de

Instead of the affidavit as to residence, &c. now required to be delivered to the minister, a notice in writing was to be deemed sufficient: the fixtures on the church door, &c. were required, and are retained. The parents or guardians, who were to have power given them to institute suits of nullity, were empowered to proceed in the absence of the offending party, if he had absconded, upon the service of the usual process. The concluding provisions, as to the limited durability of the licence and bauns, and the application of the Bill to England only, were the same as in the present Act: the exception as to Jews and Quakers did not appear.

We have noticed the similarity of a provision in the matrimonial law of France, in reference to the republications; but there are various other coincidences, which almost induce us to think that the framers of the new Act had recourse to that law, and have imported from it several of the new provisions, In respect to the period which is allowed for the impuguing of a marriage, the law of France says, "Le mariage contracté par des epoux qui n'avoient point encore låge requis, ou dont l'un des deux n'avoit point atteint cet age, ne peut plus être attaqué, lorsqu'il s'est écoulé six mois" (the very period suggested as above)" depuis que cet epoux, ou que les epoux ont atteint l'âge competent."

And again: "Lorsqu'il y a un erreur dans la personne le mariage ne peut être attaqué, que par celui des deux epoux qui a été induit en erreur." Other provisions, again, mit the power of impeaching the validity to the persons whose consent was not obtained. (See cap. iv. §. 180, 2, 5, &c.)- Another similarity is the provision with respect to the names being affixed on the church doors, &c. The French code provides that

In remarking now on the various · sections of the modern law, we shall not observe any particular order, but point them out as they severally occur to us.

of

We know not if it was the intention of the legislature to make the alteration, but the new Act certainly deprives all the inferior eccle. siastical authorities, such as deans and chapters, and archdeacons, &c. of privileges immemorially enjoyed by them, and destroys their juris dictions in reference to the grant licences, by confining that power to the archbishops and bishops, and vesting it in their authority exclu sively. The propriety of this restriction we do not dispute: indeed, it might have been as well to have crippled these minor provincials entirely, and taken from them the power of granting probates of wills and letters of administration, from the abuse of which power great evils often arise. But the restric tion will certainly occasion no little inconvenience in a variety of cases, We have heard, indeed, that it is in the contemplation of some members of the legislature to attempt an entire abolition of marriage li cences: if so, this is but a preli minary step to it: but it is a measure which we sincerely hope will not be resorted to, not only on account of its opposition to the temper of English people, but. on account of the excessive difficulties that will be thrown thereby in the way of mar riage-difficulties which, in some cases, we venture to predict, will be found nearly insurmountable. The impediments at present are sufficiently great. But with regard to

We regret to find the Act replete with marks of inattention and neglect. One gross blunder, directing the names and houses of the parties to be fixed on the church door, or some conspicuous part of the church, was pointed out in the progress of the bill by the SolicitorGeneral, but was not corrected. We might only in addition ask, who is the person required to make these fixtures, and who would be punishable for the neglect? The Act mentions no person. If the provision had been adopted in order to supersede the present inconvenient custom of publishing the banns in the midst of Divine service, the motive would have been commendable: but the affixing is in addition to the publication.

The eighth section appears to lose sight of the primary intention of the Bill, in reference to the production of the certificates of baptism on the grant of licences for the marriage of minors. In the case of persons above twenty-one years of age, even of widowers and widows, a baptismal certificate is necessary (however old the parties may be): so that a venerable couple, desirous, not of sharing together the joys of youth, but of mutually smoothing the cares of age, can be admitted to the altar only by the production of entries from their baptismal registers, be their native villages as obscure and distant as they may, and the registers themselves perhaps carelessly kept; while, at the same time, the martiage of a widowed minor is clogged

by no such impediment, for no certificate is required.

In reference to the production of baptismal registers, it was appre hended that considerable inconvenience would be entailed upon a class of the community whose religious tenets induce them to postpone their performance of the rite of baptism till a later period in life; and some indeed never perform it at all. It was asked, how the requirements of the Act are to be complied with in these cases? and although the question is evidently open to the reply, that the Act cannot mean to require impossibi lities, and the eighth section exempts the cases of persons whose baptismal entries cannot be found; yet, although that might apply to the case of the religious community in question, it is not clear what would be held sufficient proof that such registers could not be found, or what extent of search must be made for them. Again: the threats contained in the Act against perjury are pretty strong; and yet some part of its enactments cannot be complied with, unless the par ties do contract the guilt of it: for the eighth section, as above re marked, enacts, that "if a licence is required for the marriage of persons, both, or either, of whom shall be above twenty-one, they shall respectively make oath that they are, and each believes the other to be, of the full age of twenty-one years." In practice, where one party is above, and the other under age, the oath will no doubt be modified accordingly, under the reasonable presumption that this is what the clause meant, but it certainly is not what the clause itself says.

Again in the case of banns, the required affidavit as to residence, age, &c. is to be made before the minister or a justice of peace. No power, however, is given to the clergyman to administer an oath, which he did not before possess, unless he united in himself the two,

not always homogeneous, characters of clergyman and justice. We know, indeed, that wherever an Act directs, it also empowers; but the Act here does not direct the clergyman, but the parties. At all events, how much preferable would it be to avoid the ambiguity, by the introduction of a short parenthesis, which would have cured the defect. The clergy certainly are not compellable by the Act to administer the oath, though in most cases, we presume, they will do it. It may be extremely painful to a young woman, or even to a man of delicacy, to encounter the remarks and pub licity of a magistrate's office on such an occasion.

Onerous duties are imposed by the Act on the parochial ministers, particularly those empowered by the Bishop to act as surrogates; and all their care and vigilance must be exercised, lest they expose themselves to the penalconsequences denounced against informalities. The new affidavits, the entries, the individuality of parties, and the republication, demand the closest at tention. We conclude, however, that the parties concerned will be allow ed to indemnify themselves for their trouble, by corresponding fees.

The Act is grossly deficient in not furnishing an outline of the necessary affidavits in all contemplated cases. Forms have been drawn up for the purpose by individuals. We give one of these forms in a note*.

"On the

day of

appeared personally A. B., of the parish [or chapelry, or extra-purochial place of adjoining the parish or chapelry] of in the county of Gentleman (or as the case may be) Bachelor [or Widower], and C. D., of the purish [or as above] of in the county of · -, Spinster [or Widow], intending to intermarry. And the said A. B. made oath, that his true Christian name is A., and that his true surname is B., and that he knoweth of no lawful impediment by reason of any former marriage, consanguinity, affinity, or any other lawful means whatsoever, to hinder the said

But by far the most inconvenient of the oversights in the Act, is one which is found in what constitutes its most prominent feature, the marriage of minors without consent. That part of the old Act which is the subject of animadversion in the new, while it made consent necessary, defined what consent it was that was required. We have already remarked, that it was, first, of the father-then of the guardiani appointed in his will-then the mother, if a widow-and then the Chancery guardian. It is not neces sary to comment on the wisdom or equity of this gradation. By the new Act we have seen that this provision was repealed: repealed instanter: both the necessity and the definition of consent, as men. tioned in the old Act, were swept away together, (though the substitute did not take effect till two

intended marriage, and prayed a pub lication of banns in the church [or chapel] of

in order to the solemnization thereof in the said church [or chapel]. And the said C. D. made oath, that her true Christian name is C., and her true surname is D.: and both the parties made oath that house [or No.

in

street, or

cottage at ] within the said parish [or chapelry] or extra-parochial place of –, adjoining to the parish [or chapelry] of

has been the abode of the said A. B. or C. D. for

thereof [or as lodger therein]; and that days [or weeks] as occupier the said A. B. and C. D. have attained the age of twenty-one years, [or if the parties are under that age," that the said A. B. and C. D. are under the age o twenty-one years," or if one of them only is under that age, "that A. B. (or C. D., as the case may be) is under the age of twenty-one years."]

(Signed)

A. B. C. D. "Sworn before the Rev. E. F.,