Marriages performed in such Chapels to be under the same Regulations as those performed in Parish Churches.

30. And be it enacted, that all provisions which shall from time to time be in force relative to marriages, and to providing, keeping, and transmitting register books and copies of registers of marriages solemnized in any parish church, shall extend to any chapel in which the solemnization of marriages shall be authorized as aforesaid, in the same manner as if the same were a parish church, and every thing required by law to be done relating thereto by the rector, vicar, curate, or churchwardens respectively of any parish church shall be done by the officiating minister, chapelwarden, or other person exercising analogous duties in such chapel respectively.

Option to Parties to be married at Parish Church.

31. Provided always, and be it enacted, that notwithstanding any such licence as aforesaid to solemnize marriages in any such chapel, the parties may, if they think fit, have their marriage solemnized in the parish church, or in any chapel in which heretofore the marriage of such parties or either of them might have been legally solemnized.

Bishop, with Consent of Archbishop, may revoke such Licences ;

1

32. And be it enacted, that any such licence or order may at any time be revoked by writing under the hand and seal of the bishop of the diocese, with the consent in writing of the archbishop of the province; and such revocation and consent shall be registered in the registry of the diocese, the registrar whereof shall notify the same in writing to the minister officiating in the chapel, and shall also give public notice thereof by advertisement in some newspaper circulating within the county, and in the London Gazette, and thenceforth the authority to solemnize marriages in such chapel shall cease and determine.

In which case Registers to be sent to the Incumbent of the Parish Church.

33. And be it enacted, that in case of the revocation of the licence to solemnize marriages in any such chapel all registers of marriages solemnized therein under such licence which shall be in the custody or possession of the minister of such chapel at the time of such revocation shall forthwith be transmitted to the incumbent or officiating minister of the parish church, and shall thenceforth be preserved, and in all other respects dealt with in the same manner, and be of the same force and validity, to all intents and purposes, as if they had been originally made and deposited with such incumbent or officiating minister; and that such incumbent or minister shall, when he next transmits to the superintendent registrar copies of the registers of marriages solemnized in such parish church, also therewith transmit copies of all such entries as shall have been made in such first-mentioned registers subsequent to the date of the last entry, a copy whereof was transmitted to the superintendent registrar, and shall also transmit to him one copy of every register book so transmitted to him of which no copy shall have been already transmitted to the superintendent registrar, having first signed his name at the foot of the last entry therein.

Registrars of Dioceses to send to the Register Office yearly Lists of licensed Chapels within their districts.—List of all Chapels and Buildings registered to be printed.

34. And be it enacted, that the registrar of every diocese shall within fifteen days after the said first day of March, and also within fifteen days after the first day of January in every succeeding year, make out and send through the post office, directed to the registrar general of births, deaths, and marriages, at his office, a list of all chapels belonging to the church of England within that diocese wherein marriages may lawfully be solemnized according to the rites and ceremonies of the church of England, and shall distinguish in

such list which have a parish, chapelry, or other recognised ecclesiastical division annexed to them, and which are chapels licensed by the bishop under this act, and shall state therein the district for which each of such chapels is licensed according to the description thereof in the licence; and the registrar general shall in every year make out and cause to be printed a list of all such chapels, and also of all places of public worship registered under the provisions of this act, and shall state in such list the county and registrar's district within which each chapel or registered building is situated, and shall add also the names and places of abode of the registrars and deputy registrars of each district, and of the superintendent registrars; and a copy of such list shall be sent to every registrar and superintendent registrar.

Marriages under this Act cognizable.

35. And be it enacted, that every marriage solemnized under this act shall be good and cognizable in like manner as marriages before the passing of this act according to the rites of the church of England.

Registrar may ask certain Particulars of Parties.

36. And be it enacted, that it shall be lawful for the registrar before whom any marriage is solemnized according to the provisions of this act to ask of the parties to be married the several particulars required to be registered touching such marriage.

Persons vexatiously entering Caveat liable to Costs and Damages.

37. And be it enacted, that every person who shall enter a caveat with the superintendent registrar against the grant of any licence or issue of any certificate on grounds which the registrar general shall declare to be frivolous, and that they ought not to obstruct the grant of the licence, shall be liable for the costs of the proceedings, and for damages to be recovered in a special action upon the case by the party against whose marriage such caveat shall have been entered.

Persons making false Declarations, &c., guilty of Perjury.

38. And be it enacted, that every person who shall knowingly and wilfully make any false declaration or sign any false notice or certificate required by this act, for the purpose of procuring any marriage, and every person who shall forbid the issue of any superintendent registrar's certificate, by falsely representing himself or herself to be a person whose consent to such marriage is required by law, knowing such representation to be false, shall suffer the penalties of perjury.

Persons unduly solemnizing Marriage guilty of Felony.

39. And be it enacted, that every person who after the said first day of March shall knowingly and wilfully solemnize any marriage in England, except by special licence, in any other place than a church or chapel in which marriages may be solemnized according to the rites of the church of England, or than the registered building or office specified in the notice and certificate as aforesaid, shall be guilty of felony (except in the case of a marriage between two of the society of friends commonly called Quakers, according to the usages of the said society, or between two persons professing the Jewish religion, according to the usages of the Jews); and every person who in any such registered building or office shall knowingly and wilfully solemnize any marriage in the absence of a registrar of the district in which such registered building or office is situated shall be guilty of felony; and every person who shall knowingly and wilfully solemnize any marriage in England after the said first day of March (except by licence within twenty-one days) after the entry of the notice to the superintendent registrar as aforesaid, or if the marriage is by licence within seven days after such entry, or after three calendar months after such entry, shall be guilty of felony.

Superintendent Registrars unduly issuing Certificates guilty of Felony. 40. And be it enacted, that every superintendent registrar who shall knowingly and wilfully issue any certificate for marriage after the expiration of three calendar months after the notice shall have been entered by him as aforesaid, or any certificate for marriage by licence before the expiration of seven days after the entry of the notice, or any certificate for marriage without licence before the expiration of twenty-one days after the entry of the notice, or any certificate the issue of which shall have been forbidden as aforesaid by any person authorized to forbid the issue of the registrar's certificate, or who shall knowingly and wilfully register any marriage herein declared to be null and void, and every registrar who shall knowingly and wilfully issue any licence for marriage after the expiration of three calendar months after the notice shall have been entered by the registrar as aforesaid, or who shall knowingly and wilfully solemnize in his office any marriage herein declared to be null and void, shall be guilty of felony.

Limitation of Prosecution.

41. And be it enacted, that every prosecution under this act shall be commenced within the space of three years after the offence committed.

Marriages void if unduly solemnized with the knowledge of both Parties. 42. And be it enacted, that if any persons shall knowingly and wilfully intermarry after the said first day of March, under the provisions of this act, in any place other than the church, chapel, registered building, or office or other place specified in the notice and certificate as aforesaid, or without due notice to the superintendent registrar, or without certificate of notice duly issued, or without licence, in case a licence is necessary under this act, or in the absence of a registrar or superintendent registrar where the presence of a registrar or superintendent registrar is necessary under this act, the marriage of such persons, except in any case hereinafter excepted, shall be null and void: Provided always, that nothing herein contained shall extend to annul any marriage legally solemnized according to the provisions of an act passed in the fourth year of his late Majesty George the Fourth, intituled "An Act for amending the Laws respecting the Solemnization of Marriages in England." In cases of fraudulent Marriages, the guilty party to forfeit all Property accruing from the Marriage, as in 4 G. 4. c. 76.

43. And be it enacted, that if any valid marriage shall be had under the provisions of this act by means of any wilfully false notice, certificate, or declaration made by either party to such marriage, as to any matter to which a notice, certificate, or declaration is herein required, it shall be lawful for his Majesty's attorney general or solicitor general to sue for a forfeiture of all estate and interest in any property accruing to the offending party by such marriage; and the proceedings thereupon and consequences thereof shall be the same as are provided in the like case with regard to marriages solemnized by licence before the passing of this act according to the rites of the church of England.

Provisions of Registry Act extended to this Act.

44. And be it enacted, that this act shall be taken to be part of the said act for registering births, deaths, and marriages, as fully and effectually as if incorporated therewith, and that all the provisions and penalties of the said of act relating to any registrar or register of marriages, or certified copies thereof, shall be taken to extend to the registrars and registers of marriages to be solemnized under this act, and to the certified copies thereof, so far as the same are applicable thereunto.

Extent of Act.

45. And be it enacted, that this act shall extend only to England, and shall not extend to the marriage of any of the royal family. 30

VOL. X.-Oct. 1836.

SCHEDULES TO WHICH THIS ACT REFERS.

SCHEDULE (A.)-NOTICE OF MARRIAGE.

To the Registrar of the District of Hendon in the County of Middlesex.

I hereby give you notice, that a marriage is intended to be had, within three calendar months from the date hereof, between me and the other party herein named and described; (that is to say,)

James Smith Widower Carpenter Of full 16, High 23 Days

Age

Street.

Witness my hand this sixth day of May 1837.

(Signed)

James Smith.

SCHEDULE (B.)—REGISTRAR'S CERTIFICATE.

I John Cox, Registrar of the District of Stepney in the County of Middlesex, do hereby certify, that on the sixth day of May, notice was duly entered in the Marriage Notice Book of the said district of the marriage intended between the parties therein named and described, delivered under the hand of James Smith, one of the parties; (that is to say,)

James Smith Widower Carpenter Of full 16, High 23 Days

Age Street.

Sion Chapel,

Date of notice entered 6th May 1837.

The issue of this certificate has not been forbidden by any Date of certificate given 27th May 1837.1 person authorized to forbid the issue thereof. my hand this twenty-seventh day of May, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven. (Signed) John Cox, Registrar.

Witness

This certificate will be void unless the marriage is solemnized on or before the sixth day of August 1837.

SCHEDULE (C.)-LICENCE OF MARRIAGE.

A.B., Superintendent Registrar of

to C.D. of

sendeth greeting.

and E.F. of

Whereas ye are minded, as it is said, to enter into a contract of marriage under the provisions of an act made in the seventh year of the reign of his Majesty King William the Fourth, intituled [here insert the title of this act,] and are desirous that the same may be speedily and publicly solemnized; and whereas you C.D. [or you E.F.] have made and subscribed a declaration under your hand that you believe there is no impediment of kindred or alliance or other lawful hindrance to the said marriage, and that you C.D. [or E.F.] have [or has] had your [or his or her] usual place of abode for the space of fifteen days last past within the district of [ , and that you C. D. [or E. F.,] not being a widower [or widow,] are [or is] under the age of twenty-one years, and that the consent of G. H., whose consent to your [or his or her] marriage is required by law, has been obtained thereto [or that there is no person having authority to give such consent]: I do hereby grant unto you full licence, according to the authority in that behalf given to me by the said act, to proceed to solemnize such marriage, and to the registrar of the district of [here insert the name of the district in which the marriage is to be solemnized] to register such marriage according to law; provided that the said marriage be publicly solemnized in the presence of the said registrar and of two witnesses within three calendar months from the [here insert the date of the entry in the notice book of the superintendent registrar,] in the [here describe the building in which the marriage is to be solemnized,] between the hours of eight and twelve in the forenoon. Given under my hand this day of one thousand eight hundred and (Signed) A.B. Superintendent Registrar.

SCHEDULE (D.)

I John Cox, registrar of the district of Stepney, in the county of Middlesex, do hereby certify, that this is a true copy of the entries of marriage registered in the said district from the entry of the marriage of John Wool and Ann Simpson, number one, to the entry of the marriage of James Smith and Martha Green, number fourteen. Witness my hand this first day of July 1837. (Signed) John Cox, Registrar.

[The Figures, and words in Italics, in these Schedules, to be filled up as the case may be.]

AN ACT FOR REGISTERING BIRTHS, DEATHS, AND MARRIAGES IN ENGLAND.

ANNO SEXTO ET SEPTIMO GULIELMI IV. REGIS. CAP. LXXXVI.

[17th August, 1836.]

So much of recited Acts as relates to Registration of Marriages repealed. WHEREAS it is expedient to provide the means for a complete register of the births, deaths, and marriages of his Majesty's subjects in England; and whereas an act passed in the fifty-second year of the reign of his late Majesty King George the Third, intituled "An Act for the better regulating Parish and other Registers of Births, Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials in England," and also an act passed in the fourth year of the reign of his late Majesty King George the Fourth, intituled "An Act for amending the Laws respecting the Solemnization of Marriages in England," are insufficient for the purpose aforesaid be it therefore enacted by the King's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, that after the first day of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven, so much of the said acts as relates to the registration of marriages shall be repealed.

General Registry Office to be provided in London or Westminster.

2. And be it enacted, that it shall be lawful for his Majesty to provide a proper office in London or Westminster, to be called "The General Register