§ Order of the Day for the Second Reading read.
THE UNDER-SECRETARY or STATE FOR INDIA (EARL RUSSELL)My Lords, this is one of the Departmental Bills emanating from the Home Office with which your Lordships are familiar, for the purpose of confirming three Provisional Orders made by the Home Secretary. Apparently the path of those who desire to get married by a clergyman of the Church of England is full of the most unexpected pitfalls and those who should be expected to know their way about continue constantly to fall into them. As a result Bills of this character become necessary. The first Provisional Order relates to the Church of St. Mark. Londonderry, which I understand was formed for spiritual purposes only. 694 According to my instructions those apparently do not include getting married. The officiating minister in his innocence applied to the Registrar-General for the marriage registers, and they were duly supplied under the misapprehension that he had been licensed to solemnise marriages. He had not in fact been so licensed, and he had unfortunately solemnised several marriages before that fact was discovered. The registers have now been returned, and the first Provisional Order is for the purpose of removing any doubt as to those marriages.
In the case of the second Provisional Order, the position seems to me to be still more curious, and one which might easily lead people astray. The Church of St. Mary, Shirehampton, was destroyed by fire. The Marriage Act, 1823, provides that in cases where a church is unusable for that reason, or on account of reconstruction or similar cause, marriages may be performed in any place within the limits of the parish that is licensed by the Bishop for divine service during the period when the church is out of use. In cases where he has not licensed a place within the parish for divine service, marriages may be solemnised in the churches of adjoining parishes. In this case, apparently, he had licensed the parish hall for divine service within this parish, but in ignorance of that fact the incumbents of certain neighbouring parishes solemnised several marriages which they were not in fact entitled to solemnise. I think your Lordships will agree that this justifies my statement that unexpected pitfalls lie all around in these matters.
In the case of the third Provisional Order, there was a mistake in fact as to whether a particular place was in the parish of All Saints, Falsgrave. In fact the place was not in the parish, but in another parish, and in order to remove any doubt it was thought desirable to make a Provisional Order. This Bill contains those three Provisional Orders and confirms them. As the matter is entirely non-contentions I should propose, if your Lordships agreed, to take the Committee stage next Thursday and the Third Pending on the following Tuesday. I beg to move.
§ On Question, Bill read 2a and committed.