Marriage Act 1852 (SA)

No. 18.

An Ad to mnend Me Law of Marrioge in the Province of South 4.d 5 -

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[A4sse~lted to December 2nd, 1852.1

KEkW an Act wa,s passed in the fifth year of the Reign of

W"" Her present Majesty, i~ltituled h11 Act for rcgl~lnting

Marriages in the Pr'rovi~ke of South hustmlin," and it is expedient to make furtlw regultltiolls rcspectiug the law of' marriage i11 the said I'rovince.

Be it therefore Enacted, by His Excellency the Lieutenant-

Governor of the Province of South Australia, by and with- the advice and consent of' the Legiblative Council thereof, as fouows, that is to say, That fkom and after the passing of this Act, it shall be Iawful for His Excellency the Governor for the timc being of the said Provil~ce of South Australia, on the application of any oficiating minister under the provisions of the said recited Act, or of any person, who, according to the usages of the Society of Friends, cornnlor~ly called Quaksrs, or of any body of' persons professing the Jcwish religion, sha.11 be authorized to sole~nnize

marriages by an instrument undcr his hand, to direct the Eegistrar- General to enter such applicant as a person authorised to grant such licences for marriage as are hereinafter mentioned, witl~in any district which under the provisions of the Act for registering births, deaths and marriages in the Province of South Australia, sllJ1 have been proclaimed s Deputy-Registrar's district; and the Itegistrar- General shall make such entry accordingly, in a book to be kept for that purpose, and shall file and preserve such instrument among

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the records of his office, and shall give public noticc! of such appoint-

ment in the South Australian Government Gazette.

2. And be it Enacted, That every officiating minister, or other person so appointed, after such notice shall have appeared in the Government Gazette, shall have power to grant licences for mar- riage within his district, in the form of schedule A to this Act an- nexed: Provided that nothing herein contained, shell authorize any officiating minister, or other person, to issue a liaence for a marriame which is to be celebrated in a district for which such

o ~ i c i a t r n ~ minister shall not have been appointed.

3. And be it Enacted, That before any such licence far marriage shall be granted, one of the parties intending marriage shall appear before the officiating minister, or other person appointed as afore- said, and nialce such oath, solemn affirmation, or declaration, as is required to be made before a Deputy-ltegistrar, before the issue of a licence by him, under the provisions of' the said recited Act, which oath, solenk affirmation, or declaration, such officiatiilg ministers, and othcr persons appointed as aforesaid, under the provisions of this Act, are hercby empowered and required to take, and any such officiat:ne minister, or other person, who shall knovingly and wilfully Issue a licence for marriage before such oath, attirrnrtion, or declaration shall be made, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

4. Bud be it Enacted, That any person may enter n caveat with any officiating minister, or other person authoriscd to grant licences for marring: as aforesaid, aga)inst thc grant of a licence to any per- son na~ned m such caveat, which caveat shall be duly sig?ied by or

on behalf of the person who enters the same, together with his or

her place of residence; and the ground of objection upon which such caveat is entered, and tllereupon no licence shall be granted by such officiating minister, or other person, with whom such caveat is entered, uutil he shall be authorized in that behalf by the Regis-

trar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, or until such caveat shall have been withdrawn by the person entering the same. 5, And be it furthcr Enacted, that upon the delivery of such

licence to the person authorized to solemnize marriase mentioned thercin, a id whether such person be the officiating lnimster or other person granting such licence, or any other person authorized to soleiunize marringc in the said Province, the marriage of the parties named therein may be solemnized at the place, and in the presence of the person authorized to solemnize marriage named in such licence, and every marriaee in pursuance of any licence granted, under the authority of this Act, shall be solemnized in the same manner, and with the same forms, and be as valid as mar-

riages solemnized by authority of the licences or certificates of Deputy-Registrars under the provisions of the said recited Act,

and the provisions of the said recited Act shall be applicable

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to all marriages performed in pursuance of licences granted

by authority of this Act, in the same manner as to marriagees

prforrned by authority of the said recited Act: Provided, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to empower any person, who, according to the usages of the said Society

of Friends, called Quakers, or of persons professing the Jewish

religion, shall be authorized to solemnize marriag~ iu South Aus- tralia, to grant licences for or solemnize any marriage uuless both

the parties shall be members of the said society, or both persons

pofessing the Jewish religion respectively.

6. And be it Enacted, That unless n marriage shall be had and solemnized in pursuance of any licence granted as aforesaid, within three months after the grant of such licence, such licence shau

be void and of no effect, nud no marriage shall be had and solern-

niwd in pursuance thereof; and any person knowingly and wilfully solemnizing any such marriage after the expiration of the period aforesaid shall be guilty of' a misderneanor.

7. And be it Enacted, That every person wlio vexatiously, and

without any reasonable or probable cause, shall enter a caveat with

any officiating minister, or other person authorized to grant licences

under the provisions of this Act, against the grant of a licence for the marriage of any person, shall be liable for the costs of the proceedings, and for damages to be recovered in a special action on tlle case by the party against the grant of a licence h r whose marriage such caveat shall have been entered, or whose marriage shall have been forbidden,

8. And be it Enacted, That any person wlio ~11~11 knowingly and

wilfully make any false oath, affirmation, or dedwation, for the purpose of obtaining any licence for marriage under this Act, and any person who shall forbid the issue of any such licence for mar.

riage, or shall forbid the solemnization of any marriage, by falsely	representing himself or herself to be a person whose consent to such	marriage is necessary, knowing such declaratio~	to be false, shall
suffer the penalties of perjury.

9. And be it Enacted, That whenever it shall be made to appear

to His Excellcncy the Governor of South Australia for the time

being, that any officiating minister, or other person authorized to issue licences under the provisions of this Act, has ceased to be an officiating minister under the provisions of the said recited Act, or to be a person authorized to solemnize marriages according to the usages of the said Society of Friends, or people professing the Jewish religion, or that any such officiating minister or person has neglected to make proper returns of tlic licences gmnted by him, or has been guilty of any wilful irregularity in the issue 01 licences, it shall be lawful for the said Governor, by an instru- ment under his hand, to direct the Xtegistrm-General to cancel

tha

celebrated in any church, chapel, or other place of worship, or in a

private house or building, shall be deerrled as valid as if such

marriage had been celebrated under the provisioiis of tho said

recited Act: Provided that no lawful impediment to such +marriage

existed at the time of its solemnization.

JOHN MORPHETT, Speaker,

Passed the Le.gi.clatzue Comcil this twenty-fourth day of November, one thousand eight hundred and $fty-two.

l?. C. SINGLETON,

Clerk of the Legislative Council,

In the name and on the behalf of Her Majesty I assent to this Act.

H. E. F. YOUNG,

Lieutenant-Governor.

Government House, Adelaide,

2nd - - December, 1852.

SCHEDULE

SCHEDULE REFERRED TO.

A. B. (Officiating Minister, or a pcrson authorized to grant licences for

marriage, within the District of )

To C. D. of , and E. F. of Y

Sende th Greeting-

WHEREAS ye are minded, as i t is s Jd, to enter into a contract of marriage

under the provisions of an Act made in the fifth year of the reign of Her present Majesty, intituled An Act for regulating Marriages in South Aus- tralia," and of a oertnin other Act, pawed in the year of oor Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, intituled " An Act to amend the Law of Marriage in the Province of South Australia," and are desirous that the same may be epeedily and publicly solemnized: AND WHEREAS you, C. D., (or you, E. F.) have made or subscribed a declaration under your hand (or have made oath, or have made affirmation, before me) that you believe there

i~i no impediment of kindred or alliance, or other lawful hinderance, to the

said marriage-t,hat you, the said C. D. (or E. F.), have (or has) had your

(or her, or his) usual place of abode within the Dktrict of 9 and that you, C. D. (or E. F.), not being a widower (or widow), are under the age of twenty-one years, and that the consent of G. H,, whose consent to your (or his, or her) marriage is by law required, has been obtained thereto, (or, that there is no person authorized to give wch consent), 1 no HEREBY

GRANT unto you full licence, according to the authority given to me by the

said lastly recited Act, to. proceed to solenmize buch marriage, and to the Deputy-Registrar of the Divtrict of to register such marriage according to law, provided that the said marriage be publicly solemnized in the presence of (here insert the name of' the person by whoin the marriage is to be solemnized, and hia deecript~on as Officiating Minister, &C.) and two witnesses, within thrce calendar months from the date hereof, in the (here describe the church, chapel, building, office, or private building in which the marriage is to be solen~nized), between the hours of eight in the forenoon and four in the afternoon.

Given under my hand this day of

one thousand, &c.

A. B.

(description).

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ADELAIDE: P~inted by authority by W. C. Cux, Go~ernrnent Printer, Victoria square.