3. 2.

f. 3.

guardian obtained in the same manner, or of the lord chancellor in case no guardian be appointed, shall be void to all intents, and shall not be deemed as marriages or contracts by any spiritual court, if either of the parties be entitled to any real estate of the value of £100. per annum, or to any personal estate of the value of £500., or if the father or mother of the party so murrying under age be in possession of a real estate of the value of £100. per annum, or of any personal estate of the value of £2000. And by s. 2. it shall be lawful for the father or guardian of any person who shall marry, or be Proceedings to contracted in marriage, when under the age of 21 years, annul marriages or, if there be no father or guardian, for any person to of minors. be appointed by the lord chancellor, to commence a suit in the proper ecclesiastical court to disannul such marriage, &c. which suit shall be prosecuted with effect; and if it appears in said suit by proper proof, that either of the parties was at the time of such marriage, &c. under the age of 21 years, such marriage shall be adjudged by such court to be void. But by s. 3. if no such suit be commenced within one year after, such marriage or contract shall from the expiration of such year be good, to all intents and purposes, as if this act had not been made. And this act is explained and rendered more effectual by the 23 Geo. 2. c. 10. Ir. which enacts, that it shall be lawful 23 Geo. 2 c.10. for the father or guardian of such infant who shall marry without such consent as in the 9 Geo. 2. c. 11. mentioned, where the parties entering into the same, or either of them, shall leave the kingdom or abscond, by which means it may be difficult to serve process in a suit to be instituted for annulling such marriage, or matrimonial contract, or in such case if there be no father or guardian, for any person to be appointed by the lord chancellor for that purpose, within one year after such marriage, &c. to file an allegation in the ecclesiastical court of the diocess, where such infant was usually resident before his or her going out of the kingdom, or entering into such marriage &c. in the same manner as if the necessary parties had appeared in a suit instituted in the said court to annul such marriage, &c.; which court shall thereupon issue process to compel the persons so marrying of entering.

into

s. 1. ir.

s. 2.

Marriages of lunaticks void.

15 Geo. 2. c.30. Eng.

into such contract, to appear in such court within a time therein to be limited, and shall have power to proceed to hear and determine said cause as if the parties were resident, and the said marriage, &c. entered into within said diocess, if it shall appear by affidavit that such process was served in the usual manner on the said parties whether in or out of the kingdom: and if it shall appear in said suit by proper proof, that the said marriage, &c. was contrary to the 9 Geo. 2. c. 11., such marriage, &c. shall be adjudged by said court to be void to all intents. And by s. 2. in case the father or guardian of an infant who shall so marry, &c. without consent, shall die or be removed before the commencement of a suit for dissolving such marriage, &c. pursuant to this and the former act, such person as shall after become guardian, or such person as shall be appointed by the chancellor for the purpose, may commence and prosecute a suit for annulling such marriage, &c. as herein and in said former act is directed; and in case after the commencement of any suit pursuant to this or the former act, the father, guardian, or person appointed to commence and prosecute such suit, shall die, or be removed, before the same be finally determined, such suit shall not abate, but shall be carried on in the name of such person as shall be appointed guardian to such infant, or who shall be appointed by the chancellor to carry on the same, in like manner as it might have been carried on by the person who com menced such suit.

With respect to the incapacity to marry arising from the want of reason, the 15 Geo. 2. c. 30. Eng. enacts, that in case any person who shall be found a lunatick, by any inquisition taken by virtue of a commission under the great seal of Great Britain; or any lunatick, or person under a phrensy, whose person and estate by virtue of any act of parliament shall be committed to the care of trustees, shall marry before he or she shall be declared of sane mind by the lord chancellor, or by such trustees or the major part of them, every such marriage shall be void to all intents. No statute in Ireland has provided

in

in a similar way, for preventing lunaticks from being surprised into unsuitable marriages.

banns required.

The forms required to be observed by the 26 Geo. 2. Publication of c. 33. Eng. in order to give validity to marriages, are (by 26 Geo. 2. c.33. s. 1.) that all banns of matrimony shall be published in an s. 1. Eng. audible manner in the parish church, or in some public chapel, (in which banns have been usually published,) belonging to the parish or chapelry where the persons to be married shall dwell, according to the form of words prescribed by the rubrick prefixed to the office of matrimony in the book of common prayer, upon 3 Sundays preceding the solemnization of the marriage, during the time of morning service, or of evening service, (if there be no morning service upon any of those Sundays) immediately after the second lesson: and if the persons to be married shall dwell in divers parishes, &c. the banns shall be in like manner published in the church, &c. belonging to such parish, &c. wherein each of the said persons shall dwell; and where both or either of the persons shall dwell in any extraparochial place, (having no church, &c. wherein banns have been usually published,) then the banns shall be published in some parish church, &c. adjoining such place: and where banns shall be published in any church, &c. belonging to any parish adjoining to any extraparochial place, the parson, vicar, minister, or curate, publishing such banns, shall certify in writing under his hand the publication thereof. And all other rules prescribed by the said rubrick concerning the publication of banns and solemnization of matrimony, not hereby altered, shall be observed: and in all cases where banns shall have been published, the marriage shall be solemnized in one of the parish churches, &c. where such banns have been published, and in no other place. But by s. 2. no parson, &c. shall be obliged to publish the banns, unless the persons to be married shall 7 days before the time required for the first publication, deliver to parson, &c. to such parson, &c. a notice in writing of their true christian and surnames, and of the house or houses of their respective abodes within such parish, &c. and of the time during which they have dwelt, inhabited, or lodged in such house or houses. And by s. 3. no parson,

&c.

$. 2.

Previous notice

3. 4.

&c. solemnizing marriages, &c. between persons, both or one of whom shall be under the age of 21 years, after banns published, shall be punishable by ecclesiastical censures for solemnizing such marriages without consent of parents or guardians, unless such parson, &c. shall have notice of the dissent of such parents, &c.; and in case such parents, &c. or one of them, shall openly and publicly declare in the church, &c. where such banns shall be so published, his dissent to such marriage, such publication of bauns shall be void. By s. 4. no license shall Marriages to be be granted by any archbishop, bishop, or other ordinary or in the parish person, to solemnize any marriage in any other church, &c. church, &c. than in the parish church, &c. of the parish, &c. within which the usual place of abode of one of the persons to be married shall have been for 4 weeks immediately before granting such license; or where both or either of the parties shall dwell in any extraparochial place, having no church or chapel wherein banns have been usually published, then in the parish church, &c. of some adjoining parish, &c. And by s. 5. all parishes where there shall be no parish church, &c. belonging thereto, or none wherein divine service shall be ustially celebrated every Sunday, shall be deemed extraparochial places for the purposes of this act. By s. 6. the right of the archbishop of Canterbury and his officers, to grant special licenses to marry at any convenient time or place, by virtue of the 25 Hen. 8. c. 21. Eng. is saved and reserved: but by s. 7. no surrogate deputed by any ecclesiastical judge, who hathi power to grant licenses of marriage, shall grant any such license, before he hath taken an oath before said judge faithfully to execute his office, according to law, to the best of his knowledge, and hath given bond in £100. to the bishop of the diocess, for the due and faithful execution of his office. And by s. 8. Marriages conall marriages solemnized in any other place than a trary to this act church or such public chapel, unless by special license as aforesaid, or that shall be solemnized without publication of banns, or license from a person having authority to grant the same first had, shall be void. But by s. 10.

3. 5.

s. 6.

Special licenses excepted.

void.

s. 7.

s. 8.

after

* The provision, making it felony to celebrate such marriages, will be stated in another place.

s. 10.

Marriages to be

after the solemnization of any marriage, under a publication of banns, it shall not be necessary in support of such marriage, to give any proof of the actual dwelling of the parties in the respective parishes, &c. wherein the banns were published; or where the marriage is by license, it shall not be necessary to give any proof that the usual place of abode of one of the parties for the space of 4 weeks as aforesaid, was in the parish, &c. where the marriage was solemnized; nor shall any evidence be received in either of said cases to prove the contrary, in any suit touching the validity of such marriage. By s. 14. & 15. s. 14. & 15. the church-wardens and chapel-wardens of every parish or chapelry are required to provide books of vellum or registered. durable paper, in which all marriages and banns, there published and solemnized, shall be registered, in a particular manner and form hereby prescribed. And by s. 15. all marriages shall be solemnized in the presence of 2 or more witnesses, beside the minister who shall celebrate the same; and immediately after, an entry thereof shall be made in such registry, in which it shall be expressed that said marriage was celebrated by banns, or license, and, if both or either of the parties married by license be under age, with the consent of the parents or guardians, as the case shall be; and shall be signed by the minister with his proper addition, and also by the parties married, and attested by 2 witnesses present at the solemnization of such marriage. By s. 17. this act shall not extend to the marriages of any of the royal family; Exceptions. nor (by s. 18.) to Scotland; nor to any marriages amongst quakers, or amongst persons professing the jewish religion, where both the parties are quakers or jews; nor to any marriages solemnized beyond the seas. By s. 19. this act is to be publicly read in all parish churches, Act to be read and public chapels, by the parson, &c. on 4 Sundays in 4 times in every each year, viz.: the Sundays next before the 25th March, 24th June, 29th September, and 25th December.*

This

*The 21 Geo. 3. c. 53. Eng. 44 Geo. 3. c. 77. E. and 48 Geo. 3. c. 127. F. have rendered valid marriages solemnized before 23d August, 1808, in certa n churches and chapels, in which banns had not been usually published before or at the time of passing the 26 Geo. 2. c. 33.

year.

s. 17.

S. 18.

s. 19.