WEDDING SCARE.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 8801, 1 May 1907, Page 1

WEDDING SCARE.

The littlo South Devon hamlet of East Brownstou has been the scene of a disconcerting discovery. It is no less than that all the marriages that yiave taken place in St. John the Baptist's Ohapel are invalid. These marriages only number eight, for Brownston is a very small place, but none the less" great consternation has been caused locally It appears that, although the chapel, built in 1843, was duly consecrated for the performance of Divine service, it was never licensed for the publication of banns and the solemnisation of marriages. The result was that a large number of couples, some of them with grownup families, were abruptly awakened to the fact that they had never been legally married; while the various parsons who had solemnised the "marriages" suddenly found themselves liable serious penalties.

However, an appeal was made to the Home Secretary, and a Bill has now been presented to Parliament by Mr Herbert Samuel, supported by Mr Gladstone, to make all those marriages valid; after which the various couples may go on living happily ever after.