| Show WHO A lehi correspondent writes would you kindly publish abo first af the marriage law passed by the last session of the legislature and explain what is meant by these words or between any persona perso nr related to each other within and not including the fourth degree of consanguinity we cheerfully do so here is the section of the marriage law asked for marriages between parents and children ancestors and descents of every degree and between brothers and bisters of the half blood as well as of the whole blood and between uncles and nieces or aunts and nephews or between any persons related to each other within including the fourth degree of consanguinity computed according to the rules of cibil law are incestuous and void from the beginning whether the relationship is legitimate or illegitimate the degrees are all those which are ander the fourth degree of the civil law except in the ascending and descending line and by the course of nature it is scarcely a possible case that any one should ever marry his issue in the four degree but between collater als those descending from the same stock or ancestor it is true that all who are in the fourth or any higher degree are permitted to many first are in the fourth degree therefore they may marry nephew and arsat aunt or niece and great uncle are also in the degree and according to the statute quoted may intermarry ter marry the method of computing these degrees in tha canon law which our law has adopted is as follows we begin at the common ancestor and reckon downwards and in whatsoever decree the two persons or the most remote of them is distant from tho common ancestor that is tho degree in which they are related to each other thus joha and his brother james are related in the arct degree for from the fattor to eacle of tham is counted enly one john and his nephew are related in the second degree for the nephew is two degrees removed from the common ancestor viz his own grandfather the father of john hence all marriages aro prohibited botteen persons who art related to each other within the third degree according to uio computation of the civil law this as will bo seen and as before stated does not affect cousins because such are in the fourth degree of consanguinity guin ity and ia consequence are allowed to marry |
