17. A party, marrying by license, if a minor, and not having been married before, must have the consent of a father, if living ; if he be dead, of a guardian lawfully ap pointed ; if there be no such guardian, then of the mother, if she is unmarried ; if there be no mother, then of a guar dian appointed by the court of chancery. The guardian, whose consent is interposed between that of the father and that of the mother, must either be a testamentary guar dian appointed by the father's will, or a guardian appoint ed by chancery ; but the marriage of an infant, without such consent, may still be good where banns are regularly published ; unless a dissent is openly declared by the pa rent or guardian in the church or chapel at the time of publishing ; in which case the banns are void.
18. No license can be granted by any archbishop, bish op, Ste. to solemnize any marriage in any other church than that of the parish wherein the parties or either one of them shall have dwelt for the space of four weeks, i , mme diately before the granting such license ; but the statute not prevent the archbishop of Canterbury from grant ing special licenses.
19. If any of the persons whose consent is necessary be non compos mentis, beyond sea, or refuse to consent, and the lord chancellor shall declare it to be a proper marriage, it shall be as effectual as if such person had consented.
20. The parties contracting in marriage must be both willing and able to contract themselves, and of sound me mory.
21. Conditions against marrying, generally, are void in law. A bond for the procurement of a marriage, although a good bond in law, is bad in equity.
22. It is a peculiar incident of marriages, that they are governed by the laws of the country in which they are celebrated.
23. During the civil war, marriages were frequently performed by justices of the peace ; and such marriages were declared valid by 12 Car. II. c. 23, 24. A natural child, during his minority, cannot legally marly without the consent of a guardian named by the court of chancery.
25. When the marriage is consummated, the law de nominates the parties baron and feme ; the consequences are shortly as follows : 26. A man may covenant with other persons to stand seised to her use, or make other conveyances to her use, but cannot covenant with his wife, to stand seised to her use.
27. If the feme obligee take the obligor to husband, this is a release in law. If a man promises before his mar riage to leave his wife worth a certain sum of money, in case of her surviving him, it is good.
28. In trials of any sort, husband and wife are not allow ed to be evidence for or against each other.
29. A husband and wife may have sureties of the peace against each other.
30. The freehold, or right of possession of all her lands of inheritance, vests in the husband immediately upon the marriage, the right of property still being preserved to her.
31. As chattels vest wholly in the husband, equity in most cases will take care of the wife's interest when called upon, and see her properly provided for.
32. If a fenze sole takes a husband, her debt becomes that of the husband and wife ; but the husband is not liable after the death of the wife, unless there be a judgment against both during coverture.
33. Where a man marries a widow, executrix to her late husband, her evidence shall not be allowed to charge her second husband with more than she can prove to have actually come to her hands. But if a.man marries an ad ministratrix to a former husband, who in her widowhood wasted the assets of the intestate, the husband is liable to the debts of the intestate during the life of the wife; and this shall be deemed a devastavit in him.
34. A wife cannot convey either goods, lands, or any thing whatsoever, without the consent of her husband.
35. The husband must maintain his wife with necessa ries according to his degree and estate, but if she con tract above his degree or quality, he does not become chargeable.
36. When a woman leaves her husband by her own free will, and the separation has become notorious, whoever gives her credit does it at his peril, for the husband is not answerable unless he takes her again : or if there is a sepa ration by consent, and the wife has a separate allowance, those who trust her do it upon her own credit.
37. The wife or a man who is civiliter mortuus, or of one transported for felony, may sue and be sued as afeme sole.
38. In some cases, the command of the husband, either express or implied, will privilege a wife from punishment for the crimes she may commit, if committed in his pre sence, unless they be rnala in se, as for murder and the like.
39. A man must answer for the trespasses of his wife : if a fence covert slander any person, the husband and the wife must be sued tor it, and execution is to be awarded against him.