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MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1863

MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1863 - LONG TITLE

An Act to amend the Law relating to Marriages in Ireland.{1}
[8th June 1863]
Preamble, which recites the Marriages (Ireland) Act 1844 (c.81), rep.
by SLR 1893

S.1 rep. by SLR (NI) 1954

MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1863 - SECT 2
Form of notice of marriage to registrar as in sch.(A).

2. Every notice of an intended marriage given to the registrar
under the provisions of the said recited Act or of this Act shall
be in the form set forth in the schedule (A) to this Act annexed,
and shall state,

(1)The true name, surname, profession, or condition of each of the
persons intending marriage:

(2)The church, chapel, or place of public worship which the persons
intending marriage, or either of them, usually attend:

(3)The usual dwelling place of each of them:

(4)The time, not being less than seven days, during which each has
dwelt therein (unless such time is more than one month, in which
case it may be so stated):

(5)The church, chapel, or registered place of public worship, or
other place in which the marriage is intended to be celebrated
(which must be a place within the district of the registrar to
whom the notice is given):

(6)Whether the marriage is intended to be celebrated by virtue of
the registrar's certificate, or by virtue of his licence.

MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1863 - SECT 3
Proceedings of registrar.

3. The registrar shall then proceed as follows:

(1)He shall file the notice so given to him, and keep the same
with the records of his office:

(2)He shall forthwith enter a true copy of the notice in his
marriage notice book (supplied to him by the Registrar General):

(3)He shall keep his book open for the inspection of all persons
at all reasonable times, without fee:

(4)He shall, on the day on which he shall have received such
notice, or on the following day at the latest, [send by post in a
closed envelope, which need not be registered], a copy of the
notice, under his hand,To the minister of the church, chapel, or
place of public worship which the parties to the marriage, or
either of them, usually attend:(5)When the marriage is intended to
be contracted in the office of the registrar, he shall, in addition
to sending a copy of the notice to the minister of the church,
chapel, or place of public worship as aforesaid, forthwith suspend a
copy of the notice, on a printed form properly and legibly filled
up, in some conspicuous place in his office, and keep the same so
suspended,in the case of a marriage intended to be celebrated by
virtue of a certificate, for twenty-one days,and in the case of a
marriage intended to be celebrated by virtue of a licence, during
seven days, next after the day of entry of the notice;

Notice of marriage to be accompanied by a solemn declaration by one
of the parties in form in sch. (B).

MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1863 - SECT 4
Or the registering officer of the Society of Friends, or secretary
of a synagogue, by whom respectively the marriage is to be
registered, as the case may require:

4. Any party intending marriage under the provisions of this Act
shall, at the time of giving the registrar the notice required by
this Act, make and sign or subscribe a solemn declaration in
writing (according to the form set forth in schedule (B) to this
Act annexed, that he or she believes that there is no impediment
of kindred or alliance or other lawful hindrance to the said
marriage, and that the parties to the said marriage have for the
space of one month immediately preceding the giving of such notice
usually attended divine worship in the church, chapel, or
meeting-house named in such notice, and that the parties to the
said marriage, in case the marriage is intended to be had without
licence, have for the space of seven days immediately preceding the
giving of such notice had their usual place of abode and residence
within the district of the registrar or respective registrars to
whom such notice or notices, as the case may be, shall be so
given; or, in case such marriage is intended to be had by licence,
that one of the parties had for the space of fifteen days
immediately preceding the giving of such notice had his or her
usual place of abode and residence within the district of the
registrar to whom such notice shall be so given; and when either
of the parties intending marriage, and not being a widower or
widow, shall be under the age of [eighteen years], the party making
such declaration shall further declare that the consent of the
person or persons whose consent to such marriage is by law required
has been given, or (as the case may be) that there is no person
whose consent to such marriage is by law required; and every
declaration so made as aforesaid shall be signed and subscribed by
the party making the same, in the presence of the registrar to
whom the notice of the marriage is given, who shall attest the
same by adding thereto his name, description, and place of abode;
and no certificate or licence for marriage shall be issued or
granted pursuant to any such notice as aforesaid unless the said
notice be accompanied by such solemn declaration duly made and
signed or subscribed and attested as aforesaid; and the registrar
shall file such declaration, and keep the same with the records of
his office.

MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1863 - SECT 5
Issue of certificate.

5. The registrar shall not in any case issue a certificate until
after the expiration of twenty-one days, or grant a licence until
after the expiration of seven days, from the day of entry of the
notice by him.

MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1863 - SECT 6
Registrar General to furnish register books, &c.

6. The Registrar General shall furnish to the minister of every
registered place of public worship in which marriages may be
solemnized, marriage register books in duplicate, and forms for
certified copies thereof, as provided under the said recited Act.
One copy of every such register book, when filled, shall be
delivered to the registrar of marriages of the district in which
such registered place of worship is situate; and the other copy
shall remain in the custody of such minister, and be kept by him
with the other registers of his place of worship.

MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1863 - SECT 7
Place, time, &c. of marriage.

7. Every marriage solemnized by virtue of a registrar's certificate
of publication of notice, or of a registrar's licence, according to
the usages of any church, denomination, or body of Protestant
Christians, shall be solemnized,

(1)By a minister of the church, denomination, or body to which the
parties to the marriage, or either of them, shall belong;

(2)In the registered place of public worship named in the notice;

(3)Between the hours of eight in the morning and [six in the
afternoon];

(4)With open doors;

(5)In the presence of two or more credible witnesses besides the
officiating minister or person solemnizing the marriage;

Marriages under this Act without the presence of the registrar good
and cognizable.

MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1863 - SECT 8

8. The presence of the registrar shall not be necessary at any
marriage celebrated under the provisions of this Act in any house
of worship registered or certified under the said recited Act or
this Act; and every such marriage shall be good and cognizable in
like manner as any marriage solemnized under the provisions of the
said recited Act; nor shall the minister who shall solemnize any
such marriage without the presence of the registrar be guilty of
felony.

MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1863 - SECT 9
Entry of marriage by minister in register books.

9. Every minister, immediately after the solemnization of any
marriage by him, shall enter in both the duplicate marriage register
books of the place of worship in which the marriage is solemnized,
the requisite particulars respecting such marriage; and every such
entry shall be signed by such minister, and by the persons married,
and by two witnesses at the least; and such minister shall, in
April, July, October, and January, every year, send to the registrar
of marriages of the district in which such place of worship is
situate, on a printed form (supplied to him by the Registrar
General), a copy, certified by him under his hand, of all entries
in the duplicate marriage register books in his keeping made in the
quarter of a year then last past, or certify under his hand that
no such entry has been made in such quarter, if the case so be.

MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1863 - SECT 10
Penalty for not registering marriage.

10. If any minister neglect or refuse to register as aforesaid any
marriage which under this Act it is his duty to register, he shall
for such offence be liable to a penalty of forty pounds....

MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1863 - SECT 11
Registrar not to grant licences for marriage in certain churches.

11. Nothing in this Act contained shall authorize any registrar to
grant a licence for marriage in any church or chapel in which
marriages may be solemnized according to the rites of the United
Church of England and Ireland, or in any church or chapel belonging
to the said United Church, or licensed for the celebration of
divine worship according to the rites and ceremonies of the said
United Church.

MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1863 - SECT 12
Registration of places of public worship on application of trustee,
&c.

12. Any trustee or owner of a separate building (not being a
church or chapel belonging to the United Church of England and
Ireland) used as a place of public worship by any church,
denomination, or body of Protestant Christians, or any officiating
minister of any such place of public worship, may certify in
writing, signed by him, to the Registrar General, that such building
is so used, and shall at the same time deliver to the Registrar
General a certificate signed by ten householders at the least that
such building [is being used by them] as their usual place of
public worship, and that they are desirous that such place should
be registered; and such trustee, owner, or minister shall countersign
such certificate. On the receipt of such certificates the Registrar
General shall register such place of public worship in the general
registry office, and shall send a certificate of such registration
to the person certifying, and to the registrar of the district in
which such place of public worship shall be situated, who shall
keep the same with the other records of his office; the Registrar
General shall also give public notice of such registration by
advertisement in the [Belfast Gazette], and in a newspaper
circulating in the county where the place of public worship is
situate. For every such entry, certificate, and publication the
Registrar General shall receive, at the time of delivery to him of
the certificates, [the prescribed fee].

MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1863 - SECT 13
Consent of minister, &c. to marriages.

13. No such marriage as aforesaid shall be solemnized in any such
place of public worship without the consent of the minister or of
one of the trustees or owners, deacons, or managers, thereof.

MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1863 - SECT 14
Penalty on registrar for omission to send notice of marriage.

14. If any registrar shall neglect or refuse to send a copy of
the notice given to him by either of the parties intending marriage
to the minister of the church, chapel, or registered place of
public worship where the marriage is to be solemnized, and to the
minister of the church, chapel, or registered place of public
worship where the parties to the marriage, or either of them,
usually attend, he shall be liable to a penalty of forty
pounds,....

S.15 rep. by 1946 c.13 (NI) s.16(3) sch.

MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1863 - SECT 16
Act not to alter provisions of recited Act, except where at
variance with this Act.

16. Except where the provisions of the said recited Act are
expressly altered by or are at variance with the provisions of this
Act, nothing herein contained shall alter, repeal, or affect, or be
construed so as in any manner to alter, repeal, or affect, any of
the provisions or clauses contained in the said Act, but, except as
aforesaid, the same provisions and clauses respectively shall be and
remain in full force and effect as if this Act had not been
passed; and this Act shall, except as aforesaid, be considered as
incorporated with the same provisions and clauses, and be construed
in connexion therewith.

S.17 rep. by SLR 1893

in the County of .I the undersigned James Smith hereby give you
notice, that a marriage is intended to be had, without [or by, as
the case may be] licence, within three calendar months from the
date hereof, between me and the other party named and described;
(that is to say,)

NineteenGrove Farm, town-More than oneSion Chapel,

] day of [] one thousand eight hundred and
[sixty-three].(Signed)James Smith.PS0700(The particulars in this schedule
to be entered according to the fact.)/
and that we the above-named A.B. and C.D. have for the space of
One Month immediately preceding the giving the Notice of our
Marriage, usually attended Divine Worship in the (here insert the
name of the place of Public Worship) belonging to the (here insert
the name of the Church or Religious Community to which such place
of Worship shall belong (as the case may be)) within the District
of and County of :

and that I, the above named A.B. have for the space of Fifteen
Days immediately preceding the giving the Notice of Marriage had my
usual place of abode and residence (if the Marriage is intended to
be had in a Church or Chapel of the Church of Ireland, insert the
following words"in the Parish of ," or "in the Ecclesiastical
District of ," (as the case may be), and add the name of the
Parish or Ecclesiastical District in which one of the parties
resides) within the District of and County of .

And I further declare that I am not a Minor under the age of
[Eighteen] years, and that the other Party herein named and
described is not a Minor under the age of [Eighteen] years (if one
or both of the parties be under age the appropriate words must be
deleted).

And I further declare, that she (or, I), the said C.D. (or A.B.)
is (or, am) a Minor under the age of [Eighteen] years, and that
there is required by law the consent of E.D. and F.D. to her (or,
my) Marriage, (or, an order of the County Court of the County of
dispensing with consent to her (or, my) Marriage (as the case may
be).

AND I make the foregoing Declarations solemnly and deliberately,
conscientiously believing the same to be true, pursuant to the
provisions of the Marriage Law (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1863, well
knowing that every person who shall knowingly and wilfully make or
sign or subscribe any false Declaration, or who shall sign any
false Notice for the purpose of procuring any Marriage under the
provisions of the said Act above-mentioned, or of any Act therein
recited, shall suffer the penalties of Perjury. In witness whereof I
have hereunto set and subscribed my hand, this day of .

Signed and Declared by the above-named

A.B. in the presence of

G.H.

Registrar of the District of]