NAVAL MARRIAGES BILL. (Hansard, 11 March 1915)

§ LORD EMMOTT
My Lords, in 1908 there was passed through Parliament a Bill which enabled the banns of an officer, seaman, or marine to be published on board a man-of-war. This Bill goes a step further, and seeks to enact that when the banns have been so published and the banns of the lady have been published according to law in the country, the marriage may take place in any place of worship or building in the United Kingdom other than the one in which the banns have been published—that is to say, in any other building in which marriages may lawfully be solemnised or contracted. There are a certain number of marriages which it is not very easy to carry out under conditions of active service. They often have to take place in a great hurry. This Bill will enable a man who comes in on his ship to, say, Newcastle to be married in that town if the lady is there, instead of having to go, perhaps, to a village in, say, Warwickshire.

THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
My Lords, to the intent and purport of this Bill I take no exception whatever. On the contrary, from ample experience during the last few months of the difficulties which have attended the celebration of some of the naval marriages that were desired to take place I think that the Bill is admirable. There can be, however, no wish, in exceptional legislation of this kind carried for the sake of facilitating matters during war time, to interfere with the existing law more than is absolutely necessary. That, I imagine, would be the underlying principle in all such emergency legislation, and I want to call attention to the fact that there is a very material change in the existing law effected by the Bill as it is drawn.
By the law as it now stands, if banns are called in a church of the Church of England, or if a licence is given by a Bishop of the Church of England for a marriage, that marriage may take place in particular places which are named, but, of course, only within the churches of the Church of England. This Bill if carried would allow, I think most desirably, that 674 the present limitation which confines the marriage to a particular town or a particular parish should be removed. But it goes further and, unintentionally as I believe, practically allows marriages which are authorised by a licence issued by a Bishop in England or by banns published in the Church of England to be celebrated in any building or place, which would include any registrar's office or the chapels of any denomination. That might cause a good deal of technical difficulty in certain ecclesiastical matters. I have reason to believe that the Admiralty are persuaded as to that, and the words which I desire to see added to Clause 1 actually emanate from the Admiralty themselves. I venture to hope that your Lordships will allow me, when the Bill reaches Third Reading, to move an Amendment to make that point clear.

THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
The Amendment which I desire to move is to insert at the end of Clause 1 words providing that in England no marriage after banns published or an episcopal licence granted in England shall be solemnised elsewhere than in a church or chapel of the Church of England in which marriages may lawfully be solemnised.

§ LORD EMMOTT
I am in rather a difficulty because I did not hear of this Amendment until a few moments ago. I have been intensely busy and have not had an opportunity, until the most rev. Primate was on his feet, of hearing anything at all about the matter. As the provision is confined to the period of the war I do not think the point is a very important one, and it would be a pity to jeopardise, as might be the case were the Amendment accepted, the passing of this 675 Bill. As I say, I have not heard until a few moments ago what the Amendment was, and I have not had an opportunity of consulting the Admiralty with regard to it. But knowing the House of Commons as I do, I feel that there might be on a point of this kind considerable danger of the Bill being lost if we were to accept this Amendment at this moment.

THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
I wish to make my own position perfectly clear. The words in the Amendment are not my words at all, but the words of the Admiralty. The Amendment is in the form in which they thought it might properly he made, and it was furnished to me after an ample correspondence on the point. I did suggest other words, but instead of those the Admiralty thought that these words would be better. Accordingly I have moved the words in the form given to me by the Admiralty. Therefore I think my own action in the matter cannot be regarded as calculated to cause any of the difficulties of which the noble Lord spoke.

§ LORD PARMOOR
Unless an Amendment of this kind were introduced there would be serious difficulty. You would really almost get back to the conditions when the Secret Marriage Act was necessary. Therefore I hope that the noble Lord in charge of the Bill will accept the Amendment.

§ LORD EMMOTT
In the circumstances I do not feel that I can offer a blank negative to this Amendment, but I do not like to accept it without warning your Lordships, as I have done, that I do not know what the effect will be when the Bill goes back to another place.

§ LORD EMMOTT
I have an Amendment in Clause 2 to meet the case of Scotland. I beg to move.