Chap. 49.—An ACT to amend and re-enact section 5074 of the Code of Vir-
ginia, in relation to marriage licenses. [H B 25}

Approved February 28, 1928

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That sec-
tion five thousand and seventy-four of the Code of Virginia be
amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

Section 5074. The clerk issuing any marriage license, shall be-
fore issuing the license require the parties contemplating marriage
to state, under oath, or by affidavit or affidavits filed with him, made
by the parties for whom the application is made, before a person
qualified to take acknowledgments or administer oaths as to the
date and place of the proposed marriage, the full names of both
parties, their ages and condition before marriage (whether single,
widowed or divorced), their race whether white, colored, or other-
wise, the places of their birth and residence, the names of their
parents and the occupation of the husband, and make a certificate
thereof and deliver it, together with the license, to the person en-
titled thereto. For the purposes of this section any statement made
by such applicant, under oath, with reference to the age, condition
before marriage (whether single, widowed or divorced), the race
of either party, whether white, colored or otherwise, is hereby de-
clared to be a material matter or thing in any prosecution for per-
jury for any violation of this section.

It shall be the duty of every minister or other person celebrat-
ing such marriage, within thirty days after the same has been cele-
brated, to return such license and certificate of the clerk, together
with his own certificate of the time and place at which the said
niarriage was celebrated, to the clerk who issued the said license.
Any minister or other person celebrating such marriage violating
the provisions of this section shall be liable to a fine of not less
than ten dollars nor more than twenty dollars for each offense.

It shall be the duty of every clerk issuing marriage licenses on
the first day of February of each year to furnish to the Common-
wealth’s attorney of his county or city a list of all marriage licenses
issued for the year just preceding the first day of January last past
that have not been returned by the minister or other person cele-
brating the marriage, and for failure to perform the duty required
by this section the clerk shall be liable, on conviction to a fine of
twenty dollars.

It shall be the duty of the Commonwealth’s attorney for each
county and city, upon the receipt of such list from the clerk, to
have such person or persons as he may think proper summoned be-
fore the next regular grand jury of this county or city to ascertain
the name of the minister or other person celebrating such marriage
and failing to return such license and certificate to the clerk, to-
gether with the certificate of such minister or other person celebrat-
ing such marriage.
When the said certificate of such minister or other person cele-
rating such marriage is returned to the clerk, and recorded as pro-
‘ided in section five thousand and seventy-six, the record thereof
hall be prima facie evidence in all courts of this Commonwealth of
he facts stated therein.