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Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 14, Issue 701, 19 July 1869, Page 3

There was a great scarcity of seamen in Auckland at our latest dates from thai city. "Rugien Marriages"—The News of the World enlightens its readers as to the meaning of the phrase "Ruglen marriage." Two hundred years an Act was passed inflicting heavy penalties tor clandestine marriages?, without proclamation of bmns, but not making the marriage void. The Act thus passed to repress such marriages was made instrumental for facilitating them. Persons clandestinely lurried sent a friend to give information of the offence to the Procurator Fiscal, and very often it was done where two persons wanted to be clandestinely mar lied; he brought them before a magistrate, they pleaded guilty, were fined a nominal Bum, and thus for 5s obtained an equiva le'-t to a marri'ge certificate. The 5s fur lei'B appear to be the key to the transaction. In some places there grew up a regular business of tliis kind, and the process was easy and popular ; printed form.* Were kept ready at the Court house—peti nous in the name of the Fiscal, confession* M the parties, and the sentence. All tha« Was necessary for two persons married, or wishing to be married, was to attend and get ihe forms filled up, sign their names, a »d pay the fees. The statute impDsed a punishment of .3 months' imprisonment, «ui ihe sentence "reserved to consider how »ar the parties ought to be imprisoned," & kd the Courts may be " considering " to this day! Xlie lavy held these sentences to jje good evidence of a marriage. These marriages before justices" being very common in Kutherglen, acquired the short »ame of" Itu'glen marriagea." This farce eventually got disreputable, and ha* been extinct for'2o years.