[1508] The judge of probate must issue a license without publicity to a "female making application to him, under oath, containing a statement that she is with child, which if born alive before her marriage will become a bastard, or has lived with a man," etc. With consent of parent or guardian, such judge is empowered to marry persons under marriageable age, making such a statement, whenever he believes the marriage "would be a benefit to public morals." He is required to "file a complete set of all papers in each case in a private file, and shall within ten days after the marriage forward the duplicate thereof to the secretary of state, who shall file such duplicate in a private file and record the same in a private register." These private files of the probate judge and secretary of state "shall be open to inspection only upon the written order of the judge of any circuit or the supreme court of this state, and only for such use as is designated in such order. Such order shall be made only upon the written request of the person or persons who were so married, or when necessary to the protection of property rights arising from or affected by such marriage."—Pub. Acts of Mich. (1897), 230, 231; ibid. (1899), 363, 364.
[1509] Return is made to the designated officer of the county (or town) where the license was issued, in Idaho (1899), Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada (1899), and Utah; but where the marriage was solemnized, in California, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Iowa. The Pennsylvania act of 1893 requires the return to be made to the clerk of the orphans' court in the county where the marriage was solemnized; and this, doubtless, supersedes the law of 1885, which designates for this purpose the county from which license was issued, and which also appears in Pepper and Lewis, Digest (1896), II, 2880, 2881, 2883. By the Ohio act of April 25, 1898, return is made to the probate judge of the county where the license was issued, or where the congregation in which publication of banns was made is located, or where the marriage was celebrated: Laws (1898), 309-11. Of course, the county of issue of license and the county of celebration are usually the same. In Oregon return is made both to the county clerk issuing the license and to the clerk of the county of the marriage: General Laws (1903), 99, 100.
[1510] Statutes of S. D. (1899), II, 1023; Rev. Codes of S. D. (1903), 598; Mills, Ann. Stat. of Col. (1891), II, 1679; Code of Iowa (1897), 1124, 1125; Amendments to the Civil Code of Cal. (1873-74), 187; Deering, Codes and Statutes (1886), II, 27, 28; Act of 1897: Amendments to the Civil Code, sec. 79½, p. 186.
[1511] Rev. Stat. of N. Y. (1889), IV, 2598; the same in Rev. Stat. (1827-28), 140, 141.
[1512] In California the original license, with the certificate of solemnization indorsed and attached must be filed with the county recorder in thirty days: Deering, Codes and Stat. (1886), II, secs. 73, 74, pp. 26, 27; but, in addition, the state registration law requires every person solemnizing marriages to keep a "registry," and "quarterly" to submit to the county clerk a certified copy of it: ibid., I, secs. 3074, 3077, pp. 460, 461.
[1513] So by the act of Feb. 15: Pub. Laws of N. J. (1888), 52 ff., as amended by that of March 29: Pub. Laws (1892), 351; both in Gen. Stat. (1896), II, 2011, 2012.
[1514] The period within which the certificate must be returned to the probate judge was formerly ninety days: Ann. Stat. of Ohio (1897), II, 3017; but by the act of April 25, 1898, it is fixed at thirty days: Laws (1898), 309-11.
[1515] By the act of March 1, 1893, amending that of June 23, 1885: Pepper and Lewis, Digest (1896), II, 2880, 2881, 2883.
[1516] Stat. of S. D. (1899), II, 1021, 1023.
[1517] A period within which the return is to be made does not seem to be fixed: Act of April 29: Laws of Wis. (1899), 530.