[663] BODINGTON'S KELLY, _French Law of Marriage_, 12.
[664] By the law of 1875 marriages are thus celebrated before the local _Standesbeamten_: KOHLER, _Das Eherecht des bürg_. _Gesetzbuches_, 16, 17, 55 ff.
[665] Counting Hawaii which was not included in chap. xvi.
The license system is uncertain and complex in many of its features. To guard against the clandestine marriage of minors, an affidavit from either the bride or bridegroom ought to be made obligatory in all cases, instead of leaving its requirement to the discretion of the officer, as is now usually the practice where there is any provision at all regarding the matter. In several instances the age below which parental consent is required is still too low; and the laws of some states are entirely silent on the subject. Throughout the country the limit for each sex ought to coincide with the attainment of legal majority.[666] More care should be taken to prevent deception when consent of parent or guardian is produced in writing. At the very least, in harmony with the requirement of many states, the affidavit of one witness to the signature should always be made obligatory; and in every such case it might be well as a guaranty to exact a license bond.[667] There is a still graver fault in the license laws of nearly the whole country. Nowhere, except in Porto Rico, is there any adequate provision regarding notice or the filing and trial of objections to a proposed marriage. Maine and Wisconsin have each made a start in requiring the certificate or license to be procured five days before the celebration. No other state, except New Hampshire[668] and New Jersey in the case of non-residents, seems to have provided for such a delay; and in all cases apparently, except Porto Rico, the license is issued at the time the notice of intention to marry is filed.[669] All this is contrary to sound public policy. The notice of intention should be recorded for a reasonable period, say ten days, before issuance of the license; and during this term it should be officially posted, and also published in the newspapers--not merely concealed in the register or published at the discretion of the official, as is now the usual course. Objections might then be filed, and in case of need tried in a court clothed with proper jurisdiction, before the celebration were allowed to proceed. Under the existing state legislation it would be difficult, certainly awkward, to stop a proposed marriage on the ground of alleged legal impediments. To make an objection effective, it might be necessary either to "anticipate the notice" or to interrupt the nuptial ceremony.[670] There is also much confusion, and uncertainty regarding the place of obtaining the license and that of making return. In no instance is a definite term of residence for either the man or the woman prescribed; and this is a fruitful source of clandestine marriage.[671] A glance at the facts collected in the sixteenth chapter will show that in some states the license must be secured in the place of the bride's residence; in others, in that of the marriage; while in a third group it may be issued in the place where either dwells. Indeed, Pennsylvania, more liberal still, allows a choice among all three places. The same laxity exists regarding the place of return; and sometimes the place of return is not the same as that of issue. A reasonable term of residence ought always to be required; and, unless in cases of emergency, the license should be issued by, and return made to, the same official in the district where the woman dwells. Even the lack of uniformity in license fees is sometimes the cause of migration to neighboring districts for the sake of cheaper weddings.[672] Finally, a marriage entered into without license, just as without authorized celebration, should be declared null and void by the statute.