offence, to give notice thereof, and of the evidence for providing the same, to his Majesty's advocate for the time being, who is hereby required to prosecute such second or subsequent offences before the court of justiciary, or at the circuit courts. (Lecky, ii., 65. See Rogers, P.L. ii. 49, and the Act 20 Geo. II. c. 43, p. 133, abolishing the heritable jurisdictions in Scotland. Craik, C.S.H. i. 360.) XXXII THE ABOLITION OF HERITABLE 20 Geo. II. Cap.1 43, 1747. An Act for taking away and abolishing the Heritable Jurisdictions in that part of Great Britain called Scotland; and for making satisfaction to the Proprietors thereof; and for restoring such Jurisdictions to the Crown; and for making more effectual provision for the administration of justice throughout that part of the United Kingdom, by the King's Courts and Judges there; and for obliging all persons acting as Procurators, Writers or Agents in the Law in Scotland to take the Oaths; and for rendering the Union of the Two Kingdoms more complete. I. For remedying the inconveniences that have arisen and may arise from the multiplicity and extent of heritable jurisdictions in that part of Great Britain called Scotland, for making satisfaction to the proprietors thereof, for restoring to the crown the powers of jurisdiction originally and properly belonging thereto, according to the constitution, and for extending the influence, benefit and protection of the King's laws and courts of justice to all his Majesty's subjects in Scotland, and for rendering the union more complete, Be it enacted... that all heritable jurisdictions of justiciary, and all regalities and heritable baillieries, and all heritable constabularies, other than the office of high constable of Scotland, and all stewartries . . . and all sheriffships . . . belonging unto or possessed or claimed by any subject . . . and all jurisdictions, powers, authorities and privileges thereunto appurtenant . . . shall be and are hereby . . . totally dissolved and extinguished. (II. The lands and rents to remain.) 1 Repealed in part 1 and 2 Vict. c. 119 and Stat. Law. Rev. Act, 1867. III. And be it further enacted . . . that all jurisdictions . belonging to any such justiciary, regalities, baillieries, constabularies, stewartries, sheriffships . . . shall . . . be vested in and exercised by the Court of Session, Court of Justiciary at Edinburgh, the judges in the several circuits, and the courts of the sheriffs and stewarts of shires and counties, and other of the King's courts in Scotland respectively. . . . IV. And it is hereby further enacted . . . that . . . all sheriffships of any county or shire, and all stewartries not hereby before taken away . . . and all jurisdictions. . . thereunto belonging. . . shall be and are hereby resumed and annexed to the crown; and that the sheriffs and stewarts of such counties. respectively shall from henceforth be nominated and appointed by his Majesty, his heirs and successors. (V. No sheriffship to be granted for more than one year. VI.-XVI. provide regulations for the decrees of the courts abolished by the Act.) XVII. And whereas the jurisdiction in capital cases that was heretofore granted to many heritors . . . whose lands were erected by the crown into baronies or granted cum fossa et furca, or with power of pit and gallows, . . . hath been long discontinued . . . and whereas it is reasonable that some further regulations should be made relating to the jurisdiction of such barons who are infeofft cum curiis. . . be it enacted that . . . no heritor or proprietor of lands within Scotland . . . shall have, exercise or enjoy any jurisdiction in capital cases or enjoy any jurisdiction in any criminal cause whatsoever (except in assaults and smaller crimes, nor in civil causes where the sum shall exceed 40s.) ... (XVIII.-XXV. provide regulations for the prisons and jurisdictions IL-XXV. of the heritable jurisdictions left by the Act.) XXVI. Provided always .. that nothing in this Act shall extend . . . to take away . any jurisdiction or privilege by law vested in or competent to the corporation or community of any royal borough in Scotland. XXVII-XI (The remainder of the Act-XXVII.-XLIII.-deals with the proceedings and organisation of the courts to which the jurisdiction of the abolished courts are assigned.) (See Rogers, P.L. ii. 49 and authorities cited p. 133.) XXXIII HARDWICKE'S MARRIAGE ACT 26 Geo. II. Cap. 33, 1753.1 An act for the better preventing of clandestine marriages. Whereas great mischiefs and inconveniences have arisen from clandestine marriages; for preventing thereof for the future, Be it enacted That from and after the twenty-fifth day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four, all banns of matrimony shall be published in an audible manner in the parish church, or some public chapel, in which public chapel banns of marriage have been usually published, of or belonging to such parish or chapelry wherein the persons to be married shall dwell, according to the form of words prescribed by the rubric prefixed to the office of matrimony in the book of common prayer, upon three Sundays preceding the solemnization of marriage, during the time of morning service, or of evening service (if there be no morning service in such church or chapel upon any of those Sundays) immediately after the second lesson: and whensoever it shall happen that the persons to be married shall dwell in divers parishes or chapelries, the banns shall in like manner be published in the church or chapel belonging to such parish or chapelry wherein each of the said persons shall dwell; and where both or either of the persons to be married shall dwell in any extraparochial place, (having no church or chapel wherein banns have been usually published) then the banns shall in like manner be published in the parish church or chapel belonging to some parish or chapelry adjoining to such extraparochial place: and where banns shall be published in any church or chapel belonging to any parish adjoining to such extraparochial place, the parson, vicar, minister or curate, publishing such banns, shall, in writing under his hand, certify the publication thereof in such manner as if either of the persons to be married dwelt in such adjoining parish; and that all other rules prescribed by the said rubric concerning the publication of banns, and the solemnization of matrimony, and not hereby altered, shall be duly observed; and that in all cases where banns shall have been published, the marriage shall be solemnized in one of the parish churches Repealed 4 Geo. IV. c. 76, § 1. or chapels where such banns have been published, and in no other place whatsoever. ... II. Provided always, . . . That no parson, vicar, minister or curate shall be obliged to publish the banns of matrimony . . . unless the persons to be married shall, seven days at the least before . . . deliver or cause to be delivered to such parson, vicar, minister or curate, a notice in writing of their true christian and surnames, and of the house or houses of their respective abodes within such parish, chapelry or extraparochial place as aforesaid, and of the time during which they have dwelt, inhabited or lodged in such house or houses respectively. III. Provided always, That no parson, minister, vicar or curate solemnizing marriages after the twenty-fifth day of March one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four, between persons, both or one of whom shall be under the age of twenty-one years, after banns published, shall be punishable by ecclesiastical censures for solemnizing such marriages without consent of parents or guardians, whose consent is required by law, unless such parson, minister, vicar or curate shall have notice of the dissent of such parents or guardians; and in case such parents or guardians, or one of them, shall openly and publicly declare, . . . at the time of the publication, his, her, or their dissent to such marriage, such publication of banns shall be absolutely void. IV. . . . That no licence of marriage shall, from and after the said twenty-fifth day of March in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four, be granted by any archbishop, bishop, or other ordinary or person having authority to grant such licences, to solemnize any marriage in any other church or chapel, than in the parish church or public chapel of or belonging to the parish or chapelry, within which the usual place of abode of one of the persons to be married shall have been for the space of four weeks immediately before the granting of such licence; or where both or either of the parties to be married shall dwell in any extra parochial place, having no church or chapel wherein banns have been usually published, then in the parish church or chapel belonging to some parish or chapelry adjoining to such extra-parochial place, and in no other place whatsoever. V. Provided always, . . . That all parishes where there shall be no parish church or chapel . . . may be deemed extraparochial places for the purposes of this act, but not for any other purpose. VI. Provided always, That nothing herein before contained shall be construed to extend to deprive the Archbishop of Canterbury and his successors, and his or their proper officers, of the right which hath hitherto been used, in virtue of a certain statute1 made in the twenty-fifth year of the reign of the late King Henry the Eighth, intituled, An act concerning Peter pence and dispensations; of granting special licences to marry at any convenient time or place. VII. Provided always, . . . That no surrogate deputed by any ecclesiastical judge, who hath power to grant licences of marriage, shall grant any such licence before he hath taken an oath before the said judge faithfully to execute his office, according to law, to the best of his knowledge, and hath given security by his bond in the sum of one hundred pounds to the bishop of the diocese, for the due and faithful execution of his said office. VIII. And whereas many persons do solemnize matrimony in prisons and other places without publication of banns or licence of marriage first had and obtained; therefore, for the prevention thereof, Be it enacted, That if any person shall, . . . solemnize matrimony in any other place than in a church or public chapel, . . . unless by special licence from the Archbishop of Canterbury; or shall solemnize matrimony without publication of banns, unless licence of marriage be first had and obtained from some person or persons having authority to grant the same, every person knowingly and wilfully so offending, and being lawfully convicted thereof, shall be deemed and adjudged to be guilty of felony, and shall be transported to some of His Majesty's plantations in America for the space of fourteen years, . . . and all marriages solemnized from and after the twenty-fifth day of March in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four, in any other place than a church or such public chapel, unless by special licence as aforesaid, or that shall be solemnized without publication of banns, or licence of marriage from a person or persons having authority to grant the same . . . shall be null and void to all intents and purposes whatsoever. (§§ IX., X. Prosecutions for such felony to be commenced within three years; proofs of the dwelling of persons in the parishes where banns are published not necessary to the validity of such marriage.) XI.. That all marriages solemnized by licence, after the said twenty-fifth day of March one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four, where either of the parties, not being a widower or widow, shall be under the age of twenty-one years, which shall be had without the consent of the father (if then living) or if dead, of the 1 25 Hen. VIII. c. 3. . |