[uEiORAITDTJI.!, To;- The Secretary, Western Pacific Hi^ Coimaission. 30th January, 1942# Fees chargeable for perforrainp; Civil Ilarrlages In Pitcairn Island, The Chief laglsti'ate has asked to be given a ruling as to the fees v;hich should be charged by hira for perforjiing marriages. The fees in question are laid down in the second schedule to the Pacific Islands Civil Order in Coimcil, 1907j but for a long time it has been the custom to charge a flat rate of 11/- for each marriage performed, thou{^ no one has any idea how this particular figure was originally arrived at. 2, The various steps to a civil marriage, as performed on Pitcairn, are as follows:- (a) receipt and filing of IJotice of I.Iarrlage (section 6)j (b) entering of notice of Carriage (section 9)j (c) issue of Registrar's Certificate (section 10)j (d) marriage in Registrar's Office (section 20); and (e) preparation and delivery of hari'iage Certificate (sections 22 end 23)• The combined fee for (a) and (b) is clearly 3/-j for (c) 2/-J and for (d) 4/-; making a total of 9/- in all for the four services# 3, The only doubtful point would appear to be whether a further fee (in addition to the I arrlage Pee) should be charged for making out the Certificate of Liarrlage, in triplicate, required by sections 22 and 23: and, if a fee is necessary, should it bo 6/- (i*e* 2/- for each copy of the certificate) or 2/-, 4, My own view, based purely on a careful reading of the Order in Council, is tliat the line In the second schedule reading V - 2 - reading "On issue of each certificate ^ certified copy thereof 2/-" has reference solely to the Issue of Registrar's Certificates under section 10 and that no fee should be charged for the Marriage Certificate Itself, which Is merely a certification that the marriage has been duly performed and should therefore be Included in the fee of 4/- charged "on every Marriage In Registrar's office". Supjortlng this vlev/ is the fact that, while the fee Is expressly raontionod in section 10, thei'e is nothing In sections 22 or 23 to suggest that one is required. 5f Mr Aiiibler, who raised the question of fees In 1934 - vide (8) In M.P.2631/34 - was of the opinion that the extra 2/- must be intended for "certifying an extract" and that In any ca e It should not be charged. 6. Apart from the point us to tiae aiount of the fees which should be levied. It would appear that all fees for civil marriages on Pitcalna were remitted by the Acting IIl^x Xtfl Commissioner In 1932, under Article 32 of the Order In ao a' Coxincll - vide I.P.610/32. It would not seem that the Islanders were Informed of this remission, which was based on the grounds of their poverty, and they have continued to remit a fee of 11/- In respect of each marriage performed since that date. 7. Owing to their Inability to export their orange crop the Islanders are now In a far worse financial position than In 1934 (In fact they are In a hopeless state of debt) and It Is reco'iimended that the Chief Magistrate be Informed that:- (a) the correct fee for performing civil marriages Is 9/- and not 11/-J and that (to) Ills Excellency the. High Commissioner has agreed to the| re..rlssion •v:v:rV„:/ t: - Minute In M.P.2665/40. -V" 'X-- • nV- i- -•• ''»* '^J.V. ^ Hie Secretary, 6» ij" ' .'t' j 1^' •• . As stated by Dr Steenson in para. 3 of (13), it is the officers in out-stations (excluding Tarawa) who at i' times suffer privations due to the absence of any means of obtaining stores from Ocean Island. I feel strongly that these officers, whether stationed at Butaritari, Beru, Hull ;' Island, or elsewhere, should be permitted to write or ••V". telegraph their store orders to an Ocean Island official ! .'v detailed to deal with them, as recommended by Dr Macpherson in para, 3 of (11) and para. 1 of (26), and supported by Dr Steenson in para. 3 of (13). This official should see « that the order is filled and shipped by the first opportunity. Until the Government is prepared to make this small concession for officers who live isolated lives on the outer islands it would appear idle to blame the the B.P.G. for their shortcomings. 2. My wife and I have lived at Beru, with intervals, since 1929 and have only once experienced serious supply difficulties as far as the B.P.G. v,rere concerned - the incident mentioned by Dr Macpherson in (26). At the same time we could seldom order stores from Ocean Island since we had no news of shipping movements and there was no one at Golony headquarters entmisted, as part of his official duties, v/ith seeing that an order reached us by the first, or Indeed any, opportunity. 3. For the local Government to pay more attention to facilitating the maintenance of an adequate dietetic standard among officers far removed from noi*mal means of obtaining supplies, instead of regarding it as solely the private concern of the official, would appear to be sound economy; the results of malnutrition are expensive to the administrat ion as well as to the officer. 8.2'r42^ «( . ; • r f ».*N 'I- ''i'i'- . V j, v;' ' Sh%:. I.' ,• His Excellency, ted with minutes (25) and (28) above. The question must now be l^^f-i- • ^ in abeyance in view of present circumstances? But th^- e strengthening of the Treasury and Customs staff in Ocean t island recently approved would, I had hoped, provide staff I or a proper system of keeping of Government stores, ® duties of seeing to supplies for officers in out-stati ^ could have then been delegated to the storekeeper. when, the4-1^ Colonyr. nic, ^ „ ^tiould be borne in mind for action ® ^Sain ®o of the Japanese? 10.2.42. :r . ••. Sec., '..Jr : I entirf endor particular the reo Maude's minute (28) and in °^6ndat. Careful n bis para. 1. •^cte , explicit instructs ^ matter so that may ba the proposal when the R.C. implementing ^dtnim ^^ration is resumed, r : > 11.2.42. </'t' ' „<'JS . ; I.. • ''1." •' SB te' •itfA 40- f •'•Xi • • xi . 1. \-'i •• •vt r' 'V • • • "4"! •' ' M.. ... 'r:ik '.• T ..4. y^-i. v .•.•••. '! -« .j- i» ' . ^ t - ••..•,?.• • .l . (5> •).. P 8<53^3^ . y;yy::y--:yyyyyy2-jywyv»;i^ 1 '*»*. 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'•' In the following memorandusi I have endeavoured to k ./ii suEuaariae the present position with regard to native and inixod - laarrlagcs and to submit recommendations v/hich it is hoped Eiay . .v.,'; *•' •• • y • * assist to close the matter finally. The question of purely native marriages has been separated from that of marriages in •" 1, ... .', which one party only is of native status. v I" 2* Bhere both parties are natives they can now only be married by - . >s (1) a registered minlstci', who roust be a British subject, imdor the Pacific Order in Coxmcil, 1895} (2) a Registrax' oi' i/Iarriages, under the Pacific Islands Civil Marx'iages Order in Council, 1907; or (3) a Native Magistrate, under section 58 of the Native Govenimcnts Ordinance, 1941# In actual practice, however, all such marriages are now being performed by Native Magistrates, since - (1) all Catholic priests in the Colony registered to perform marriages are, at the moment, forcignera; (2) the Protestant missionaries are content to leave native ioarriages to the ITative Coxirts} and (S) Kegisii'ars of larx-lagos, who are Government officials, have never exercised their functions where both parties ifore natives except, on rare occasions, in islands possessing no Native Government# Section 58 (4) of the Native Governments Ordinance, 1941, lays down that, "It shall be an offence for the ocaitracting parties to a marriage (botii being natives) to xmdergo any other form of ceremony prior to that performed by the Ilagistrate", the penalty being imprisoniaent up to 6 months or a fine not exceeding £5, One or two . r' ' j . f ^ i j ^ r.'.' • ••- ., •. ,!.. • • s • . *•,;>•• • ••• . .••i; •'I' - 2 ^ •'- >•''!»• :r : '•% '. o'. • •*• i 'J • . One or two px'oeucutlona should flbon stop any fxirther Invalid ;• solomninations under Qneen's liegulatioai ,7iO. 1 of 1896# •4 -vl'l .'•'-•vl' 3> This is clearly a imich moro satisfactory state of affairs than anything in the past* I am in full agrcomont, y^^r- however, with para, 11 of your minute at (47), in which you -•> .V urge that the Pacific 0*1,0, should be aaondod with a view to ; is-C. * excluding marrlf-gcs in which both pai»tiea are natives from the Vprovisions of Ai'ticles 118-129, This is important not only S to provide In advance against mari'lages being performed by •I?' .' Catholic priests who are British subjects but also against the K.'• admittedly more unlikely possibility of a change taking place f in the policy of the Protestant mission.