Catalogue reference: CO 321/16/31 folio 405.
The Petition of the Roman Catholics of St. Lucia, humbly sheweth:
That an Ordinance was passed by His Honour the Administrator in Coun-
cil on the 21st day of August 1876 for consolidating and amend-
ing the Civil Law, and that the Code prepared by George William Des Voeux,
Administrator of the Government of St. Lucia, and James Armstrong, Chief Justice of St. Lucia, introduces changes into the existing Marriage Laws of St. Lucia by which the free exercise of the Roman Catholic Religion is seriously impeded ; that as Catholics, believing Marriage to be one of the Seven Sacraments instituted by Our Lord Jesus Christ, and being so administered by the Catholic Church, we resent as an aggression on the liberties of our Religious belief and practice, any attempt to degrade this Sacrament to a mere civil contract or to impose or remove impediments to marriage other than are imposed or removed by the living authority of the Roman Catholic
Church for Catholics ; that anything which tends to weaken the Religious belief in the sanctity of Marriage must be attended by the most deplorable results, and that the change contemplated by the said proposed Code we regard as highly detrimental to the moral condition of the people of St. Lucia; and therefore your petitioners earnestly beg of Your Lordship not to sanction any change in the marriage laws now in force in St. Lucia. And your Petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray
H. Ranturan Ls. LaCaze
Curé de Castries N.G. Chairman of the Vestry of Castries
ch. hon W. Gilbert
J Barreteau ptri PJK [ ]mry
member of the Vestry
Le Mullet Paret
R. Lartigue Barrister at Law
member of the Vestry
C. C[har]taus F.H. Michalow[itz]
member of the Vestry Jno D Moffat
& J.P. U. Chambard
Geo. Du Boulay A. La Corbiniere
member of the Vestry
H de [Frietas]
Duncan A J Ferguson Chara Maturin
H de Minvielle M[ada]me Charles Vaughan
Member of the Vestry Euphrasie
F Loustau Amelina Gustave
Lou[is] [ ] the mar[k] X
Daniel St Louis Isabelle Drysdale
P.[ ]. Bouty Marie Lainase
Leon baptiste Alexand[re] Rhuht
Alex: Clavier Ails B[ ] Rhuht
M. J. Clavier
