A.—3

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(2.) No Native of any other island who arrived in Niue after he or she became of marriageable age may be married in Niue until he or she shall have procured a statement under the hand of some constituted authority of his or her home to the effect that such individual is unmarried ■and of the age of twenty years, and that there is no known objection to the marriage. 10. Immediately after a marriage ceremony the officiating minister shall execute a certificate of marriage and forward it, together with the two declarations, without delay, to the Magistrate of the district. 11. (1.) Marriages between Europeans, or where one of the parties is a European, shall not be solemnized by any Native officiating as minister. Such marriages shall only be solemnized by a European officiating minister. (2.) A European shall not be competent to marry unless he or she has resided in Niue for at least three calander months, except as provided under section thirteen (13) hereof. The parties shall give at least three clear days' notice to the Registrar, and inform him when, where, and by whom they desire to be married. They shall also make a declaration in the terms of section six (6) hereof. The Registrar shall then issue to the applicants a license authorizing any duly authorized officiating minister to marry the parties after the expiration of three clear days. (3.) Immediately after a marriage ceremony the officiating minister shall obtain the signatures of the contracting parties to a marriage certificate; such signatures must be attested by at least two European persons, and the certificate signed by the officiating minister. The certificate so completed must be then forwarded to the Registrar without delay. 12. All marriages must be publicly solemnized in the presence of two or more witnesses between the hours of six in the forenoon and four in the afternoon. 13. In cases where, in the opinion of the Registrar, the surrounding circumstances are of an exceptional character he may dispense with the three clear days' notice and the residential qualification, and authorize any marriage to be solemnized at any time after six hours' notice., 14. In any case where persons of the opposite sexes are living together to the scandal of the community owing to the refusal of their parents to consent to the marriage, and where such persons, although of marriageable age, have not yet reached the age 'of twenty years, the Resident Commissioner may order that the consent of the parents may be dispensed with, and authorize the marriage. 15. Children born of unmarried parents shall become legitimized on the subsequent intermarriage of their parents. 16. Any person who shall wilfully make any false declaration under this Ordinance shall be liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds or imprisonment with hard labour for a term not exceeding one month. Registration. 17. The Resident Commissioner shall be the Registrar, and every Magistrate shall be a Deputy Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages. 18. It shall be the duty of every Native officiating Minister to promptly forward to the Magistrate of his district a certificate of every marriage solemnized by him, on the form provided for the purpose. 19. In the case of every birth and death a declaration shall be made before the Magistrate of the district in which the birth or death took place, at "the Magistrate's house, on the forms provided for the purposes. 20. It shall be the duty of the father or mother in the case of a birth, and the next-of-kin to the deceased in the case of a death, to make the respective declarations prescribed in the preceding section. 21. Immediately after the end of every month every Magistrate shall forward to the Registrar all declarations of births and deaths, and certificates of marriages, that have been received by him during the preceding month. 22. Any person failing to make a declaration as to a birth or death within one month shall be liable to a fine of five shillings. 23. The Resident Commissioner is hereby empowered to cancel the registration of any officiating minister if it is proved to his satisfaction that such person wilfully ignores the requirements of this Ordinance, or if the head of the denomination or society to which such person belongs recommends such a course. 24. A certified copy of any registered entry of a birth, death, or a marriage shall be supplied by the Registrar on payment of a fee of two shillings and sixpence. If an applicant for a certified copy of an entry cannot supply information sufficient to enable the entry to be readily located, a search fee of two shillings and sixpence shall be paid in addition. Any registered entry may be inspected at the office of the Registrar on payment of a fee of one shilling and the search fee where necessary. 25. If at any time the magisterial staff is so altered that it is no longer convenient for Magistrates to be Deputy Registrars under this Ordinance, the Resident Commissioner may make such new appointments as he deems necessary. Divorce. 26. Any man who has been living apart from his wife, or any woman who has been living apart from her husband, for a period of three years may apply to the Resident Commissioner's Court for a divorce, and if he or she can show that the circumstances of the case are such that they are entitled to relief the Court will grant a divorce.