MANY WAYS OF MARRIAGE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12272, 16 May 1903, Page 5 (Supplement)

MANY WAYS OF MARRIAGE.

CURIOUS RULES AND CUSTOMS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

The Foreign Office has just issued a report on marriage customs in other lands. The report is of direct interest to many English people, for cases are by ho means rare in which young English en find their marriage ceremonies with foreigners invalid through some infraction of unknown regulations.

There exists the utmost divergence in foreign matrimonial practices. In the United States alone there are no fewer than fiftyone distinct marriage laws, one for each State or Territory and one for the district of Columbia. In some parts little more than a personal declaration is wanted. In others the preliminary proceedings may take many months. All over the Continent of Europe the law seems to have been framed with a view of checking legal unions. In Holland they child over twenty-one but under thirty must first respectfully ask the consent of its parents. If they object the case is brought before a judge, who attempts to mediate. If he is unsuccessful the aspirants must wait three months. If parents are dead brothers oi sisters or uncles or aunts may act.

In the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg regulations are still stricter, although the limit of interference there is twenty-five years of age. First comes the formal request; if parents object legal proceedings follow. If the judge considers the objection well founded he forbids the marriage. The " respectful request," of which so much is made, has to be drawn up and presented by lawyers. If the) parents are not in the country eight people, half men and half women, have to swear to the fact, and the couple have then to wait for a month. I A child of sixty or seventy who wishes to marry has to . ask his parents' permission, if they are alive, or give good proof of their death.

The age at which marriages are permitted varies greatly. In Kentucky a girl of twelve and a boy of fourteen can marry. In most places the limit of age is eighteen for men and sixteen for women. In Germany a man must be twenty-one before he marries. In several parts of America it is unlawful for white persons to marry black. 'The law of France is specially notable for stipulating about the legal "rights of each party, and the relations of each to the earnings of the other if necessary. It is literally true that the man who marries a Frenchwoman becomes by French law liable to be called on for the'support of his wife's near relatives if they are in need. The Hungarian law contains one provision which will appeal to those who have been mulcted for damages for breach of promise of marriage. The relations created by a betrothed are expressly declared to give no right to demand the conclusion of a marriage. If either party retires, however, wtihout justifiable grounds, he or she is bound to grant compensation to the others, not exceeding the outlay incurred.