It is not necessary to dwell upon the form of the service used in the solemnisation of matrimony. It is, or may become, familiar to all persons interested. But perhaps it may not be universally known that the celebration of marriage without license or due publication of banns is a criminal offence, punishable by penal servitude or imprisonment with hard labour. In addition to the clergyman, there must be at least two witnesses present, and the marriage must be registered. The subject of registration of marriages will be most conveniently considered hereafter, in conjunction with the laws relating to registration of births and deaths.
Previous to 1st March 1837, the only marriages recognised by the law in England were those above referred to; but on and since that date, it has been allowed for Nonconformist ministers to celebrate marriages in places of worship duly registered for that purpose; and for persons to be married without any religious ceremony at the office of the Superintendent Registrar of the district. If the marriage be intended to be by license, notice must be given to the Superintendent Registrar of the district in which one of the parties has resided for fifteen days previously. After an interval of one clear day, the license is issued, and the marriage can then be celebrated. In case of a marriage without license, seven days’ residence before notice is sufficient; and if the parties reside in different districts, notice must be given to both Superintendent Registrars. Twenty-one days afterwards, the Superintendent Registrar issues his certificate, authorising the celebration of the marriage. When the parties do not both reside in one district, it sometimes happens that the non-resident party comes without the requisite certificate, when the wedding has to be postponed to another day.
The notice of intention to marry, whether with license or without, has a statutory declaration—equivalent to an affidavit—subjoined, to the same effect as is required before the granting of an ordinary license by a surrogate.
The form of marriage service at a Nonconformist place of worship is usually somewhat similar to that used by the Church of England; in some cases more concise, in others more diffuse. It is essential that in some part of the ceremony both parties should declare that they respectively know of no lawful impediment; and that each should take the other to be his or her lawful wedded wife or husband; and that a Registrar of Marriages should be present, in addition to the minister and two or more witnesses.
The form of marriage at the office of a Superintendent Registrar, or what may be called a purely civil marriage, is very short, being practically confined to the declarations of no impediment and the mutual taking. The Superintendent Registrar, Registrar of Marriages, and two other witnesses, must be present.
The notice of marriage without license, which is equivalent to publication of banns, has the advantage of comparative privacy; it is suspended in the register office twenty-one days, but is not otherwise published.
In some cases, marriages may be celebrated in an adjoining district in which neither of the parties resides; that is, when they belong to any body of Christians who have not a place of worship within the district of residence.
Licenses and certificates for marriage are only good for three calendar months from the date of the notice; and any person unduly celebrating a marriage under these Acts is declared to be guilty of felony.
Marriages of citizens of this country abroad are generally celebrated at the British consul’s office, and had better, in cases of doubt, not be entered into without his advice, especially if one of the parties to the proposed contract be a foreigner. Indeed, even in this country it is hazardous to marry a foreigner without knowing the law of the country of which he is a citizen, and fully ascertaining that it would bind him to the proposed marriage if carried out. For example, it may happen that a Frenchman has married an Englishwoman, and that, for want of some of the consents required by the French law, he may, though bound in this country, be able to return to his own, and plead successfully that his marriage here was entirely null. Indeed, many aliens can do this and the like of it; and all Englishwomen ought to know how little the law of England can do for them in a foreign country.
‘A settlement’ may be made either before or after marriage. The former is properly called a Marriage Settlement; the latter, a Post-nuptial Settlement. The rules of law by which these two classes of settlements stand or fall are essentially different; the former being made for valuable consideration, are good against all the world if the property settled be the settler’s own. This is reasonable; for it may be that the lady would not have accepted the gentleman if the settlement had not been made in her favour, and it would be unjust to deprive her of that for which she had bargained, as it would be impossible to place her in the same position as if the marriage had not been celebrated. A marriage settlement which comprises personal chattels is also exempted from the operation of the Bills of Sale Act, and does not require to be registered. But a post-nuptial settlement of movable goods must be registered as a bill of sale; and it is void if the settler becomes bankrupt or files a petition for liquidation within ten years afterwards, unless the parties claiming under the settlement can prove that the settler was at the date of the settlement able to pay all his debts without resorting to the property settled. In any event, bankruptcy or liquidation within two years is fatal to a voluntary settlement—in which class post-nuptial settlements are comprised.