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time of morning service, or of evening service, if there be no morning service in such church, upon any of those Sundays, immediately after the second lesson; and if the parties live in different parishes, the banns shall be so published in the parish church to which each of them belongs; and the rules prescribed by the said rubrick, for the publishing of banns and solemnization of matrimony, and not hereby altered shall be observed: and that the marriage shall be solemnized in one of the parish churches where the banns have been published, and in no other place. But no minister shall be obliged to publish the banns of matrimony, unless the persons to be married shall, seven days at least before the time required for the first publication, deliver, or cause to be delivered to such minister, a notice in writing of their true christian and sirnames, and of the house and houses of their respective abodes, and of the time they have dwelt therein. And no such banns shall be published in any church of this isle, if either of the parties be aliens, or strangers, who shall resort, or come to this isle, unless such stranger shall have resided here at least three months, and one month in such parish before such publication. And no minister solemnizing marriage between persons, both or one of whom shall be under the age of twentyone years, after banns published, without consent of parents or guardians, shall be liable to punishment, unless he have notice of the dissent of such parents or guardians and in case they, or one of them, shall publickly declare, or cause to be declared in the church, at the time of the publication of banns, his, her, or their dissent, such publication of banns shall be absolutely void.

And no licence of marriage shall be granted by the bishop, vicar-general, or other person, to solemnize any marriage in any other church or chapel, than in the parish church belonging to the parish in which the usual place of abode of one of the parties hath been for three months before the granting of such licence, and in no other place whatever: Provided that this act shall not

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deprive the bishop of the right of granting special licences, to marry at any convenient time and place, so that such licence be under his own proper hand and seal episcopal; and that licences of marriage shall not be valid unless the same be under the hand and seal of the person authorized to grant the same; and that no such licences shall be granted to any person but according to the canons of 1703, relating to marriages. And if any person do solemnize matrimony in any other place than as aforesaid, or without publication of banns, or licence as aforesaid; every person wilfully offending therein, and being lawfully convicted thereof, if persons holding or exercising any ministerial function in the church of this isle, shall be deemed guilty of felony, and transported to some of his majesty's plantations in America, for fourteen years: And if such offender be an alien, or stranger, and not of the ministry of this isle, and convicted as aforesaid, his ears shall be nailed to a pillory at Castletown cross, upon the next court of general gaol delivery, at twelve o'clock at noon, and there to remain for one hour, when his ears are to be cut off, and remain on the said pillory, and the offender to be returned to prison in Castle-Rushen, there to remain till the governor thinks proper to release him, on paying a fine, not exceeding fifty pounds, and abjuring this isle. And all marriages solemnized in any other place than a church, unless by a special licence as aforesaid, or that shall be solemnized without publication of banns, or li cence from some person having authority to grant the same, shall be null and void, to all intents and purposes whatsoever, provided that all prosecutions for the said felony shall be commenced within three years after the offence committed, the offender residing or continuing in this isle during that period: And that it shall not be necessary, in support of marriages solemnized as aforesaid, to give any proof of the actual dwelling of the parties, in such parish where the banns were pub lished: And if the marriage is by licence, it shall not

be necessary to give any proof, that the usual place of abode of one of the parties, for the space of three months, as aforesaid, was in the parish where such marriage was solemnized, nor shall any evidence be taken in either of the said cases, or be received to prove the contrary in any suit, touching the validity of such marriage.

And all marriages by licence, where either of the parties not being a widow or widower, shall be under the age of twenty-one years, which shall be had without the consent of the father of such party under age, if living, or the guardian or guardians of such party lawfully appointed, or one of them: And in case there be no such guardian, then of the mother, if living and unmarried, or if there be no mother living and unmarried, then of the guardian or guardians of the person, shall be absolutely null and void, to all intents and purposes whatsoever: And if the guardian or mother be not of sound mind, or beyond seas, or by unreasonable or un-. due motives be induced to abuse the trust aforesaid, by refusing consent to a proper marriage, any person so desirous of marrying, in any of the before mentioned cases, may apply by petition to the governor, who is empowered to proceed upon such petition in a summary way; and in case the marriage proposed, shall, upon examination, appear to be proper, the governor shall judicially declare the same to be so, by order of court, which shall be as effectual as the consent of the mother or guardian. The church wardens from time to time, as there shall be occasion, shall provide proper books in each parish, in which all marriages, and banns of marriage there published and solemnized, shall be registered; and every page thereof truly numbered, begining at the second leaf; and every page so numbered, shall be ruled with lines, at proper and equal distances. And all banns and marriages, published and solemnized in any parish church within this isle,

shall be written upon such lines, and signed by the minister, or some person in his presence, and by his direction: And such entries shall be made in successive order; and all such books shall belong to such parish respectively, and shall be carefully preserved for public use. And all marriages shall be solemnized in the presence of two or more credible witnesses besides the minister; and immediately after the celebration of every marriage, an entry thereof shall be made in such registry, in which it shall be expressed, that the marriage was celebrated by banns or licence; and (if both or either of the parties married by licence be under age), with consent of parents or guardians, as the case may be, and shall be signed by the minister, with his proper addition, and also by the parties married, and attested by such two witnesses, with their proper additions, according to the form thereafter mentioned.

And if any person shall, with an intent to elude the force of this act, knowingly or wilfully insert, or cause to be inserted in such register book, any false entry of any matter or thing, relating to any marriage, or falsely make, alter, forge, or counterfeit any such registry, or assist therein, or utter, or publish as true, any such false, altered, forged, or counterfeited registry, or licence as aforesaid, or any copy thereof, knowing the same to be so; or shall wilfully destroy, or cause to be destroyed, any such register book, or any part thereof, with an intent to avoid a marriage; or to subject any person to any of the penalties of this act; every person so of fending, and being thereof lawfully convicted, shall be deemed and adjudged guilty of felony, and suffer death.

No vicar-general or surrogate, deputed by the bishop to grant licences of marriage as aforesaid, shall grant any such licence before he hath taken an oath before the bishop, faithfully to execute the same, 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 said bishop, for the due execution thereof: and for such licence, and all other the necessary writings required by this act, in and about the same, such vicargeneral or surrogate, shall and may lawfully demand and receive one British crown *.

Master and Servant.

ALL servants who do not give lawful warning to their masters or mistresses, to wit, men servants on Michaelmas-day, and women servants on Lady-day, and yet hire to another master or mistress, such hiring shall not be effectual in law, in case the former master or mistress prosecute to retain the servant for the same

year.

And whereas complaints are made of servants hiring with two several masters or mistresses; It is therefore enacted, that the master or mistress first hiring lawfully, shall have the service of that year; and the master or mistress hiring secondly, to have the wages of such servant for the same year; which the said master is to pay quarterly to the other, or at any other time that the same shall be demanded from him: But if it be dis covered and proved that the person making the second hiring knew of the first hiring, and yet made use of means to persuade and inveigle the servant to a second hiring; or if there be but strong presumption by circumstances of the like fraudulent usage, the servant shall get all his wages. But if the proof be only circumstantial, and the blame partly appear in the servant as well as the master, who ought to inquire and be satisfied with the servant's condition before he hires him; in such case the wages to be proportioned and allowed

*A. T. 1757,

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