Nicholas Fish to Orville Reed, May 3, 1884
Mr. Fish to Mr. Reed.
Sir: In answer to your letter of the 22d ultimo, I have to inform you that although it was formerly customary for marriages to be celebrated at the legation by an English or American clergyman, of late years such marriages have not been sanctioned by the Department of State’s instructions of more recent date.
The latter holds “that a marriage performed within the precincts of a legation may nevertheless be deemed to be performed in the country within which the legation is situated, and therefore ought in all respects to comply with the requirements of the country in order to insure its validity.”
The statutes of the United States provide that all marriages in the presence of any consular officer in a foreign county, between persons who would be authorized to marry if residing in the District of Columbia, shall have the same force and effect and shall be valid to all intents and purposes as if the said marriages had been solemnized within the United States. (Consular Regulations, § 414; R. S., 4082.)
The statute does not authorize the consul to perform the ceremony of marriage, or to countenance the doing of any act which would be, or even seem to be, the violation of the laws of the country in which he resides. The statute contemplates that the ceremony is to be performed in his presence, but it should be done according to local law. (Consular Regulations, § 417.)
The foregoing considerations, however, are held not to apply to China, Japan, Madagascar, Siam, Turkey, the Barbary States, and other non-Christian and semi-civilized countries in which consular courts are established. (Consular Regulations, § 418.)
You will find the Belgian law of marriage set forth in “Les Codes en Vigueur en Belgique,” Brussels, 1881, pages 39 et seq. Its provisions are those of the “Code Napoléon.”
Should you, after complying with the provisions of the Belgian law and section 4082 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, desire to have a religious ceremony performed at this legation, the rooms of the legation will be at your service, if you will give me due notice of when you desire such ceremony performed, and upon your submitting the evidence of your nationality.
I am &c.,