§ LORD RAVENSWORTHhaving presented certain Petitions in favour of legalizing marriage with a deceased wife's sister,
THE MARQUESS OF CLANRICARDEsaid, he would take that opportunity of asking his noble and learned Friend (Lord Brougham) if the Legitimacy and Marriage Bill was to be dropped, as it was, of great importance?
LORD BROUGHAMentirely agreed with his noble Friend as to the importance of the Bill, which was necessary to remove the gross anomaly of the law as it now stood, by which divorce was triable by jury, but marriage not; and in Scotland marriage, legitimacy, and all other actions of declarator were tried by jury, and in England not, though we had borrowed the action of declarator from Scotland. It was no fault of his if this gross enormity continued; but there were reasons for not passing the Bill this Session, and he should at the earliest period of the next reintroduce it, if it were not taken up in the other 131 House, in which case he should give any such measure his best support.