Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1901-01-23
THE MARRIAGE RELATION.
YorkyiIle Minister Writes Strongly In Favor
of Legal Restrictions.

IUl ktlIIC WlHIStCt SSo"6y '" 'e'S'
of Legal Restrictions.
Editor Yorkville Enquirer.
I have read with approval that a
member of the legislature from this
county has introduced a bill in the
house requiring license for marriage.
Such law is very much needed.
With all her boastfulness of the sane
tity of marriages, and that she does not
admit of divorce, South Carolina must
face the fact that the marriage rela-
ton is entered into heedlessly and
broken with but little thought. The
loosest notions are beginning to prevail
amongst certain classes OF our White
population concerning the marriage
bond. Now marriage is, in part, civ
il contract, and the state owes 1t to
herself to make the relation sacred and
to surround it with all the safeguards
possible. We are behind other states
in this respect.
We pride ourselves that we are more
righteous even than the Scriptures, and
allow no divorce for any cause what
soever, and our people, deluded with
vain conceit, cry hands off" when any
legislation is proposed about marriage.
But I do not propose to discuss the
propriety of a divorce law; will just
say that while we have no divorces le-
gally, we have separations, enough or
them. We have people coming into the
state to get married, and leaving it to
get unmarried. ~
But as to the marriage license pill;
we need it very much. Let me illus
trate. A Saturday evening not long
ago, there came to my house a young
man-let us call MIN boy-about Is or
~ years Of age, and, after giving his
name in an embarrassed manner asked
me if 1 could marry him. / asked the
name of the young lady and her age.
She was II, he said. Are the old folks
willing? He replied that he did not
think the old lady was. told him that
| would not marry runaway couples
under age-that if he would go and
get the written consent of parents and
bring some witnesses to the fact, I
would then solemnize the ceremony
and l proceeded to deliver a lecture
upon the seriousness Of the step he was
about to take, and told him what a
wrong it was; what an ungrateful
thing, ETC., for a girl-a mere child-to
run away from her home and marry
against her mothers wishes. L thought
perhaps l was wasting words; but be-
ing full of the matter, delivered NV
sell, anu lllS lcllON uiuli AAON
that night anyway. He agreed, before
he left, to look at the question from my
standpoint.
Now, what recourse had these par
ents? That's the point l make; What
protection was given them? How could
they prevent that child of theirs, whom
they had right to control, from an
unhappy and miserable union, as they
thought? They have none in this state.
tho rhi11rpn can find
will marry them; or if that be not true,
they won't have to go far to find
minister that will do it. There are
many cases worse than this, where the
children are younger. We ought 10
have a law requiring the woman to be
Is or 10 years of age, or, if less, to nave
the consent of the parents; and the
man to be 81. There ought to be
small fee and a record of the marriage,
in proper form, kept by some officer.
The parents ought to have the protec-
ton of licenses. The minister OF the
gospel who has a conscience in such
matters, ought to require this license 10
be presented before he will have any
thing to do with performing the cere-
mony, and so should every of1cer ap-
pointed by law to officiate in such
cases. There are other CONSIDERATIONS,
besides this of the rights of parents
One is that these marriages so lightly
contracted are just as easily dissolved.
We know it to be a fact that in some
linstances-in many--these children live
together only for a few months.
What is to become of the children
born from such unions? What sort OF
a generation, both physical and mental.
do we hope to get from persons 1mma-
ture in stature and in mind? But on
this pair of the subject, I forbear.
hope something will be done. A mar
riage license law won't cure all the
evils we see resulting from people be-
ing mismated. but it will help to arrest
the trouble among the children.
But South Carolina is unique-she
likes to be, you know. She has an odd
disrensary law-nothing like it else
where. She has no divorce law, ana
no marriage law. But singularlty does
not constitute perfection.
Yorkvi'le, S. c., January q.