MARRIAGE Settlement, is a legal act, previous to marriage, whereby a jointure is secured to the wife after the death of the husband. These settlements seem to have been in use among the ancient Germans, and their kindred nation the Gauls. Of the former Tacitus gives us this account: Dotem non uxor marito, sed uxori maritus affert: intersunt parentes et propinqui, et munera probant (De Mor. Germ. c. 18.) And Cæsar, De Bell. Gallic. lib. vi. c. 18. has given us the terms of a marriage settlement among the Gauls, as nicely calculated as any modern jointure: Viri, quantas pecunias ab uxoribus dotis nomine acceperunt, tantas ex suis bonis, estimatione facta, cum dotibus communicant. Hujus omnis pecunie conjunctum ratio habetur, fructusque servatur. Uter
Marriage Uter eorum vita superavit, ad eum pars utriusque cum fratribus superiorum temporum pervenit. The dauphin's commentator supposes that this Gaulish custom was the ground of the new regulations made by Justinian, Nov. 97. with regard to the provision for widows among the Romans; but surely there is as much reason to suppose, says Judge Blackstone, that it gave the hint for our statutable jointures. Comment. vol. ii. p. 138.
See an excellent marriage settlement by Blackstone in the appendix to the second volume of his Commentaries.
Duty of MARRIAGE, is a term used in some ancient customs, signifying an obligation on women to marry.
To understand this, it must be observed, that old maids and widows about sixty, who held fees in body, or were charged with any personal or military services, were anciently obliged to marry, to render those services to the lord by their husbands, or to indemnify the lord for what they could not do in person. And this was called duty or service of marriage.
Policy of encouraging MARRIAGE. Dr Halley observes, that the growth and increase of mankind is not so much stunted by any thing in the nature of the species, as it is from the cautious difficulty most people make to adventure on the state of marriage, from the prospect of the trouble and charge of providing for a family; nor are the poorer sort of people herein to be blamed, who, besides themselves and families, are obliged to work for the proprietors of the lands that feed them; and of such does the greater part of mankind consist. Were it not for the backwardness to marriage, there might be four times as many births as we find; for by computation from the table given under the article MORTALITY, there are 15,000 persons above 16 and under 45, of which at least 7000 are women capable of bearing children; yet there are only 1238, or little more than a sixth part of these, that breed yearly: whereas, were they all married, it is highly probable that four of six should bring forth a child every year, the political consequences of which are evident. Therefore, as the strength and glory of a kingdom or state consists in the multitude of subjects, celibacy above all things ought to be discouraged, as by extraordinary taxing or military service: and, on the contrary, those who have numerous families should be allowed certain privileges and immunities, like the jus trium liberorum among the Romans; and especially, by effectually providing for the subsistence of the poor.