra w. Hunt. chief
Of the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the
State, who reached the conclusion after
an Investigation of the marriage laws
of other States, that the present mar
riage law of New jersey is the best in
the Union"
The Rev. G. Jurany, pastor of the Hun
garian Protestant Church. Is strongly in
favor Of the pending bin; 50 Is the
Episcopal Church: The Rev. D. r. Fos-
ter of Bethany Presbyterian Church;
the Rev. j.. McAlpin Harding, rector of
St. Paurs Episcopal Church; the Rev. c.
H. Ingram, of the Fifth Presbyterian
Church.; the Rev. Daniel j.. Freas, city
missionary; the Rev. Walter A. Brooks,
pastor of the Prospect Street Presbyte-
rian Church: SO are the Rev. Frank C.
Brown, the Rev. Maurice Penfield Fixes
and the Rev. Judson Conklin, all Baptist
clergymen.