_Mixed Marriages--Differences of Colour--Nationality and
Religion--Scotch Marriages--Marriage of Minors and Wards in Chancery._
Mixed Marriages.
Love overleaps all barriers, and it is of but little use to try and
bind it. Marriage, however, is another thing, and can be prevented
even where love exists. How far it is right or advisable to do so must
be a matter of individual judgment decided by the facts of each
separate case. To take an instance. There is a very strong feeling,
especially among medical men, against the marriage of cousins. Now
love deep and true may exist between two cousins; but, seeing the
physical deterioration that comes from the intermarrying of members of
one family, it may be a plain duty to unborn generations for these two
to abstain from marriage with each other. Where there is any
hereditary disease of mind or body it is little short of criminal to
contract such a union. In the matter of _Mixed Marriages_--namely,
those between men and women differing from each other in colour,
nationality, or religion, it is generally thought that they are
fraught with grave risks.
The Question of Colour.
This does not affect us here in England as much as it does in India
and those parts of the empire where there is a coloured native
population. To those who have lived among {103} it the question is one
of burning importance. We cannot go into it here, but, seeing that
these marriages do take place even in England, a word of warning may not
be amiss. Women who are fascinated by coloured men would do well to note
that there is not a white man, good, bad, or indifferent, who does not
abhor the idea of a white woman's marrying a coloured man. This is not
the outcome of jealousy, nor yet of ignorance, for the more the
European has travelled the more rooted is his aversion to such unions.
He knows, as man with man, what the real mental attitude of those
dusky gentlemen is towards women. He knows what lies behind the
courtly manner, the nameless grace, and sensuous charm of these
impassioned lovers. No woman can know this till after marriage, and
then the knowledge does not do her much good. Let any woman who
contemplates a marriage with a coloured man, no matter how high his
caste may be, take counsel with some man who has lived among the dark
races and who cannot possibly be suspected of jealousy, and she will
learn that which may save her from an infinity of suffering.
Different Nationalities.
Among Europeans intermarriage is fairly frequent, and may turn out
well. No doubt it is a success in many cases, but where it is, I think
it will be found that either the man has become cosmopolitan in his
ideas or the woman has lived long enough abroad to fit in with
continental modes of life. The English girl who has been educated in a
French convent will not have the same difficulty in pleasing a French
husband or adapting herself to his ways as the home-reared girl who
meets "Monsieur Blanc" on her first visit to the Continent.
Without a fairly wide knowledge of the home life to which marriage
with a foreigner will lead, an English, Scotch, or Irish girl is
running a great risk by taking such a final step as matrimony, for in
no other country in Europe have women quite the same position as in
the British Isles. The more restricted the mental horizon of the one
may be, the less likelihood is there of perfect sympathy between
husband and wife.
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The Necessary Formalities.
Where such a marriage has been decided upon, there are many
preliminary regulations to be observed. As my legal friend remarks: "A
strict observance of the marriage laws of foreign countries, where one
of the parties to a marriage is English and it takes place in England,
is most necessary, or a person may find herself or himself married in
England but legally repudiated abroad. In France the consent of
parents is required up to the age of twenty-five, and if refused, what
are called three respectful summonses are to be made. If consent be still
withheld, the party can marry legally." There was a case recently in the
English papers of a marriage between two French people being annulled
because the ceremony had been performed in England without the proper
formalities having been observed in France.
"In Germany the fact of the betrothal and intention to marry must be
advertised in newspapers circulating in the district or districts in
which the parties reside, and if one of them resides in England then
in an English newspaper. In Germany notice has also to be given to the
town-clerk or some like official."
Any marriage that is legal in the country where it is contracted is
valid in Switzerland. An Englishwoman marrying an Italian may be
married in England according to the rites of her own church, but a
copy of the marriage certificate must be sent to the nearest Italian
consul, who forwards it to the authorities of the man's native town or
place of residence. There should be no delay in doing this, as no
marriage is legal in Italy if not registered within three months of
its celebration.
There have been so many sad results from irregular mixed marriages
that at the February meeting of the Lower House of Convocation at York
a resolution was moved: "In view of the grave scandals arising in
respect to marriages between English and foreign subjects asking the
Upper House to consider the desirability of issuing an order to the
beneficed clergy and the diocesan registrars requiring that when a
foreigner gives notice of his intention to be married to an English
subject the marriage should not be solemnised till a consular
certificate was produced that the laws of the foreign country had been
complied with."
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British Subjects Living Abroad.
No British subject, especially a woman, should agree to any form of
marriage without having first applied to the British consul of the
district, or to the embassy if there is one, for full particulars and
instructions for the contracting of a legal marriage in a foreign
country under the _Foreign Marriage Act of_ 1892. An Englishwoman
takes the nationality of the man she marries.
A marriage that would be illegal in England is unaffected by any
ceremony performed in the presence of authorised persons abroad should
the parties return to this country. For instance, a man who wishes to
marry his deceased wife's sister can go to a country where such a
marriage is legal and be married; but if the couple return to England
they are not man and wife in the eyes of the law.
Different Religious Persuasions.
Where there is a difference of religious faith and practice between
the man and woman, there will not only be the marriage ceremony to
arrange but there should be a clear, written agreement as to which
faith any children that may be born are to be reared in. The Roman
Church does not recognise marriage except when solemnised by her own
priests, but if one of the parties is not a Romanist the ceremony may
be afterwards gone through in an English church or Nonconformist
chapel. A Jew in England can be married by a registrar, but probably
the majority of Jews in England are married in a synagogue, in which
case a registrar is in attendance.
Any one who marries a Romanist should bear in mind that the dearest
aim of every faithful member of their Church is to bring others into
the fold. Many Nonconformists are willing and even anxious to be
married in the parish church of their district. It may be generally
said, save in the above-named case, that the woman gets her own way
about the religious ceremony. Where strong prejudice exists on either
side the matter may be settled by a civil contract; but apart from the
real question of religion, marriage before a registrar has not the
{106} social prestige which still clings to the time-honoured custom
of exchanging marital vows in the House of God.
Scotch Marriages.
The old law as to Scotch irregular marriages has been modified of late
years, and Gretna marriages are no longer recognised.
Twenty-one days' residence since 1896 is required, but otherwise
acknowledgment before witnesses is a legal marriage. In the year 1878
an Act entitled _An Act to encourage Regular Marriage in Scotland_ was
passed, and under it ministers may celebrate marriages on a
certificate from a registrar, which is equivalent to the publication
of banns. This certificate is issued by registrars on receiving notice
of the intended marriage. The registrar posts the notice in the
prescribed mode, and, if no objection is received, grants his
certificate. The notice must be given to the registrar of the district
or districts in which the parties have resided for fifteen days at
least.
Marriage of Minors and Wards in Chancery.
If a minor who is a ward in Chancery marries without the consent of
the Lord Chancellor (who takes care that proper settlements are made
of the ward's property), he or she commits a contempt of court, and is
liable to punishment accordingly. A minor who will inherit property
can be made a ward by settling L100 upon him or her and making a
proper application to the court. There is no law against two minors
marrying, but the consent of parents is required.
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