Whether the term of courtship may have been long or short--according
to the requirements of the case--the time will at last arrive for
_Fixing the Day_.
While it is the gentleman's province to press for the earliest
possible opportunity, it is the lady's privilege to name the happy
day; not but that the bridegroom-elect must, after all, issue the
fiat, for he has much to consider and prepare for beforehand: for
instance, to settle where it will be most convenient to spend the
honeymoon--a point which must depend on the season of the year, on
his own vocation, and other circumstances. At this advanced state of
affairs, we must not overlook the important question of
_Legal Settlements_.
These are matters that must be attended to where there is property
on either side; and it behoves the intending bridegroom to take
care there is no unnecessary delay in completing them. An occasional
morning call in one of the Inns of Court at this period is often
found to be necessary to hasten the usually sluggish pace of the legal
fraternity. On the business part of this matter it is not the province
of our work to dilate; but we may be permitted to suggest that
two-thirds, or at least one-half, of the lady's property should be
settled on herself and offspring; and that where the bridegroom has
no property wherewith to endow his wife, and has solely to rely on
his professional prospects, it should be made a _sine quâ non_ that he
should insure his life in her favour previously to marriage.
_How to be Married_.
By this time the gentleman will have made up his mind _in what form_
he will be married--a question, the solution of which, however, must
chiefly depend on his means and position in life. He has his choice
whether he will be married by BANNS, by LICENCE, by SPECIAL LICENCE,
or before the Registrar; but woe betide the unlucky wight who should
venture to suggest the last method to a young lady or her parents!
_Marriage by Banns_.
For this purpose, notice must be given to the clerk of the parish or
of the district church. The names of the two parties must be written
down in full, with their conditions, and the parishes in which they
reside--as, "Between A B, of the parish of St. George, bachelor (or
widower, as the case may be), and C D, of the parish of St. George,
spinster (or widow, as the case may be)." No mention of either the
lady's or gentleman's age is required. Where the lady and gentleman
are of different parishes, the banns must be published in each, and a
certificate of their publication in the one furnished to the clergyman
who may marry the parties in the church of the other parish.
It seems singular, albeit it is the fact, that no evidence of consent
by either party is necessary to this "putting up of the banns," as
is it denominated; indeed, the publication of the banns is not
unfrequently the first rural declaration of attachment, so that
the blushing village maiden sometimes finds herself announced as a
bride-elect before she has received any actual declaration. The clerk
receives his fee of two shillings and makes no further inquiries; nay,
more, is prepared, if required, to provide the necessary fathers on
each side, in the respectable persons of himself and the sexton--the
venerable pew-opener being also ready, on a pinch, to "perform" the
part of bridesmaid.
The banns must be publicly read on three successive Sundays in the
church, after the last of which, if they so choose, the happy pair
may, on the Monday following, be "made one." It is usual to give one
day's previous notice to the clerk; but this is not legally necessary,
it being the care of the Church, as well as the policy of the Law, to
throw as few impediments as possible in the way of marriage, of which
the one main fact of a consent to live together, declared publicly
before an assemblage of relatives, friends, and neighbours (and
afterwards, as it were by legal deduction, before witnesses), is the
essential and constituent element. Marriage by banns, except in the
country districts, is usually confined to the humbler classes of
society. This is to be regretted, inasmuch as it is a more deliberate
and solemn declaration, and leaves the ceremony more free from the
imputation of suddenness, contrivance, or fraud, than any other form.
A marriage by banns, it is understood, can never be set aside by the
after discovery of deception or concealment as respects residence, and
even names, on either side. The fees of a marriage by banns vary from
_11s. 6d._ to _13s. 6d._ and _15s. 6d._, according to the parish or
district wherein the marriage may take place.
_Hours in which Marriages may be Celebrated_.
All marriages at church must be celebrated within canonical
hours--that is, between the hours of eight and twelve, except in the
case of special licence, when the marriage may be celebrated at any
hour, or at any "meet and proper place."
_Marriage by Special Licence_.
By the Statute of 23rd Henry VIII., the Archbishop of Canterbury has
power to grant special licences; but in a certain sense these are
limited. His Grace restricts his authority to Peers and Peeresses in
their own right, to their sons and daughters, to Dowager Peeresses, to
Privy Councillors, to Judges of the Courts at Westminster, to Baronets
and Knights, and to Members of Parliament; and, by an order of a
former Prelate, to no other person is a special licence to be
given, unless they allege very strong and weighty reasons for such
indulgence, arising from particular circumstances of the case, the
truth of which must be proved to the satisfaction of the Archbishop.
The application for a special licence is to be made to his Grace
through the proctor of the parties, who, having first ascertained
names and particulars, will wait upon his Grace for his fiat.
The expense of a special licence is about twenty-eight or thirty
guineas, whereas that of an ordinary licence is but two guineas and
a half; or three guineas where the gentleman or lady, or both, are
minors.
_Marriage by Licence_.
An ordinary marriage licence is to be obtained at the Faculty
Registry, or Vicar-General's Office, or Diocesan Registry Office of
the Archbishops or Bishops, either in the country, or at Doctors'
Commons, or by applying to a proctor. A licence from Doctors' Commons,
unlike others, however, is available throughout the whole of England.
The gentleman or lady (for either may attend), before applying for an
ordinary marriage licence, should ascertain in what parish or district
they are both residing--the church of such parish or district being
the church in which the marriage should be celebrated; and either the
gentleman or lady must have had his or her usual abode therein fifteen
days before application is made for the licence, as the following
form, to be made on oath, sets forth:--
... _Proctor_. LICENCE, Dated 187_.
"VICAR-GENERAL'S OFFICE." 187_.
APPEARED PERSONALLY, _A B_, of the parish or district
of ----, in the county of ----, a bachelor,
of the age of 21 years and upwards, and prayed a
Licence for the solemnisation of matrimony in the parish
or district church of ----, between him and _C D_,
of the district of ----, in the county of ----, a
spinster, of the age of 21 years or upwards, and made
oath, that he believeth that there is no impediment of
kindred or alliance, or of any other lawful cause, nor
any suit commenced in any Ecclesiastical Court, to bar
or hinder the proceeding of the said matrimony, according
to the tenor of such Licence. And he further made
oath, that he, the said _A B_ or _C D_, hath had his [or her]
usual place of abode within the said parish or district of
----, for the space of fifteen days last past.
SWORN before me,
[_Here the document must be signed by the Vicar-General,
or a Surrogate appointed by him_.]
This affidavit having been completed, the licence is then made out. It
runs thus:--
ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL, by Divine Providence Archbishop of
Canterbury, Primate of all England, and Metropolitan, To our
well beloved in Christ, _A B_, of ____, and _C D_, of ____, Grace
and Health.--WHEREAS ye are, as it is alleged, resolved to
proceed to the solemnisation of true and lawful matrimony,
and that you greatly desire that the same may be solemnised
in the face of the Church: We, being willing that these your
honest desires may the more speedily obtain a due effect, and
to the end therefore that this marriage may be publicly and
lawfully solemnised in the church of ____, by the Rector,
Vicar, or Curate thereof, without the publication or proclamation
of the banns of matrimony, provided there shall appear
no impediment of kindred or alliance, or of any other lawful
cause, nor any suit commenced in any Ecclesiastical Court, to
bar or hinder the proceeding of the said matrimony, according
to the tenor of this Licence; And likewise, That the celebration
of this marriage be had and done publicly in the
aforesaid ____ church, between the hours of eight and
twelve in the forenoon; We, for lawful causes, graciously grant
this our LICENCE AND FACULTY as well to you the parties
contracting, as to the Rector, Vicar, Curate, or Minister of
____, the aforesaid ____, who is designed to solemnise the marriage
between you, in the manner and form above specified,
according to the rites of the Book of Common Prayer, set forth
for that purpose by the authority of Parliament.
Given under the seal of our VICAR-GENERAL, this day of
____, in the Year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred
and ____, and in the ____ year of our translation.
The licence remains in force for three months only; and the copy
received by the person applying for it is left in the hands of the
clergyman who marries the parties, it being his authority for so
doing. In case either party is a minor, the age must be stated,
and the consent of the parents or guardians authorised to give such
consent must be sworn to by the gentleman or lady applying for the
licence. The following are the persons having legal authority to give
their consent in case of minority:--1st, the father; if dead--2nd, the
guardians, if any appointed by his will; if none--3rd, the mother,
if unmarried; if dead or married--4th, the guardians appointed by
Chancery. If none of the foregoing persons exist, then the marriage
may be legally solemnised without any consent whatever. The following
are the official forms for this purpose:--