Married for Coppers.

Manawatu Herald, 1 August 1896, Page 3

Married for Coppers.

Some curious and interesting experiences are recounted by a corres pondent of a Home paper, who aays there is a very popular belief that one can get married for nothing on a bank holiday. The ordinary wayfaring man always tells you that there is such a church, but he doeH not know exactly where it is ; or perhaps he tails you of several such churches, but if you search them out, the vergers or curates indignantly repudiate the suggestion. I determined therefore to fathom the mys tery, and if possible discover this illusive edifice. After much journeying to and fro I found that if I wanted to do it practically for nothing, it could be engineered reliably at the Red, Church, Bethnal Green road, for the sum of 7Jd. To the Red Church I hurried, and it was from a resident of Bethnal Green I heard the following tale : — Some years ago it occurred to the vicar that as it was a poor neighbourhood much good might be done if the ministrations of his church were provided without money and without price. He, therefore, made a collection, which seema to have anticipated tha Grace fund, and gathered together 40,000 shilling 3, converting them into a trust fund, the income of which provides practically free burial, marriage, and baptismal services for his flock. For each wedding his church only makes a charge of 7d. — 7^d. — a3 the profane have it, because the happy couple always contribute something to the plate, presumably £d between them. This sum does not include a copy of the " lines," which cost 23 6d extra. Business in marriages was very brisk from the first, especially on bank holidays. My informant remembered on one occasion 194 banns being published on a Sunday— in fact, in one year the church's total of marriages was 1800. Of course, a wholesale business of this kind could only be conducted by epscial means. So as many as 20 couples have stood up " all in a row " outside the altar raib, reminding one of a Mormon wedding with a strange superfluity of males. Many queer marriages have occurred in this church, it would appear. An elderly resident averred that every one who has been committed for bigamy had been married at least once in this edifice. A large number of sailors' weddings have occurred there ; one lady in particular married 4 or 5 gallant tars, and regularly drew half- pay at their employers' offices. She was a woman of considerable discrimination, however, and never loved 2 men employed by the same firm. Very young coup ! e9 are wed there ; but they do marry very young in the East, I have read. Every day of the week there used to be wild scenes, I was told ; so much so that the proprietor of some work 3 close at hand hud gas laid on in his basement through the crowds getting in the way of the light, while another employer whitewashed his windows to prevent his men wasting their time looking at the " happy couples." Formerly on bank holidays the church worked at high pressure, costers goius? there with their elected wive 3by the score, carrying fried fish and pease pudding in their pockets by way of wedding-cake. This wholesale work, however, interfered with business in tha neighbourhood, and led to a re-adjustment of matters. The church now only provides marriage for the inhabitants of some 40 or 50 streets in its vicinity, and its busine33 during the last few years has wofully deareaeed. One thing there 13, however, which might lift this church back to its palmiest times — a reliable 6d divorce.