CO885-(10-11) — Page 646

5306.

No. 510.

(SOUTH AUSTRALIA.)

QUEEN'S ADVOCATE to COLONIAL OFFICE.

Temple, May 21, 1868.

MY LORD DUKE,

I AM honoured with your Grace's commands, signified in Sir F. Rogers' letter of the 8th instant, stating that he was directed by your Grace to transmit to me for my consideration the accompanying transcripts of two Acts passed by the Legislature of An Act to South Australia in the month of December 1867, entitled respectively

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"consolidate and amend the law relating to Divorce and Matrinionial Causes in South Australia,” and “An Act to consolidate and amend the laws relating to Marriages "in the Province of South Australia," and a copy of the report of the local Attorney General thereupon.

Sir F. Rogers was pleased to request that I would favour your Grace with my opinion whether these laws may properly be allowed to remain in operation.,

In obedience to the commands of your Grace, I have considered the Acts above referred to, and have the honour to

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Report

That the Act of 1867, intituled " An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to Divorce and Matrimonial Causes in South Australia," may properly be allowed by your Grace to remain in operation. The Act itself as well as the schedules thereto appear to have been framed as closely as circumstances would admit after the model of the existing law and the rules and regulations which govern Her Majesty's Court of Divorce and Matrimonial Causes in England, and I see no reason why your Grace should disapprove any part of it.

That the Act of 1867, intituled “An Act to consolidate and amend the laws relating "to Marriages in South Australia," may also be properly allowed by your Grace to remain in operation, with the exception of the 38th section.

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That section is as follows: "The production of the general register of marriages or any district register of marriages herein-before directed to be kept shall be conclusive " evidence of the validity of all marriages entered or registered therein, and no marriage so entered or registered shall be impeached or impeachable in any court or "courts on the ground of the non-observance of any of the formalities by this Act " required to be observed, or upon any ground or pretence whatsoever.”

Whatever may have been the intention of the Parliament of South Australia in framing this section, it will admit of being so construed as to make registration con- clusive of the validity of a marriage, and accordingly to protect every marriage which has been duly registered from being impeached in any court of justice on the ground of nullity by reason of a pre-existing lawful impediment to such marriage, and as the Imperial statute, which was passed in 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. lxiv.) to remove doubts respecting the validity of certain marriages contracted in Her Majesty's possessions abroad, has expressly provided that no Colonial law establishing the validity of any marriage in a Colony shall have effect within all parts of Her Majesty's dominions unless both of the parties thereto were according to the law of England competent to contract the same, I think it will be proper for your Grace to disapprove this section. Ample provision has been made in the two preceding sections to facilitate the proof of every marriage in a court of justice by declaring a certified copy of the entry in the register book of marriages to be prima facie evidence of such marriage, as well as to prevent any marriage being invalidated by reason only of any neglect to observe some formality required by the Act to be observed.

I have, &c. (Signed) TRAVERS TWISS. His Grace the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos,

&c.

&c.

&c.

16278.650.

25.- 5,86.

PUBLIC

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RECORD OFFICE

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Reference :-

C.O. 885

11 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

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