226 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



by a justice of the peace in his county ; or by the several religious 

 societies agreeably to the rules and regulations of their respective 

 churches. If the parties are married by the rules of any church, notice 

 of the marriage must first be published in the presence of the congre- 

 gation on two separate days of worship, the first notice to be at least 

 ten days previous to such marriage, and in the county in which the 

 female resides. And, in order that record evidence of a marriage may 

 always exist, a license to marry must first be obtained from the probate 

 court before the marriage can be legally solemnized ; and a certificate 

 of such marriage, signed by the minister or justice of the peace sol- 

 emnizing the same, must be filed by the person so officiating with the 

 court where the license issued. This certificate must be filed with the 

 court within three months from date of marriage, under a penalty of 

 fifty dollars fine for neglect to do so, and the court must make a record 

 of the certificate of marriage under a like penalty. These last pro- 

 visions do not apply to parties who are married by the rules of any 

 church. 



In New York, marriage, so far as its validity in law is concerned, 

 is expressly declared to be a civil contract, to which the consent of the 

 parties, who must be capable in law of contracting, is essential. Mar- 

 riage between parents and children, and grandparents and grand- 

 children, of every degree, and between brothers and sisters of the half 

 or whole blood, are declared to be incestuous and absolutely void. So 

 a second or other subsequent marriage contracted by any person dur- 

 ing the lifetime of any former husband or wife of such person, is abso- 

 lutely void, unless the marriage of such former husband or wife shall 

 have been annulled for some cause other than the adultery of such per- 

 son, or unless such former husband or wife shall have been finally 

 sentenced to imprisonment for life. But for causes existing at the 

 time of marriage, where either of the parties is incapable of contract- 

 ing for want of age or understanding, or from physical causes, or where 

 consent has been obtained through force or fraud, the marriage is void 

 only from the time its nullity shall be declared by a court of competent 

 authority. So, if any person, whose husband or wife shall have absented 

 himself or herself for the space of five consecutive years without being 

 known to such person to be living during that time, shall marry dur- 

 ing the lifetime of such absent husband or wife, the marriage shall be 

 void only from the time its nullity is pronounced by a court of compe- 

 tent authority. The law authorizing a legal separation, or a limited 

 divorce, in New York, has been repealed, and the only causes arising 

 after marriage for which a legal marriage can be annulled are adultery 

 and imprisonment for life ; and a pardon to the person sentenced to 

 imprisonment for life will not restore to him or her the rights of a pre- 

 vious marriage. In a case of divorce for adultery the complainant 

 may marry again during the life of the defendant ; but no defendant 

 convicted of adultery can marry again until the death of the complain- 



