BANNS, or BANS Os' MARRIAOF. This is one of three alternative preliminary forms now essential to the legal celebration of marriage in England. The other two are marriage by license and marriage by a registrar's certificate.. B. of N., like many of our ecclesiastical regulations, has its origin in the ancient practice of the Boman Catlin lte church, which our reformers wisely refrained from abolishing. By the publication of these B. is meant the legal proclamation or notification within the parish, district, or chapc:rv, and in the proper church or chapel, of the names and of the per sons who intend to be there married; the notoriety of The solenm act, so that all who have ohjections to the marriage may be enabled to state them in time. According to the old English canon law, the publication of B. might be made on holidays; but a change was made to Sundays by the first important marriage act, the 20 Geo. II. c. 33; and although that act was aftermirds superseded by the 4'Geo. IV: c. 76. the regulation as to Sundays has been since continued. Seven days notice at least must be given to the clergyman before publication of bans. The other nets in force are the 6 and 7 Will. IV. c. 83, the 1 Vic. c. 22, the 3 and 4 Vic. e. 72, and the and 20 Vic. c. 119. The law, as contained in these acts of parliament, is as follows: By the 4 Geo. IV. c. 76, s. 2, it is enacted that all B. of matrimony shall be 'published in audible manner, accord ing to the rubric prefixed to the marriage service in the Book of Common Prayer, upon three Sundays preceding the ceremony, during the time of morning-service, or of even ing service (if on the day of publication there shall be no morning-service) immediately after the second lesson. The rubric referred to is in the following terms: "I publish the banns of marriage between M. of —and N. of—. If any of you know cause or just impediment why these persons should not be joined together in holy matrimony, ye are to declare it. This is the first [second, or third] time of a-king." By the 22d sec tion of the same act, all marriages celebrated without such publication of f3., or without license (or now, under the 0 and 7 Will: IV. c. 85, s. 42, Without a registrar's certificate), are declared to be null and void. By the 2Gth section of the last mentioned act, the bishop, with consent of the patron and incumbent, may license chapels for the celebra tion of marriages in popular places; and by the 33d section of the 1 V ie. c. 22. B. may be published in such chapels. By section 9 of the 4 Geo. IV. c. 76, it is provided, that if the marriage bo not celebrated within three months after publication of B., the
marriage shall not take place until the B. shall have been republished on three several Sundays, unless it be a marriage by license, or now, by certificate, which two latter alternatives, however, must also be availed of within the three months. It only remains to be added on the law, as contained in these marriage acts, that by section 8 of the last of them, the 19 and 20 Vie. c. 119, it is provided, in every case in which one of the parties intending marriage without license shall dwell in Scotland, a certificate of proclam ation of B. in Scotland, by the session-clerk or by the registrar of the district or parish iu which such proclamation shall have been made, shall, when .produced to any person duly authorized under the provision of this act to solemnize a marriage, be. as vitlid and effectual for authorizing such person to solemnize such marriage as the production of a certificate for marriage of a superintendent register of a district in England would be, in reference to a party resident within such district.
The purpose of the law is to secure public knowledge of intended marriages, and therefore, although the 4 Geo. IV., following in this respect the 20 Geo. II., declares that marriages shall be void without publication of 13. (where, of course, that is the chosen preliminary), it is not necessary that such publication should be made in the real baptismal names of both or either of the parties; it is sufficient that the 13. be published in the names by which the parties are known, or either of them. Nay, it even appears that where the baptismal names have been discovered, having been previously concealed or unknown, it is better, if not necessary, that publication should be made in the names by which the parties arc familiarly known in the district, by which, indeed, they may be said to be known to the world. There are numerous cases decided in England from which such doctrine necessarily follows. As the publication of. banns invites people to object, if the parent or guardian express dissent, it is the duty of the clergyman, when such objections are offered, to proceed no further; and if he, notwith standing, marry the parties, he will tio liable to severe penalties by the ecclesiastical law, though lie will not be liable to an indictment. Again, on the other hand, if he refuse, without cause, to perform the marriage, he. is liable to an action. It has also been decided, that a fraudulent knowledge of a wrong name in the publication of B. will not void the marriage, unless the fraud should be on both sides.