415 WOMAN'S LAW BOOK By G. D. LYNCH (Barristkr-at-Law) Legal terms and legal language make the law a mystery to most people. Yet there need be no mystery surroundmg the subject, and in this section of Every Woman's Encyclopaedia only the simplest and clearest language will be used, so that readers may understand every aspect of the law with regard to — ^ Marriage Children Lafidlords Money Matten Servants Pets Employer's Liability Lodgers Sanitation Taxes Wills Wife's Debts, etc., etc. MARRIAGE LAW Continued from page 26s, Part 2 Marriage of British Subjects Abroad JV/Iarriages in the chapels or houses of British embassies have been declared legal by various statutes ; they can only be solemnised by a minister of the Church of England, and after certain formalities have been observed, including the making of a solemn declaration in the prescribed form by the parties that they know of no lawful impediment, and in the case of minors, that the consent of parents or guardians has been duly obtained. When one of the parties is a British subject and the other a foreigner the marriage is not to be celebrated in the chapel of the embassy until the parties have been previously married according to the laws of the country. Consular Marriages British subjects resident abroad who are desirous of marrying amongst themselves, or intermarrying with the natives, may solem- nise their marriage at the British consulate with open doors between 8 and 12 in the forenoon, according to any form or ceremony they may think fit to adopt, or according to the rites of the Church of England, or by the consul personally, if the parties so desire it, in the presence of two or more witnesses. Both parties must have dwelt within the district one calendar month before notice is given, and no marriage can be solemnised until seven days have expired, if the marriage is by licence, or twenty-one days after notice, if without licence. Foreigners can always be married at their own embassies without licence, or anv of the formalities required by British law. Marriages in Uncivilised Parts A British subject cannot lawfully marry the native of a country in which polygamy is practised; an attempt to set up such a marriage, if the ceremony has taken place only according to native rites, will probably fail. If, however, by the laws of the country the parties are precluded from entering into another alliance during the lifetime of the other, the marriage will probably be upheld. The law favours marriage, and everything is to be presumed in favour of it. In the absence of proof from registers and the testimony of witnesses who were present at the ceremony, the evidence of marriage will rest upon reputation, reception by the family of the parties, and cohabitation. Marriages on Board Sliips Marriages of British subjects may be solemnised on board his Majesty's ships by ministers in Holy Orders, according to the rites of the Churches of England, Scotland, or Ireland, or by a priest of the Roman Catholic Church, and are valid when there is no valid objection to such marriages on other grounds. Marriages on board ship are not to be solemnised by the captain, but it is his duty to enter a declaration of the marriage in the log-book of the ship, and transmit a certified copy to the Admiralty, who will forward the same to Doctor's Commons for registration. The registration fee of ;^i is to be paid by the parties to the captain, who will transmit the paymaster's receipt for the fee with the certificate. When the ship is in a foreign country, or pUce where there is a British consul author- ised to act, the marriage should be solemnised by him, and not on board ship.
