‘Heads for Hadleigh—tails for Shield and sudden death.... Heads it is, and Hadleigh’s my man.’
He picked up the coin, seated himself at his writing-table, and proceeded to communicate his decision to Mr Hadleigh with as much gravity as if he had arrived at it after serious deliberation.
FAMILIAR SKETCHES OF ENGLISH LAW.
BY AN EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONER.
It is not necessary for the writer of these sketches to declare which branch of the legal profession he belongs to, but it appears desirable to explain the purpose for which they are written. The laws of our land are so numerous and complicated, and derived from so many sources, that it is impossible for any human mind to make itself thoroughly acquainted with all their multifarious details, however familiar the general principles of the law may have become. And yet every one of the Queen’s subjects is responsible for any breach of the law which he or she may commit. The reason of this is obvious: a law which might be broken with impunity on the excuse that the law-breaker was ignorant of its existence, would be an absurdity. If laws are to be of any use, they must be universally binding, on the learned and unlearned, within the sphere of their operation. In the course of a long, extensive, and varied professional experience, we have often been astonished to find profound ignorance of legal principles and responsibilities in unexpected quarters; and it has occurred to us that a few familiar articles on the laws which affect the different relationships of social life might be both interesting and useful. Many of the principles which affect persons in the characters of husband and wife, parent and child, master and servant, and so forth, are easily understood, if explained in simple language and free from technicalities.
In so doing, we have no intention to interfere with the proper province of the solicitor or the barrister. The law has in many respects been much simplified during the present century; but still the proverb remains true, ‘He who is his own lawyer has a fool for his client.’ In buying a house, the title must be investigated by one who has acquired an accurate knowledge of the law of real property, or a fatal flaw in the title may deprive the purchaser of that for which he has paid. Home-made wills, unless of the very simplest description, lead in many cases to costly and vexatious litigation after the death of the testator. And in actions and other legal proceedings, where the rights of the parties depend upon the application of established legal principles to new combinations of facts which are themselves doubtful and capable of being considered from opposite points of view, the necessity for professional assistance is too obvious to require comment.
I. MARRIAGES; SETTLEMENTS; AND BREACHES OF PROMISE TO MARRY.
The contract of marriage lies at the foundation of our social system; and therefore we select it and other matters incidentally relating thereto for explanation and comment in the first instance, reserving for a future paper the law of Scotch marriages, as apart from that which now holds good south of the Border; but noting in the meantime, that prior to 25th March 1754, when Lord Hardwick’s Act came into operation, the theory of the law in both countries was, that the consent of a free and capable man and woman, to become husband and wife constituted marriage, if proved by credible evidence. But in England, a marriage by mere words of consent did not confer all the rights consequent on a marriage duly solemnised. Since 1754, the English law has required definite technicalities of evidence, which, however, have been much restricted in their scope for injustice.
In considering the first part of our subject, ‘Who may marry’, it will be most convenient to deal with the question negatively; and when we have seen who must not marry, it must be understood that persons not coming within any of the categories specified are at liberty to enter into the legal contract of matrimony.
Foremost among the disabilities is insufficient age. In this respect the law is extremely indulgent, fixing the age for a male at fourteen, and for a female at twelve years. But there is a qualified disability beyond those ages: a person who has not been previously married, and is under the age of twenty-one years—technically called an infant or minor—is not allowed to marry without the consent of his or her parent or guardian. The consent of the father is required if living; after his death, the consent of the guardian appointed by his will, or otherwise lawfully appointed; or if none, then of the mother if still a widow. If the mother be married, then a guardian may be appointed by the High Court of Justice. When the minor is a Ward of Court, any person marrying him or her without the consent of the Court—which will only be granted on a proper settlement being made—may be imprisoned for contempt, and will only be released, after longer or shorter detention at the discretion of the Court, on condition of paying all costs, and settling the whole of the ward’s property as the Court may direct, the offender being usually excluded from any benefit therefrom. A lady of full age was recently sent to prison for marrying an infant Ward of Court without consent; and there have been numerous instances of gentlemen being punished in the same way. Nullity of the marriage is not now the result of this disability; but the man who procures a license by affirming that he is of full age when he is not, or that the necessary consent has been obtained when it has not, may be punished both civilly and criminally.