in force in, and the same is hereby extended to these Islands; and every word in this Act importing the singular number only shall extend and be applied to several persons or things as well as one person or thing; and every word importing the masculine gender only shall extend and be applied to a female as well as a male.

That all Wills and Testamentary limitations, dispositions, or appointments already made by persons now in being, or hereafter to be made by any person or persons whomsoever, of or concerning any messuages, lands, tenements, or hereditaments, or any rent, profit, term, or charge out of the same, whereof any person at the time of his decease shall be seized in fee simple, in possession, reversion, or remainder, or have power to dispose of the same by his last Will or Testament, shall be deemed or taken (only as against such person and his heirs, successors, executors, administrators, and assigns and every of them, with whom the person making any such Will or Testament, limitation, disposition, or appointment shall have entered into any bond, covenant, or other specialty binding his heirs) to be fraudulent, and clearly, absolutely, and utterly void, frustrate, and of none effect; any pretence, colour, feigned or presumed consideration, or any other matter or thing to the contrary notwithstanding.

&c.

CL. III.

That in the cases before mentioned every such creditor shall and may Enabling Creditors to have and maintain his action, and action of debt or covenant, upon the recover upon bonds, said bonds, covenants, and specialties, against the heir-at-law of such obligor, covenantor, and such devisee, or the devisee of such firstmentioned devisee, jointly, by virtue of this Act, and such devisee shall be liable and chargeable for a false plea by him pleaded in the same manner as any heir would have been for any false plea by him pleaded, or for not confessing the lands or tenements to him descended.

any

That if in any case there shall not be any Heir-at-Law against whom, jointly with the Devisee, a remedy is hereby given, in every such case every Creditor to whom by this Act relief is so given shall and may have and maintain his action of debt or covenant, as the case may be, against such Devisee solely, and such Devisee shall be liable for any false plea as aforesaid. Provided always, That where there hath been or shall be any limitation or appointment, devise or disposition of or concerning any messuages, lands, tenements, or hereditaments, for the raising or payment of any real and just debt, or any portion or sum of money for any child of person, according to or in pursuance of any marriage contract or agreement in writing bond fide made before such marriage, the same and every of them shall be in full force; and the same messuages, lands, tenements, and hereditaments shall and may be holden and enjoyed by every such person, his executors, administrators, and assigns, for whom the said limitation, appointment, devise, or disposition was made, and by his trustee, his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns for such estate or interest as shall be so limited or appointed, devised or disposed, until such debt or portion shall be raised, paid, and satisfied.

That in all cases where any Heir-at-Law shall be liable to pay the debts or perform the covenants of his Ancestors in regard of any lands, tenements, or hereditaments descended to him, and shall sell, alien, or make over the same before any action brought or process sued out against him, such Heir-at-Law shall be answerable for such debts or covenants in an action of debt or covenant to the value of the said lands so by him sold, aliened, or made over, in which cases all Creditors shall be preferred as in actions against executors and administrators; and such Execution shall be taken out upon any Judgment so obtained against such Heir, to the value of the said land, as if the same were his own proper debt; saving that the lands, tenements, and hereditaments bond fide aliened before the action brought shall not be liable to such execution.

That where any action of debt or covenant upon any specialty is brought against the Heir, he may plead rien par descent at the time of the commencement of the suit against him, and the plaintiff in such action may reply that he had lands, tenements, or hereditaments from his Ancestors before the commencement of the suit; and if upon the issue

CL. IV.

If there is no Heir-at
Law, actions may be
maintained against the
Devisee.

. No. 37.

8th August, 1810.

CL. VIII.

Devisees to be liable
the same as the
Heir-at-Law.

CL. IX.

The Parol shall not demur by or against Infants.

CL. X.

Infants to make conveyances under order of the Court.

CL. XI. Persons having a Life

interest may convey the Fee if the estate is ordered to be sold.

CL. XII.

Freehold estates in all cases to be assets for

the payment of Simple Contract or Specialty debts.

3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 104.

joined thereupon it be found for the plaintiff, the Jury shall inquire of the value of the lands, tenements, or hereditaments so descended, and thereupon judgment shall be given and execution shall be awarded as aforesaid; but if judgment be given against such Heir by confession of the action without confessing the assets descended, or upon demurrer, or nihil dicit, it shall be for the debt and damage, without any writ to inquire of the lands, tenements, or hereditaments so descended.

That the Devisee made liable by this Act shall be liable and chargeable in the same manner as the Heir-at-Law by force of this Act, notwithstanding the lands, tenements, and hereditaments to him or them devised shall be aliened before the action brought.

That where any action, suit, or other proceeding for the payment of

debts or any other purpose shall be commenced or prosecuted by or against

any infant under the age of twenty-one years, either alone or together with any other person, the Parol shall not demur, but such action, suit, or other proceeding shall be prosecuted and carried on in the same manner and as effectually as any action or suit could, before the passing of this Act, be carried on or prosecuted by or against any infant, where according to law the Parol did not demur.

That where any suit hath been or shall be instituted in any Court of Equity for the payment of any debts of any persons deceased, to which their Heir or Devisee may be subject or liable, and such Court of Equity shall decree the estates liable to such debts, or any of them, to be sold for satisfaction of such debts, and by reason of the Infancy of any such Heir or Devisee an immediate conveyance thereof cannot, as the Law at present stands, be compelled, in every such case such Court shall direct, and if necessary compel, such Infant to convey such estates so to be sold (by all proper Assurances in the Law) to the purchaser thereof, and in such manner as the said Court shall think proper and direct; and every such Infant shall make such conveyance accordingly; and every such conveyance shall be as valid and effectual to all intents and purposes as if such person being an Infant was at the time of executing the same of the full age of Twenty-one years.

That where any lands, tenements, or hereditaments have been or shall be devised in settlement by any person whose estate under this Act, or by Law, or by his Will, shall be liable to the payment of any of his debts, and by such devise shall be vested in any person for Life or other limited interest, with any remainder, limitation, or gift over which may not be vested, or may be vested in some person from whom a conveyance or other assurance of the same cannot be obtained, or by way of executory devise; and a Decree shall be made for the sale thereof for the payment of such debts or any of them, it shall be lawful for the Court by whom such decree shall be made to direct any such Tenant for Life, or other person having a limited interest, or the first executory devisee thereof, to convey, release, assign, surrender, or otherwise assure the Fee Simple, or other the whole interest or interests so to be sold, to the purchaser or purchasers, or in such manner as the said Court shall think proper; and every such conveyance, release, surrender, assignment, or other assurance shall be as effectual as if the person who shall make and execute the same were seized or possessed of the Fee Simple or other whole estate so to be sold. That when any person shall die seized of or entitled to any estate or interest in lands, tenements, or hereditaments, corporeal or incorporeal, or other Real Estate, whether freehold or otherwise, which he shall not by his Last Will have charged with or devised subject to the payment of his debts, the same shall be assets to be administered in Courts of Equity for the payment of the just debts of such persons, as well debts due on Simple-Contract as on Specialty; and that the Heir-at-Law and devisce of such debtor shall be liable to all the same suits in Equity at the suit any of the creditors of such debtor, whether creditors by Simple Contract or by Specialty, as the heir-at-law or devisee of any person who died seized of freehold estates was before the passing of this Act liable to in respect of such freehold estates at the suit of creditors by specialty in

of

which the heirs were bound: Provided always, That in the administration of assets by Courts of Equity, under and by virtue of this Act, all creditors by specialty in which the heirs are bound shall be paid the full amount of the debts due to them before any of the creditors by simple contract, or by specialty, in which the heirs are not bound, shall be paid any part of the demands.

That when any person shall die after the first day of January next after the passing of this Act, having by his Will or any Codicil thereto appointed any person to be his Executor, such Executor shall be deemed by Courts of Equity to be a trustee for the person (if any) who would be entitled to the estate under the Statute of Distributions in respect of residue not expressly disposed of, unless it shall appear by the Will or any Codicil thereto the person so appointed executor was intended to take such residue beneficially.

any

Provided, That nothing herein contained shall affect or prejudice any right to which any Executor, if this Act had not been passed, would have been entitled in cases where there is not any person who would be entitled to the testator's estate, under the statute of distributions, in respect of any residue not expressly disposed of.

No. 40.

An Act to amend the Laws relating to Marriage in this Island and its
Dependencies.
[3rd March, 1841.]
WHEREAS it is expedient to amend the Marriage Law of this Island: Be
it therefore enacted by the Commander-in-Chief for the time being, the
Council and Assembly of this Island and its Dependencies, and by the
authority of the same, That from and after the passing of this Act, it
shall be lawful for any Minister of the Christian Religion, ordained or
otherwise set apart to the Ministry of the Christian Religion according to
the usage of the persuasion to which he may belong, to publish within
this Island and its Dependencies Banns of Marriage between persons
desirous of being joined together in Matrimony; and such publication shall
be made in an audible manner, some time during public Divine Service
on a Sunday, in the face of the congregation before whom such Minister
shall officiate, in the parish in which both or one of the parties to be
married shall dwell, and shall contain the Christian and other name and
surname and place of abode of each of the said parties, and shall be so
published by some such Minister, for three Sundays preceding the
solemnization of the Marriage, during the morning service, if there be
service in the morning, or if there shall be no morning service, then
during the evening service; and if the parties to be married shall dweil
in different parishes, the Banns shall be published in like manner in
both such parishes; and if the said parties shall be of different persua-
sions, the Banns shall be published in like manner before each of the
congregations to which the said parties may respectively belong, whether
both the said congregations shall assemble in the same parish or not; and
in cases where the Banns shall have been published in different places the
Officiating Minister at either of the said places shall, on the request of
both or either of the parties whose Banns shall have been published as
aforesaid, give to the party requiring the same a certificate of the Banns
having been duly published in the place of which he is an Officiating
Minister, and on the production of such certificate to the Officiating
Minister of the other place where the Banns were published, or of such
certificates to any other such Minister as aforesaid in the parish to which
one of the parties shall belong, it shall be lawful for such Minister where
the Banns were published, on receiving such certificate from such other
Minister where the Banns were published, or for such Minister as afore-
said to whom the certificates of such Ministers of both places where
the Banns were published, on receipt of such certificate or certificates (as

1

No. 40.

3rd March, 1841.

Proviso.

Where the form to be
used differs from that
of the Established
Church, a declaration
to be made by the
parties.

CL. II.

Ministers not obliged
to publish Banns
unless the Christian

and surnames of the

abode, &c., be laid

before him two days
previous to the first
publication.

the case may be) to solemnize Matrimony between the said parties according to such form and ceremony as shall be in use or be adopted by the persuasion to which the Ministers solemnizing such Marriage shall belong : Provided, That whenever the form and ceremony used shall be other than that of the United Church of England and Ireland, each of the parties shall in some part of the ceremony make the following declaration:"I "do solemnly declare that I know not of any lawful impediment why I "A. B. may not be joined in Matrimony to C. D., here present." And each of the parties shall say to the other:-"I call upon these persons "here present to witness that I A. B. do take thee C. D. to be my lawful "wedded wife [or husband]; and provided also that there be no lawful "impediment to the marriage of such parties."

That no Minister shall be obliged to publish Banns between any persons whomsoever, unless the persons to be married shall two days at the least before the time required for the first publication of such Banus parties, their places of respectively deliver or cause to be delivered to such Minister a notice of their true Christian and other names and surnames, and a description of their place or respective places of abode in such parish as aforesaid, and the time during which they have dwelt in such parish or parishes; and that it shall not be lawful for any Minister to solemnize any Marriage after three calendar months from the last publication of Banns of such Marriage, and in all cases where three calendar months shall have elapsed without the marriage having been solemnized, the publication of such Banns shall be void, and before the said parties can be married by Banns, it shall be necessary to republish the Banns anew in manner and form aforesaid, as if no Banns had ever been published between them.

Not lawful for Minis-
ter to solemnize
Marriage after three
months from last pub-
lication of the Banns;

and in such case
former Banns to be
void, and must be
republished.

CL. III.

Minister not answer.
able for Marriage
solemnized by him
between minors, after
due publication of
Banns.

Banns to be void on
Marriage being
forbidden.

CL. IV.
Parties to be married
by Licence may
require such Licence
to authorize its
solemnization in the

same places and by the
same Ministers as by
Banns.

CL. V. Authorizes the Governor, in case of there not being a sufficient number of Ministers to afford convenient facilities for Marriage to appoint Marriage Officers for such purpose.

That no such Minister as aforesaid, who shall solemnize any Marriage after due publication of Banns as aforesaid between persons both or one of whom (not being a widow or widower) shall at the time of such Marriage be under legal age, shall be answerable, or responsible, or liable to any pain, penalty, or proceeding for having solemnized such Marriage without the consent of the parents or guardians, or other person (if any) whose consent is required by law, unless such parents or guardians, or other person or one of them, shall forbid the Marriage, and give notice thereof to such Minister before he has solemnized the same; and in case such Marriage shall be forbidden as aforesaid, and such notice shall be given as aforesaid, the publication of the Banns for such Marriage shall be absolutely void.

That where by any law now in force, or which may hereafter be in force in this Island and its Dependencies, by which Licence for Marriage without the publication of Banns may be granted or issued by the Governor or any Civil authority herein, it shall be lawful for the parties intending Marriage or either of them to require that such Licence shall authorize the solemnization of the Marriage in respect of which such Licence is applied for in any place where, and by any Minister by whom, such Marriage could have been solemnized, by virtue of this Act if Banns thereof had been published as aforesaid.

And whereas it may happen that in this Island or its Dependencies there may not be any such Minister as aforesaid, or not a sufficient number of Ministers to afford convenient facilities for Marriage, and it is expedient to provide for such cases; Be it therefore further enacted, That in every such case and whenever the same shall happen, it shall be lawful for the Governor to appoint, by writing under his hand and official seal, one or more such fit and proper person or persons as he shall from time to time deem necessary or expedient, to be called the Marriage Officer, to solemnize Marriages within such part or parts of this Island and its • Dependencies as the Governor shall from time to time direct, and it shall be lawful for the Governor at any time and from time to time to revoke and cancel any such appointment or appointments, to alter, vary, enlarge, or contract the district or districts in which any person so appointed shall have power or jurisdiction to celebrate Marriage, for any cause which to him shall seem meet; and every such appointment shall specify the part

or district in which the person thereby appointed shall have power and
jurisdiction to celebrate the Marriage; and until some law shall be made,
passed, allowed, and promulgated for regulating Marriages by the persons
so appointed, it shall be lawful for the Governor, and he is hereby
required to direct, declare, and promulgate the manner by which the
intention of parties to marry before any such Marriage Officer shall be
made public. Provided always, That it shall not be lawful for any such
Marriage Officer to solemnize Marriage between persons one or both of
whom shall be under lawful age (unless in the case of a widow or widower)
after such Marriage shall be forbidden, and notice thereof given him by
any person having lawful authority to forbid the same: Provided always,
That in every Marriage before any such Marriage Officer, not celebrated
according to the form of the United Church of England and Ireland, the
parties shall, in some part of the ceremony, respectively make the declar-
ations herein before set forth, as in the case of Marriage by any such
Minister as aforesaid: Provided also, That every such Minister as afore-
said may nevertheless publish Banns and celebrate Marriage, under and
by virtue of this Act, in any part or district within which any such
Marriage Officer shall have power or jurisdiction to celebrate Marriage,
as fully as if no such Marriage Officer had ever been appointed.
And whereas it may happen that the parents or parent, guardians or
guardian of one or both of the parties to be married may be non compos
mentis, or absent from this Island or its Dependencies, or otherwise in-
capable in law or in fact of consenting, or may be induced unreasonably
and improperly to withhold his, her, or their consent to a proper Marriage,
or may be dead; Be it therefore enacted, That in case any such parent or
guardian whose consent is necessary to a Marriage shall be non compos
mentis, or absent from this Colony, or otherwise incapable as aforesaid of
consenting, or shall withhold his, her, or their consent to any Marriage,
or in case there shall be no person capable of consenting, it shall be law-
ful for any person desirous of Marriage to whose Marriage such consent
is necessary, but cannot be given or is withheld, to apply by Petition to
the Governor or Ordinary, or person officiating as such for the time being,
who is hereby empowered to proceed upon such petition in a summary
way; and, in case the Marriage proposal shall upon examination appear
to him to be proper, the said Governor or Ordinary, or person officiating
as such, shall judicially declare by his order in writing that such Marriage
is proper and may be solemnized forthwith; and every Marriage duly
solemnized in pursuance or under the authority or direction of such order
shall be as good, valid, and effectual, to all intents and purposes whatso-
ever, as if such consent as aforesaid had been duly given thereto.

That after the solemnization of any Marriage under or by virtue of this Act it shall not be necessary in support of such Marriage, or in any action, suit, or proceeding where the same may come into question, to give any proof of the actual dwelling of the parties married, or either of them, before the Marriage, or that the Banns were published, or that the Marrage was solemnized in that place and by a person where and by whom the same ought to have been published and solemnized respectively, nor shall any evidence be received to prove the contrary.

any

No. 40. 3rd March, 1811.

Provisoes.

Unlawful for Officer,
where parties are under
age and Marriage has
been forbidden, to
solemnize the same.
by such Officer, and
not in accordance with
the form of Established
Church, to make
declaration above set

Persons to be married

forth.
Minister authorized to
publish Banns, or
celebrate Marriage

within the jurisdiction
of the Officer, as fully

as if he had not been appointed.

CL. VI. Governor or Ordinary may authorize solemnization of Marriage in case of consent being withheld, or incapable petition being made and Marriage proposal appearing to him to be

of being given, on

proper.

or otherwise.

CL. VIII. On Act taking effect, That in no case whatsoever shall any suit or proceeding be had in no suit or proceeding to be had in any Court Court, or before any jurisdiction whatsoever, to compel the celebration of to compel celebration any Marriage, by reason of any promise or Marriage contract entered into of Marriage by reason or by reason of seduction, or of any cause whatsoever which shall arise after of contract, seduction, the taking effect of this Act, any law or usage to the contrary notwith- Not to extend to prestanding: Provided always, That nothing herein contained shall prevent vention of suit or any person aggrieved from suing for or recovering damages in any Court, in any Court or prorecovery of damages or by any proceeding wherein and whereby damages may be lawfully ceeding by which such recovered for breach of promise of marriage, or for seduction, or other cause aforesaid.

And in order to preserve evidence of Marriages, and to make the proof thereof certain and easy, and for the direction of such Ministers and Marriage Officers as aforesaid in the registration thereof; Be it enacted,

damages may be

obtained.

CL. IX.

Manner and time in which Marriages are to registered.

be solemnized, and how