(3) A licence only holds good for three months.
A Special Licence, costing about £30, can only be obtained from the Archbishop of Canterbury,[[11]] and is only granted after special and minute inquiry. The points here to notice are:—
(1) Neither party need reside in the parish where the marriage is to be solemnized.
(2) The marriage may be celebrated in any Church, whether licensed or unlicensed[[12]] for marriages.
(3) It may be celebrated at any time of the day. It may be added that if any clergyman celebrates a marriage without either Banns or Licence (or upon a Registrar's Certificate), he commits a felony, and is liable to fourteen years' penal servitude.[[13]]
Other safeguards there are, such as:—
The Time for Marriages.—Marriages must not be celebrated before 8 A.M., or after 3 P.M., so as to provide a reasonable chance of publicity.
The Witnesses to a Marriage.—Two witnesses, at least, must be present, in addition to the officiating clergyman.
The Marriage Registers.—The officiating clergyman must enter the marriage in two Registers provided by the State.
The Signing of the Registers.—The bride and bridegroom must sign their names in the said Registers immediately after the ceremony, as well as the two witnesses and the officiating clergyman. If either party wilfully makes any false statement with regard to age, condition, etc., he or she is guilty of perjury.