§ MR. CARVELL WILLIAMS (Notts,) MansfieldI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies—(1) whether he is aware that the Council of the Government in Malta have passed an Ordinance by which it is enacted that "marriages celebrated in Malta by all those who profess the Catholic religion, whether both the contracting parties be Catholic, or whether one of them be a Catholic and the other a non-Catholic, are not, and shall not be, valid if they are not celebrated according to the form established by the Council of Trent;" (2) whether such Ordinance was introduced with the concurrence of the Government, and was supported by the official members of the Council; and (3) whether, inasmuch as the Ordinance is opposed to the Report of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, to which the question was referred by the Home Government, Her Majesty will be advised to withhold Her sanction from the Ordinance?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Mr. J. CHAMBERLAIN,) Birmingham, W.The answer to the first question of the hon. Member is in the affirmative, and the answer to both branches of the second question is in the negative. The answer to the third question is that the matter is under the consideration of the Government.
§ MR. CARVELL WILLIAMSgave notice that he should call attention to the subject either on the Colonial Vote or on the Appropriation Bill.