Salt Lake Telegram | 1921-02-12 | Page 1 | Marriages in Canada Freed under Ruling

marriages in Canada Freed Under Ruling London Privy Council Decides - Religious Belief Shall Not Affect Unions MONTREAL, Feb. 12. Marriages in Canada performed by duly authorised persons are legal, irrespective of the religious belief of the principals, the privy council in London. England, ruled today, apparently aettling the "mlxed marriage" question, which has agitated both I'rotestants and Catholics In the dominion for many yars. The ruling declared: "It Is an Irresistible Ir-resistible conclusion that authority given to Protestant ministers to solemnize sol-emnize marriage, waa a perfectly general gen-eral one and depended in no way upon the religious belief of the persons to be married. The same Is true of priests of the Catholic communion. The ruling was made in declaring valid the marriage of Malvina Des-patie Des-patie and Napoleon Tremblay of Quebec. Que-bec. The husband and wife are fourth cousins and both are Roman Catholics. Legality of their marriage was questioned ques-tioned because they were married without with-out a dispensation from the church. The husband, stating that he did not discover the blood relationship until after the ceremony, secured annulment of the ties, both ecclesiastically and divorce di-vorce court. The Judge held that Quebec civil law in marriage matters follows ecclesiastical law as it did In the old French laws in force at the time Canada was ceded to Britain in 17(1. Appeals by the wife were quashed and the case went to the privy council. Meanwhile, however, the parties obtained ob-tained a dispensation and were married correctly in the eyes of the church.