Lords Sitting of 4 August 1870

MINUTES.
Sat First in Parliament—The Lord Ranfurly, after the death of his grandfather.
PUBLIC BILLS — First Reading — Census (Scotland)* (279); Glebe Loans (Ireland)* (280); Post Office* (281); Census (Ireland)* (286); Meeting of Parliament* (283); Canada (Guarantee of Loan)* (284); Beerhouses* (285); Corrupt Practices Act Amendment* (282);
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Constabulary Force (Ireland)* (291); Militia Acts Amendment (293).
Second Reading — Public Schools Act (1868) Amendment* (272); Real Actions Abolition (Ireland)* (271); Petty Sessions Clerk (Ireland) Act (1858) Amendment*(273); Matrimonial Causes and Marriage Law (Ireland) (276); Larceny (Advertisements)* (158).
Committee—Turnpike Acts Continuance* (252–292); National Debt* (249); Statute Law Revision* (250); Pedlars' Certificates* (251).
Committee—Report—Factories and Workshops* (247); Gun Licences* (241); Forgery* (248); East India Contracts* (189); Brokers (City of London)* (268).
Report—Census * (264).
Third Reading — Clerical Disabilities* (254); Juries* (246); Dublin City Voters Disfranchisement* (237); Army Enlistment (269); Shipping Dues Exemption Act (1867) Amendment * (233); Pier and Harbour Order Confirmation (No. 3)* (228); Telegraph Acts Extension* (206); Sewage Utilization Supplemental* (230); Vestries (Isle of Man)* (232); Extradition* (211); Sanitary Act (1866) Amendment* (253), and passed.

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) BILL—(No. 276.)
(The Lord Dufferin.)
MATRIMONIAL CAUSES AND MARRIAGE LAW (IRELAND) BILL—(No. 276.)

  SECOND READING.
  Order of the Day for the Second Reading, read.
  LORD DUFFERIN, in moving that the Bill be now read the second time, said, that by the Act of last Session, by which the Irish Church was disestablished, it was enacted that after the 1st January, 1871, all jurisdictions of all existing Courts in Ireland, whether contentions or otherwise in any cause, suit, or matter, matrimonial, spiritual, or ecclesiastical, or in any way arising out of the Ecclesiastical Law of Ireland, should cease. It had therefore become necessary to make some provision in regard to suits pending at that date; for enforcing decrees already made; to provide for the due administration of the law in respect of matrimonial causes; and, further, to amend the law relating to marriages in Ireland. The present Bill, therefore, instituted a new Court to be called the Court for Matrimonial Causes and Matters; of which Court the Judge of the Court of Probate was to be the Judge, with authority to hear and determine all matters arising therein. To this Court all causes now pending were transferred, and to it power was given to enforce all decrees or orders previously made. An appeal lay from the Court to the Court of Appeal in

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  Chancery, and thence to the House of Lords. With regard to the amendment of the Marriage Law in Ireland, the Bill provided for the celebration of marriages between persons both of whom were Protestant Episcopalians, in the churches and chapels in which they might be lawfully solemnized before the passing of the Irish Church Act, or in any church or chapel to be hereafter duly licensed; and provision was made for the due registration of such marriages. Marriage licences might be issued by the heads of the different Protestant denominations in all cases where the parties were both members of the same denomination as the authority issuing such licence. With regard to "mixed" marriages, all former restrictions were swept away, and hereafter, provided certain conditions were observed, a marriage might be lawfully solemnized by a Protestant Episcopalian clergyman between a person who was a Protestant Episcopalian and one who belonged to another denomination, and by a Roman Catholic clergyman between a person who was a Roman Catholic and one who was not a Roman Catholic. Provision was further made for the contract of marriage before the Registrar between persons of any denominations, certain precautions being preserved.
  Moved, "That the Bill be now road 2a"—(The Lord Dufferin.)
  THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYsaid, that this reform ought to have been made long ago. He wished to call the attention of the noble and learned Lord on the Woolsack, who recently stated that there were substantially only two denominations in Ireland, to the fact that this Bill enumerated about a dozen.
  In answer to a noble LORD,
  LORD DUFFERINsaid, that the Chief Secretary had been in communication with the Master of the Rolls as to the future custody of records now in the hands of Irish ecclesiastical authorities; but there was no immediate necessity for dealing with the matter. It was thought better, after further inquiry, to legislate with regard to all documents requiring to be placed in proper custody.
  Motion agreed to; Bill read 2a accordingly, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House To-morrow.

ARMY ENLISTMENT BILL—(No. 269.)
(The Lord Northbrook.)
ARMY ENLISTMENT BILL—(No. 269.)

  THIRD READING. BILL PASSED.
  Bill read 3a, with the Amendments.
  LORD NORTHBROOKproposed the following new Clause:—
  (Service of notices on reserve forces.)
  "The Secretary of State may require the police throughout the United Kingdom to serve within their respective districts any notices he may desire to be served on any members of the reserve forces in such district; and all officers and men of every police force shall conform to the orders of the said Secretary of State in relation to the service of such notices. 'The reserve forces' shall mean the army reserve, the militia reserve, and any other reserve forces as defined by Act of Parliament, also the militia, yeomanry, volunteers, and any other land forces whatever within the United Kingdom, serving or liable to be called upon to serve Her Majesty in any military capacity and not forming part of the regular army."—(The Lord Northbrook.)
  THE DUKE OF RICHMONDsaid, he thought the proposed clause in many respects objectionable. In the first place, the police being under the orders of the chief constable, who was under the direction of the Home Secretary, might receive through that channel orders conflicting with those of the Secretary for War. Where, moreover, the force was small, it would be inconvenient to take the police away from their proper duties: again, it was not proposed to remunerate them for serving those notices. He thought some other mode of serving those notices might be devised.
  EARL DE GREY AND RIPONsaid, the Secretary for War would naturally communicate with the Home Office. The police could already be employed by the Lord Lieutenant in serving Militia notices; and in a case of great emergency it was most desirable that the Government should be enabled to avail themselves of the most ready and effective means which the organization of the country afforded.
  THE DUKE OF RICHMONDdecidedly objected to the order for calling out the Reserve Forces being issued to the police by the Secretary for War. If the police were the proper persons to serve the notices, they should be put in action by the Home Secretary, who would communicate with the chief constable, otherwise the discipline of the force would be at an end.
  THE EARD OF POWISobjected to an Imperial charge being thrown on the county ratepayers.
  LORD NORTHBROOKsaid, he was willing to alter the clause so as to provide that the directions were given through the chief constable. It was a matter of importance to have a prompt mode of summoning the men who would have to be called out under this Bill, and rather than go through the forms of the War Office applying to the Home Office, and the latter to the Lords Lieutenant and so on, causing great delay, he considered it was better to give to the War Office power through the police force to serve the notices. A great saving of time would be effected thereby. If any additional expense were thrown on the counties and boroughs by the proposed change, which he did not anticipate, he was sure means would be found to reimburse them.
  THE EARL OF ROMNEYconsidered the notices should be sent through the Lords Lieutenant to the magistrates' clerks, and by them to the parish constables to be served.
  THE EARL OF KIMBERLEYsaid, that the plan proposed by the Government was by far the best. With regard to the parish constables, he confessed that he looked with very little respect on those ancient and time-honoured functionaries, and should be sorry to entrust to them any matter of importance, whether as respected the Army or anything else.
  THE DUKE OF RICHMONDsaid, he had no objection to the clause as amended.
  Clause agreed to.
  Bill passed, and sent to the Commons.

MILITIA ACTS AMENDMENT BILL.
(The Lord Northbrook.)
MILITIA ACTS AMENDMENT BILL.

  BILL PRESENTED. FIRST READING.
  LORD NORTHBROOK, in accordance with the promise made the other evening in the discussion on the Bill introduced by the noble Earl near him (Earl Russell), presented a Bill to amend the Acts relating to the Militia of the United Kingdom. The Bill provided that in case of imminent national danger or of great emergency, the occasion being first communicated to Parliament, if Parliament should be then sitting, or if not by Proclamation, it should be lawful for Her Majesty to cause the whole or any part of the Militia of the
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  United Kingdom to be drawn out and embodied, or to cause additional Militia to be raised, according to the provisions of the existing Acts; but regard was to be had to the conditions under which any man had already enlisted. In the event of this Act being acted upon, it was provided that Parliament should be called together within 10 days of the date of the Proclamation calling out the Militia.
  Bill read 1a; to be printed; and to be read 2a To-morrow. (No. 293.)
  House adjourned at a quarter past Six o'clock, till To-morrow, Eleven o'clock.