Legislative History of the Gold Coast and Lagos Marriage Ordinance: III

The creation for the island of St. Helena of a marriage law destined to become the model for marriage ordinances throughout the British Empire has been dealt with in an earlier issue of this Journal. Celebration upon certificate from the Registrar either before the Registrar or in a licensed place of worship by an authorised minister in accord with the “Rogers formula”, (after the draftsman of the St. Helena law) was to become the standard for marriages in the colonies. The adoption of the St. Helena model in Ceylon, with some embellishments, has also been described. Further refinements were then made in the use of the model for Hong Kong.