The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-02-14
LONDON A GRETNA GREEN.


 Except that it is little more diffl- cult or expensive to reach the British capital occupies to-day precisely the same position in relation to the Fath- erland as did Gretna Green to the re- zion this side of the Twdeed in the days of our great -grandfathers and great -grandmothers, says the London Truth. The eases that have got into the newspapers are only sixty exam ples of practice which is going on regularly, and they have only got there by accident, because the brides or guished personages, or because other circumstances connected with their marriages have attracted public at tention in Germany or England
 There are In London a number of en- terprising individuals of German na- tionality or birth whose principal, if not their only, business is to- entice Teutonic youths and maidens to this country and marry them off in accord ance with the English law whenever just cause or impediment'' makes it difficult for them to get joined togeth- CT in holy matrimony in their own country.
 These agents advertise regularly in the GGerman newspapers, calling the attention of the amorous luton to the families which exist in England for tying connubial knots expeditiously and on reasonable terms. Some of them have their agents in Germany to push the business and catch customers on commission, much like the parties who "touted for licenses" at the en- trance to Doctors Commons in the days when Mir Weller, senior, was captured for the second time.
 They issue books, pamphlets and leaflets describing, more or less accu- rately, the English law, and explaining fully all the formalities in connection with an English marriage. To show how carefully every detail is thought out, there is among the stock in trade of one of the most active of these firms leafet giving in English and Herman the Hateful questions which 1 the Book of Common Prayer requires the priest to put to the parties before joining their bands irrevocably, to- gether with the proper responses,
 The reason of all this is easy to un- derstand. The tying of the matrimo- nial knot in Germany is much more | lengthy and troublesome business than in England, and to do it surrep.itious- 1 ly is very much more difficult. l am | told that from the first official notifi- cation to the completion of the cere- mony the usual time consumed in go- l ing through the necessary legal for malities is about six weeks, and may be anything from that to twelve The mere statements of the parties are not sufficient, but have to be supported by Identification papers and other docu- ments, which are carefully looked into,
 The only formality that presents any difficulty at all to a foreign bride and bridegroom coming to England to be married Is fifteen days residence in the district prior to the ceremony, but it is not much of a difficulty in re- ality, there being little risk in making false statement on the point, while it can always be got over by a special license when the parties are anxious that everything shall be done regular ly and do not grudge the necessary ex- pendlture.
 I am told that it is becoming a com mon occurrence for a pair of German lovers to disappear for a week, and return to their delighted friends at the end of that time with the announce ment that they have been married in London, and no one who sees the fre- quency of the agents advertisements in the German papers will hesitate to believe it.
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