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MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1870

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1870 -
LONG TITLE

An Act to provide for the administration of the Law relating to
Matrimonial Causes and Matters, and to amend the Law relating to
Marriage, in Ireland.{1}
[10th August 1870]
Preamble rep. by SLR 1893 (No.2)

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1870 -
SECT 1
Short title.

1. This Act may be cited for all purposes as "The Matrimonial
Causes and Marriage Law (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1870."

S.2 rep. by SLR 1893 (No.2)

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1870 -
SECT 3
Limitation of Act.

3. This Act shall apply to Ireland only.

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1870 -
SECT 4
Interpretation.

4. In this Act

The term "bishop of the said Church" shall include any person who
for the time being may succeed to the exercise and discharge of
the episcopal functions of any person who at the time of the
passing of the Irish Church Act, 1869, was a bishop thereof:

The term "clergy and laity of the said Church" shall include clergy
and laity in communion with bishops of the said Church:

The term "Protestant Episcopalian" shall mean a member of any of
the churches following; (that is to say,)

The said Church, the Church of England, the Episcopal Church of
Scotland, and any other Protestant Episcopal Church.

S.5 rep. by SLR 1883. S.6 rep. by SLR 1893 (No.2)

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1870 -
SECT 7
Former matrimonial jurisdiction of ecclesiastical courts to be
exercised by the High Court.

7. All jurisdiction now vested in or exercisable by any
ecclesiastical court or person in Ireland in respect of ...
jactitation of marriage, and in all causes, suits, and matters
matrimonial, except in respect of marriage licences, shall belong to
and be vested in Her Majesty, and such jurisdiction shall be
exercised in the name of Her Majesty [in Her Majesty's High Court
of Justice in Northern Ireland].

S.8 rep. by 1978 c.23 s.122(2) sch.7 Pt.I. S.9 rep. by SLR 1893
(No.2). Ss.1012 rep. by 1978 c.23 s.122(2) sch.7 Pt.I

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1870 -
SECT 13
Court to act on the principles of the ecclesiastical courts.

13. [In exercising the jurisdiction referred to in section 7 the
High Court] shall proceed and act and give relief on principles and
rules which, in the opinion of the said Court, shall be as nearly
as may be conformable to the principles and rules on which the
ecclesiastical courts of Ireland have heretofore acted and given
relief, but subject to the provisions herein contained, [and to
rules of court].

Ss.1431 rep. by SLR 1883; SLR 1893 (No.2); 1946 c.13 (NI) s.16(3)
sch.; 1953 c.19 (NI) s.11 sch.2; 1978 c.23 s.122(2) sch.7 Pt.I

Churches in which marriages may be celebrated.

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1870 -
SECT 32

32. Marriage between persons, both of whom are Protestant
Episcopalians, may be solemnized in any of the churches or chapels
following:

<1.In any church or chapel in which at the time of the passing of this Act marriages may be solemnized according to the rites of the United Church of England and Ireland, and in which Divine Service, according to the rites of the said Church as herein-before defined, shall continue to be performed; or,

<2.In any church or chapel which, after the passing of this Act, shall be licensed for the celebration of marriages in manner by this Act provided.

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1870 -
SECT 33
Provisions relating to the solemnization of marriages.

33. The provisions following shall apply to all marriages solemnized
in any of the said churches or chapels:

<1.The ceremony of marriage shall be preceded by

(1)Publication of banns in any church or chapel in which a marriage
may be solemnized under the provisions of this Act, which
publication shall be made in the manner and according to the rules
at the time of the passing of this Act in force in Ireland in
relation to the publication of banns in parish churches and chapels
of the United Church of England and Ireland; or by

(2)Licence or special licence granted in manner by this Act
provided; or by

(3)Certificate from the registrar to be granted by him in like
manner and subject to the like conditions as such certificate may,
at the time of the passing of this Act, be granted:

<2.The several provisions contained in the Marriages (Ireland) Act, 1844, and the Marriage Law (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1863, and which at the time of the passing of this Act are applicable to persons in Holy Orders of the United Church of England and Ireland, and relate to the celebration of marriages by them, shall (except so far as the same are expressly altered or varied by this Act) apply to and be in force with respect to the celebration of marriages by any clergyman having authority to officiate, or who shall be permitted by such clergyman to officiate in any aforesaid church or chapel in which marriage may be solemnized under the provisions of this Act, save only that such marriages may be celebrated at any time between the hours of eight o'clock in the forenoon and [six in the afternoon].

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1870 -
SECT 34
Licence of churches.

34. Every bishop of the said Church may from time to time, by
writing under his hand, subject to the approval of the Lord
Lieutenant license any church or chapel for the celebration of
marriages in any district within its episcopal superintendence to be
named in such licence between persons one or both of whom shall
reside within the limits of such district; and every such bishop
shall, as soon as may be after the granting of each such licence,
certify the granting thereof to the Registrar General of Marriages
in Ireland, and shall send a copy of such licence to the said
Registrar General, who shall keep the same with the other records
of his office: Provided always, that a person who shall have dwelt
for fourteen days prior to the ceremony within the limits of the
district shall be deemed to reside therein.

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1870 -
SECT 35
Licences for marriages.

35. Every bishop of the said Church may, by writing under his
hand, nominate persons to issue licences for marriages, and, by the
same or other writings, define in and for what districts within the
episcopal superintendence of such bishop such persons are respectively
to issue the same ...; and every such licence shall be held to
authorize marriage in any churches and chapels situate within such
districts respectively in which marriages may be solemnized under the
provisions of this Act, and which shall be specified in such
licences, whenever both of the parties shall be Protestant
Episcopalians, and resident within such districts; and such licences
shall be in the Form No.I. in the schedule (A) to this Act
annexed, or to the like effect; and for every such licence such
person shall be entitled to have for his own benefit, of the party
requiring the same, [the prescribed fee]; and in any case in which
such person shall refuse to grant such licence, the person applying
for the same shall be entitled to appeal to the bishop by whom
such person shall have been so appointed, or his successor, who
shall thereupon either confirm the refusal or direct the grant of
the licence; and every person so appointed shall four times in
every year, on such days as shall be appointed by the Registrar
General, make a return to the Registrar General of every licence
granted by him since his last return, and of the particulars stated
concerning the parties: Provided always, that no such person shall
grant any such licence until he shall have given security by his
bond in the sum of one hundred pounds to the Registrar General for
the due and faithful execution of his office.

A licence for marriage shall not be granted by any such person
until seven days after notice shall have been given by one of the
parties who shall have dwelt for not less than seven days then
next preceding in the district named in that notice, under his or
her hand, in the Form No.II. in the schedule (A) to this Act
annexed, or to the like effect, to such person, and such person
shall forthwith send a copy of such notice to the clergymen
officiating at the places of worship where the parties intending
marriage have been in the habit of attending.

Every person so appointed shall file and keep with the records of
his office every such notice, and shall also forthwith enter a true
copy of such notice fairly in a book to be for that purpose
furnished to him by the Registrar General, to be called "The
Marriage Notice Book," which book shall be open at all reasonable
times, without fee, to all persons desirous of inspecting the same,
and for entering every such notice the person so appointed shall be
entitled to have [the prescribed fee] over and above the accustomed
fee for granting the licence.

Whenever a marriage shall not be had within three calendar months
after the notice shall have been so given to the person so
appointed as aforesaid, the notice, and any licence which may have
been granted thereupon, shall be utterly void.

Before any licence for marriage shall be granted by any such person
one of the parties intending marriage shall appear personally before
him, and shall make and subscribe an oath or make affirmation,
which oath or affirmation such person is hereby authorized to
administer, that he or she believeth that there is not any
impediment of kindred or alliance or other lawful hindrance to the
said marriage and that one of the said parties hath for the space
of fourteen days immediately before the day of the grant of such
licence had his or her usual place of abode within the district
attached in manner herein provided, for the purpose of celebration
of marriages, to the church or chapel in which such marriage is to
be solemnized, and that they are both of the full age of
[eighteen] years, or, when either of the parties shall be under the
age of [eighteen] years, that the consent of the person or persons
whose consent to such marriage is required by law has been obtained
thereto, or that there is no person having authority to give such
consent, or that such person is a widower or widow, as the case
may be.

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1870 -
SECT 36
Power to Bishop to grant special licences.

36. [When one of the parties about to contract marriage is a
Protestant Episcopalian] any bishop of the said Church may grant
special licences to marry at any convenient time in any place
within his episcopal superintendence.

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1870 -
SECT 37
Power to certain persons to grant special licences.

37. Special licences to marry at any convenient time at any place
in Ireland may be granted to parties about to contract marriage by
any of the persons following; (that is to say,)

The moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in
Ireland:

The moderator of the Remonstrant Synod of Ulster:

The moderator of the Presbytery of Antrim:

The moderator of the Northern Presbytery of Antrim:

The moderator of the Synod of Munster:

The moderator of the Eastern Reformed Presbyterian Synod:

The moderator of the United Presbyterian Presbytery of Ireland:

The moderator of the Seccession Church in Ireland:

The moderator of the Reformed Presbyterian Synod of Ireland:

The chairman of the Congregational Union of Ireland:

[The secretary of the Conference of the Methodist or Wesleyan Church
in Ireland:]

The president or head of the Methodist New Connexion Church:

The president or head of the Association of the Baptist Churches in
Ireland:

The clerk to the yearly meeting of the Society of Friends in
Ireland:

Legalisation of marriages of persons of different religious
persuasions.

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1870 -
SECT 38

38. A marriage may, notwithstanding anything to the contrary
herein-before in this Act contained, be lawfully solemnized by a
Protestant Episcopalian clergyman between a person who is a
Protestant Episcopalian and a person who is not a Protestant
Episcopalian, and by a Roman Catholic clergyman between a person who
is a Roman Catholic and a person who is not a Roman Catholic,
providing the following conditions are complied with:

1st. That such notice is given to the registrar and such
certificate is issued as at the time of the passing of this Act
is required by the Marriages (Ireland) Act, 1844, as amended by the
Marriage Law (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1863, in every case of
marriage intended to be solemnized in Ireland according to the rites
of the United Church of England and Ireland, with the exception of
marriages by licence or special licence, or after publication of
banns:

2nd. That the certificate of the registrar is delivered to the
clergyman solemnizing such marriage at the time of the solemnization
of the marriage:

3rd. That such marriage is solemnized in a building set apart for
the celebration of divine service according to the rites and
ceremonies of the religion of the clergyman solemnizing such
marriage, and situate in the district of the registrar by whom the
certificate is issued:

4th. With open doors:

5th. That such marriage is solemnized between the hours of eight in
the forenoon and [six in the afternoon] in the presence of two or
more credible witnesses.

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1870 -
SECT 39
Avoidance of marriage in wilful violation of the Act.

39. ... any marriage solemnized by a Protestant Episcopalian
clergyman between a person who is a Protestant Episcopalian and a
person who is not a Protestant Episcopalian, or by a Roman Catholic
clergyman between a person who is a Roman Catholic and a person
who is not a Roman Catholic, shall be void to all intents in
cases where the parties to such marriage knowingly and wilfully
intermarried without due notice to the registrar, or without
certificate of notice duly issued, or without the presence of two
or more credible witnesses, or in a building not set apart for the
celebration of divine service according to the rites and ceremonies
of the religion of the clergyman solemnizing such marriage.

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1870 -
SECT 40
Exemption of priest from penalty.

40. No Protestant Episcopalian clergyman and no Roman Catholic
clergyman shall be subject to any punishment, pain, or penalty
whatever for solemnizing a marriage in pursuance of and in
accordance with the provisions of this Act.

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1870 -
SECT 41
Amendment of section 3 of 1863 c.27.

41. Section three of the Marriage Law (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1863,
shall be amended in manner following; (that is to say,)

Where the marriage is intended to be contracted in the office of
the registrar, and where there is not any minister of the church,
chapel, or place of public worship which the parties to the
marriage, or either of them, usually attend, and where the parties
to the marriage are not Jews or members of the Society of Friends,
the registrar shall proceed as follows: he shall cause a copy of
the notice given to him to be published, at the expense of the
parties intending marriage, once at least in two consecutive weeks
next after he has received such notice in some newspaper circulating
in the district in which such marriage is intended, or if there is
not any newspaper circulating in such district, then in some
newspaper circulating in the county in which such district is
situate; any registrar neglecting or refusing to publish such notice
in manner aforesaid shall be liable to a penalty of forty pounds,
recoverable in like manner as penalties under the said Act.

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) AMENDMENT ACT 1870 -
SECT 42
Construction.

42. Except where the provisions of the Marriages (Ireland) Act,
1844, and the Marriage Law (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1863, are
expressly altered by or are at variance with this Act, nothing
herein contained shall alter, repeal, or affect the provisions of
the said Acts respectively; and this Act shall, except as aforesaid
be considered as incorporated with the said Acts, and be construed
together with the same.

A.B. appointed to issue Licences for Marriages in the District of
under the provisions of the "Matrimonial Causes and Marriage Law
(Ireland) Amendment Act 1870", to C.D. of and E.F. of sendeth
greeting:

WHEREAS notice has been given that you intend to enter into a
contract of Marriage under the provisions of the Matrimonial Causes
and Marriage Law (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1870: And whereas you C.D.
(or 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 fourteen days last past within the District of
and (in cases where either party is under age), that you C.D. (or
E.F.) are (or is) under the age of [eighteen] years: and whereas
there has been produced to me the consent of G.D. and H.D. whose
consent to the Marriage is required by law, (or an order of the
County Court of the County of dispensing with consent to the
Marriage, as the case may be):

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; provided that the said Marriage be publicly
solemnized, in the presence of two witnesses, within three calendar
months from the (here insert the date of the receipt of the notice
by the person issuing the licence) in the (here describe the
building in which the Marriage is to be solemnized), between the
hours of eight in the forenoon and six in the afternoon.

Given under my hand this day of one thousand nine hundred and

A.B.Licenser.] <




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