taken the lead with 54 grantees, and the United Kingdom, which in 1961-62 led with 60 grantees is now in second place with 32. West Germany is third with 19 grantees, Italy fourth with 14 and Switzerland fifth with 13. Only 4 grantees were domiciled in Hong Kong as com- pared with 15 in 1961-62.
Fees
88. Fees collected amounted to $7,780, which was $1,153 less than in 1961-62.
Explanatory
PART VI
MARRIAGE REGISTRY
89. All marriages, except non-Christian customary marriages, are governed by the provisions of the Marriage Ordinance (Cap. 181), a reprint of which incorporating a number of important amendments made by the Marriage (Amendment) Ordinance, 1960, is available, priced $1.50. Under the Ordinance as so amended, after a notice of intended marriage has been exhibited at the Registry for fifteen clear days, a certificate is issued which enables the marriage to be celebrated at a licensed place of worship, or contracted as a civil marriage before a Deputy Registrar. Where he is satisfied that there are special cir- cumstances justifying his doing so, the Registrar may issue the certificate at any time within the fifteen days. Under Section 12 the Governor may, when he sees fit, grant a special licence dispensing with notice altogether or with the certificate of the Registrar or with both. Such licences are given only in very special circumstances.
90. The Marriage Ordinance does not apply to non-Christian cus- tomary marriages duly celebrated according to the personal law and religion of the parties, and in spite of the rapid increase that has taken place in recent years in the number of marriages under the Ordinance, there are probably about as many unregistered marriages as registered. The position with respect to these unregistered marriages is far from satisfactory, the great majority being of doubtful validity since they are contracted not in accordance with the full traditional forms prescribed by Chinese custom, but in supposed conformity with Articles 980 to 988 of the Civil Code of the former Nationalist Government of China. There are also large numbers of irregular unions in which the two parties
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