Registrar-Generals-Department-Annual-report-1967-1968 — Page 56

151. Many of the older husbands and wives had already been married before by customary ceremonies. Such marriages are expressly authorized by Section 38(2) of the Ordinance, which provides that the parties to a customary marriage may, if they so desire and provided they have not living any other undivorced spouse, contract with each other a marriage under the Ordinance, and that this shall not be deemed to prejudice the previous customary marriage. There are two reasons why people already married by a Chinese customary ceremony remarry under the Ordinance. Either they have become Christians and wish to be formally remarried in their Church for religious reasons; or more usually not having a marriage certificate that is acceptable to public authorities, local or foreign, they marry in a Registry in order to obtain an official marriage certificate that will be accepted everywhere as evidence of the marriage. During 1967-68, 2,350 marriages took place between parties already married by customary ceremonies of one kind or another. 34 of these remarriages were performed at licensed places of worship, the remainder at the Registries. The total of 2,350, amount- ing to 14.20% of the marriages between parties of Chinese race, was 833 more than that for 1966-67, an increase of about 50%. This is believed to be due mainly to the increased demand for passports during the disturbances and the consequent necessity for documentary evidence of marriage. The following is an analysis of the time lapse between the registered marriage and the previous customary marriage for these

cases:

Within 1 year

447

Over 1 year but within 5 years'

376

Over 5 years

1,527

Total

2,350

152. Of the 16,894 marriages registered, 16,551 were between parties of Chinese race; 141 marriages were between non-Chinese grooms and Chinese brides, and 26 between Chinese grooms and non-Chinese brides; the remaining 176 were between parties both of whom were non-Chinese. 234 widowers and 134 widows remarried. 296 of the parties married were divorced persons, and in accordance with the normal practice of the Registry the divorce documents were carefully scrutinized before the marriage was permitted to take place.

153. The relative conjugal conditions of bridegrooms and brides (excluding the same parties previously customarily married, and re- married under Section 38(2) of the Ordinance) were as follows, with figures for 1966-67 shown in brackets for comparison:

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