WOMAN'S LAW BOOIi By G. D. LYNCH (Barrister-at-Law) Legal terms and legal language make the law a mystery to most people. Yet there need be no mystery surrounding the subject, and in this section of Every Woman's Encyclopedia only the simplest and clearest language will be used, so that readers may understand every aspect of the law with regard to — Marriage Children Landlords Money Matters Servants Pets Employer s Liability Lodgers Sanitation Taxes Wills Wife's Debts, etc., etc. MARRIAGE LAW Continued from pa^e ill. Part l A LiCEN'CE continues in force for three '^ months from the date on which it was granted. Licences procured at the Faculty Office, or at the Vicar-General's Office, can be made out for any part of the country ; but those procured at the Bishop's Registrar's Offices in the country only allow the parties to be married in the diocese in which they are issued. Special Licences Those who care to incur the expense of a special licence in England can obtain one from the Archbishop of Canterbury at the Faculty Office, Doctor's Commons, London, E.C. It dispenses with a fixed period of residence, and authorises marriage at any hour of the day or night, and at any place, whether consecrated or not. The cost of a special licence, including the stamp, is about /30, and they are supposed to be granted to people of rank only. Special licences are granted in Ireland by the principal authorities of several religious denominations, including Wes- leyans, Methodists, Baptists, and Quakers. Before the Regfistrar It is open to anyone, however, including Roman Catholics and Dissenters, who are content to dispense with any kind of religious ceremony, to be married according to the civil form before the registrar. In order to obtain a certificate from him the parties must have dwelt in the district not less than seven days. One shilling is payable for entry of the notice, and one shilling for issue of the certi- ficate, which will be issued after twenty-one da>'s. The parties then appear before the registrar with two witnesses at his office and the marriage is solemnised in his pre- sence, for which he is entitled to a further fee of 5s. Where the marriage is by registrar's licence, one of the parties only must have lived for fifteen days in the district, and one clear day only need elapse between the day of the entry of the notice and the day on which the licence is granted. The cost of such a licence is ^2 4s. 6d., and the registrar is entitled to a fee of los. for his attendance. All marriages must be solemnised in the pKesence of two or more credible adult wit- nesses, who should sign the register. The presence and signature of only one witness, however, would not necessarily render the marriage invalid. The marriage must take place between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., except in the case of those married by special licence. Prohibited Degrees Marriages between persons within the prohibited degrees are absolutely null and void, although such unions are allowable according to the religious beliefs of the contracting parties. Thus the law of England will not recognise the validity of the mar- riages of uncles with nieces ; but marriage with a deceased wife's sister, which has always been permitted according to Roman Catholic and Jewish regulations, is now legalised. Mixed Marriages When one party is a Protestant and the other a Catholic, the Catholic Church insists upon the Protestant party signing a document promising that the children of the union shall be brought up in the Roman Catholic faith.
