SEC. 12. [Conflicting brands-Committee.]-The authority of deciding whether a brand or mark offered for record does or does not conflict with any previously recorded brand or marks shall be vested in a committee of three, consisting of the county clerk and two respectable stock owners of the county. The two stock owners shall be appointed by the county commissioners, they shall be men of good judgment and experience in brands, and when practicable shall be chosen from those largely interested in cattle. Vacancies occurring in the membership, other than the county clerk shall be filled by the county commissioners. All brands offered for record shall be submitted before acceptance to this committee. The objection of any two shall reject a brand. It shall be the duty of the county clerk to file all brands offered for record pending the examination, which he shall cause to be made as promptly as possible, and if the brand is accepted, the ownership shall date from the date of filing. [Id. § 4.] SEC. 13. [Same-How decided.]-It shall be the duty of the county commissioners immediately after the passage of this act, to make the appointment above specified, one of whom shall serve till the first day of January following, another until first day of January the next succeeding year, the county commissioners appointing a member to serve for two years at their first meeting in the month of January in each year. After this shall have been done the county clerk shall at once call together the committee; they shall examine the present record of brands, and in any case where, in the judgment of two of them, a brand is found which conflicts with one previously recorded, or which might in its use endanger the property of the party owning the brand earliest of record, it shall be the duty of the county clerk to notify the party owning said brand last of record that the further use of the same will be illegal to the same extent as though it had never been recorded, unless previously agreed upon by owners of such brands, and a joint statement be presented to the recorder of brands by such brand-owners; the said notice shall be given by letter, when possible, and also, and in all cases by publication for one month in two papers of general circulation in the county, the expense of which shall be paid on a proper voucher by the county commissioners; both forms of notice shall be given immediately after said examination and rejection. It is expressly provided that this enactment shall not in any way affect or invalidate the ownership of animals which were branded with said brand then registered previous to the examination and rejection, the object of this act being to make illegal and enjoin from the further use of said brand. The date of the last publication shall be considered to be the date of rejection. [Id. § 5.]

SEC. 14. [Incoming stock growers.]-Is shall be the duty of any person who, after the passage of this act, brings into any county of this state, and turns loose for grazing purposes any herd, brand, or individual animals already branded, to lay before the above committee a statement of the brands of said animals, and if in the judgment of any two of them said brands conflict with any previously recorded in that county, it shall be the duty of the owner or manager of said animals to brand them with a brand that the committee shall consider a full and distinguishing mark from all brands there recorded, but the owner shall be enjoined from any further use of the conflicting brand. A failure to comply with the above shall render the party so failing liable for all damages resulting from such failure, which damages may be recovered in a civil suit. It is further provided that this section shall apply to all animals now in any county in this state whose brands are considered by this committee to infringe on previously recorded ones. [Id. § 6.]

SEC. 15. [Brands to be rejected by committee.]-In deciding as to the conflict of brands, the committee will reject any one that, being the same as one previously recorded, has in addition any of the following, whether placed across, above, below, at either side or encircling the main brand, viz.: a straight bar, a quarter, half, or entire circle, a quarter, half, or entire diamond, either upright or inverted, the same not constituting a true brand, and rendering the owner of the same brand liable to damage by its use, saving only when one or more of these shall be filed by the owner of the first record

of the main brand, in which case it may be accepted. The committee shall reject any brand formed by repetition of any letter, number or figure which shall have been previously recorded, whether to be placed on the same or on a different part of the animal; the exclusive right of the first record to the letter, number, or figure, and to repetition of it being reaffirmed. They shall also reject all brands known as solid brands, and all ear-marks which shall remove to exceed one-half of the ear. A variation in the size of a letter, number, or figure, shall not constitute a new brand, and shall be rejected. A combination of letters, numbers, or figures, may be permitted though the same letters, numbers, or figures, may have been recorded singly or together, if, in the judgment of the whole committee, said combination is so different from any previous record as to constitute a new brand, with no danger of infringment; but in this case the objection of one member shall reject. [Id. § 7.]

SEC. 16. [Brand, evidence of ownership.]-In all suits in law, or in equity, or in any criminal proceedings, when the title to any stock is involved, the brand on any animal shall be prima facie evidence of the ownership of the person whose brand it may be; Provided, That such brand has been duly recorded as provided by law. Proof of the right of any person to use such brand shall be made by a copy of the record of the same, certified by the county clerk of that county or of any county in which the same is recorded under the hand and seal of office of such clerk. [Id. § 8.]

CHAPTER 52.-MARRIAGE.

SECTION 1. [Civil contract-Consent.]-In law, marriage is considered a civil contract, to which the consent of the parties capable of contracting is essential. [R. S. 254. G. S. 462.]

SEC. 2. [Age of parties.]—At the time of the marriage the male must be of the age of eighteen years or upwards, and the female of the age of sixteen years or upwards.

SEC. 3. [Void marriages.]-Marriages are void: First-When one party is a white person and the other is possessed of one-fourth or more negro blood. SecondWhen either party has a husband or wife living at the time of marriage. Third-When either party is insane or an idiot, at the time of marriage. Fourth-When the parties stand to the relation of each other of parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, brother and sister, of half as well as whole blood, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew; and this subdivision extends to illegitimate as well as legitimate children and relatives.

SEC. 4. [License.]-Previous to the solemnization of any marriage in this state, a license for that purpose must be obtained from the probate judge of the county wherein the marriage is to take place.

SEC. 5. [Minors-Consent of parent.]-When either party is a minor, no license shall be granted without the verbal consent, if present, or written consent, if absent, of the father, if living, if not, then of the mother, of such minor, or of the guardian or person under whose care and government such minor may be, which written consent shall be proved by the testimony of at least one competent witness.

SEC. 6. [License-Contents.]-When application shall be made for a license to the probate judge he shall upon the granting of such license state therein the christian and surnames of the fathers of both parties, the christian and maiden names of the mothers of both parties, the christian and surnames of the parties, the residence of both parties, their places of birth, their respective ages, their color, which license shall, prior to the issuing thereof, be entered of record, in the office of the probate judge, in a suitable book to be provided for that purpose. [Amended 1869, 167.]

SEC. 7. [Same-Refused.]-If, on such testimony being given, it shall appear that either of the parties is legally incompetent to enter into such contract, or that there is any impediment in the way, or, if either party is a minor, and the consent mentioned in section five shall not be given, the said judge shall refuse to grant a license.

SEC. 8. [Ceremony by whom-Report.]-Every judge and justice of the peace, and every preacher of the gospel, authorized by the usages of the church to which he belongs, to solemnize marriages, may perform the marriage ceremony in this state; and every such person performing the marriage ceremony shall enter upon the said license, a full return of his proceedings in the premises, which return shall be made to the probate judge of the proper county, within three months after such marriage ceremony has been performed, and which return the said probate judge shall record or cause to be recorded in the same book where the said marriage license is recorded. [Amended 1869, 168.]

SEC. 9. [Ceremony required.]-In the solemnization of marriage no particular form shall be required except that the parties shall solemnly declare, in the presence of the magistrate or minister and the attending witnesses, that they take each other as husband and wife; and in any case there shall be at least two witnesses, besides the minister or magistrate present at the ceremony.

SEC. 10. [Certificate.]—Whenever a marriage shall have been solemnized,

CHAP. 52. Chap. XXXIV, R. S. 254. Chap. 40, G. S. 462. Marriage during non-age. 19 Neb. 430. Marriage may be proved by eye-witness. 17 Neb. 529. Evidence in case examined and validity of alleged marriage upheld. 24 Neb. 394. SEC. 2. Cited 25 Neb. 41.

SEC. 4. License unnecessary. 85 Neb., 375.

pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, the minister or magistrate who solemnized the same, shall give to each of the parties, on request, a certificate, under his hand, specifying the names, ages, and places of residence of the parties married, the names and residence of at least two witnesses who were present at such marriage, and the time and place thereof.

SEC. 11. [Report to probate judge.]-Every person having authority to join others in marriage, shall, within three months after the solemnization of any such marriage, make and deliver to the probate judge of the county in which the marriage took place, a certificate containing the particulars mentioned in the preceding section. SEC. 12. [Record by probate judge.]-The probate judge of each county in the state shall record all such returns of such marriages in a book to be kept for that purpose, within one month after receiving the same.

SEC. 13. [Violation of act-Penalty.]-If any justice, minister, or other person whose duty it is to make and transmit to the probate judge such certificate, shall neglect to make and deliver the same; or if the probate judge shall neglect to record such certificate; or if any person shall undertake to join others in marriage, knowing that he is not legally authorized so to do, or knowing of any legal impediment to th proposed marriage; or if any person authorized to solemnize any marriage, shall wi fully and knowingly make a false certificate of any marriage to the probate judge; if the said probate judge shall wilfully and knowingly make a false record of any certificate of marriage to him made; he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year, at the discretion of the court.

SEC. 14. [Marriage improperly solemnized.]-No marriage solemnized before any person professing to be a justice of the peace, or a minister of the gospel, shall be deemed or adjudged to be void, nor shall the validity thereof be in any way affected on account of any want of jurisdiction or authority in such supposed justice or minister; Provided, The marriage be consummated with a full belief on the part of the persons so married, or either of them, that they have been lawfully joined in marriage.

SEC. 15. [Religious rites.]—It shall be lawful for every religious society to join together in marriage such persons as are of the said society, according to the rites and customs of such society, to which they belong; the clerk or keeper of the minutes, proceedings, or other book of the religious society wherein such marriage shall be had, or if there be no such clerk or keeper of the minutes, then the moderator or person presiding in such society, shall make out and transmit to the probate judge of the county, a certificate of the marriage, and the same shall be recorded in like manner as is provided in the preceding section of this chapter.

SEC. 16. [Evidence-Certificate.]-The original certificate and record of marriage made by the minister, officer, or person, as prescribed in this chapter, and the record thereof, made as prescribed, or a copy of such record, duly certified by such officer, shall be received in all courts and places as presumptive evidence of the fact of such marriage.

SEC. 17. [Foreign marriages.]-All marriages contracted without th state, which would be valid by the laws of the country in which the same were co tracted, shall be valid in all courts and places in this state.

SEC. 14. "Minister" includes clergyman; marriage by person supposed to be, but who is not, authorized. st Neb., 375.

CHAPTER 53.-MARRIED WOMEN.

SECTION 1. [Separate property.]-The property, real and personal, which any woman in this state may own at the time of her marriage, and the rents, issues, profits, or proceeds thereof, and any real, personal, or mixed property, which shall come to her by descent, devise or the gift of any person except her husband, or which she shall acquire by purchase or otherwise, shall remain her sole and separate property, notwithstanding her marriage, and shall not be subject to the disposal of her husband, or liable for his debts; Provided, That all property of a married woman not exempt by law from sale on execution or attachment shall be liable for the payment of all debts contracted for necessaries furnished the family of said married woman after execution against the husband for such indebtedness has been returned unsatisfied, for want of goods and chattels, lands, and tenements whereon to levy and make the same. [Amended 1887, chap. 49.]

SEC. 2. [Contracts.]-A married woman, while the marriage relation subsists, may bargain, sell, and convey her real and personal property, and enter into any contract with reference to the same in the same manner, to the same extent, and with like effect as a married man may in relation to his real and personal property.

CHAP. 53.-Wife may become creditor of husband. 4 Neb. 170. 19 Id. 515. Wife may sue husband on his note. 9 Id. 22. Exempt property of husband may be transferred by him to his wife; wife may mortgage such exempt property. 16 Id. 460. Husband does not inherit from wife; cannot recover for death of wife. 13 Id. 286. In contest between wife and creditors of husband presumption is against her, which she must overcome by affirmative proof. 8 Id. 329. Lien of creditor preferred to equity of wife. 11 Id, 200. 6 Id. 260. Agreement by husband that wife will execute mortgage not enforced in absence of proof that she authorized it. 14 Id. 157. 3 Id. 209. Where mortgagee on agreement by husband that wife would execute mortgage, entered satisfaction of prior mortgage given by wife, Held, That such satisfaction should be set aside. 14 Id. 157. Where wife ratifies acts of husband, having appointed him as her agent, she is bound. 6 Id. 377. 9 Id. 428. Husband may act as agent of wife. 6 Id. 376. Duty of husband to furnish a residence for wife. 21 Id. 489. Property transferred by husband to wife after debt contracted as against it, she must show by preponderance of proof that purchase was bona fide. 13 Id. 387. Where husband acquiesces in conveyance being made to wife, presumption is that he intends it as an advancement and not to create a trust. 13 Id. 456, 461. Deed to wife under facts stated, Held, Void. 6 Id, 264. 15 Id. 320, General rule; deed sustained on equitable grounds. 15 Id. 435. Deed to wife with understanding that she is to hold title for husband, equity will enforce trust after her death and compel heirs to execute it. 15 Id. 593; overruling 13 Id. 456. Deed of husband direct to wife in contemplation of divorce, of an undivided half of wild land. without entry by the wife or application to perfect her title, Held, To convey no interest to her, and a deed executed by her and her second husband seventeen years afterwards to convey no title to plaintiff, and his petition for partition of said land, dismissed. 21 Id. 144. Conveyance to wife in case stated, Held, Good, and creditor's bill by judgment creditor of husband dismissed. 16 Id. 641. Conveyance by aged husband to wife in trust for his support and that of the family not set aside because of disagreement and separation of parties; if wife convey to other parties, upon their separation, equity will require an accounting, and make such decree as will protect interests of both husband and wife. 18 Id. 309, 312. Deed of conveyance of real estate by husband direct to wife, in absence of fraud, and where neither rights of creditors nor subsequent purchasers intervene, will convey to her such real estate without the intervention of a third party as trustee. 21 Id. 671. Where husband and wife occupy homestead, title to which is in husband, deed from husband to wife, signed and acknowledged by him alone, is valid although not signed and acknowledged by wife. 21 Id. 671. Where wife purchased land for two thousand dollars, and made payment thereon of two hundred dollars, which was obtained from a married son, who testified that he raised the money from sale of hogs and wheat from his own farm, court will not infer fraud in transaction from fact that a year previous husband and father had sold to son certain personal property, including hogs; particularly where a creditor living in same county treated such sale as valid by not attacking it. 23 Id. 419. 24 Id. 783. Contract between husband and wife, whereby he transfers his property to her upon condition that she will assume his debts, and pay the same out of property received from him, and property inherited from her father, is valid, as against the husband. 22 Id. 707. In case stated where transfer of property took place in 1879, but there was no proof that the property so transferred was not exempt, Held, That to entitle the judgment creditor to recover judgment, fraud in the transfer from husband to wife must be established, and will not be presumed, particularly after the lapse of many years. 25 Id. 192. Where land was conveyed by husband and wife by warranty deed to trustees appointed by the will of her father, for the "sole and separate use and benefit" of the wife, etc., the consideration being derived from father's estate, a provision in deed that husband shall have the right to occupy, farm and control said lands for her (the wife)" does not create any estate in him, where there is no fraud. 18 id. 438. Domicile of wife follows that of husband; proof of domicile of husband sufficient prima facie to establish that of wife. 19 Id. 711. Dealings between husband and wife in relation to wife's separate estate inherited from her father, viewed with suspicion when lessening security of creditors. 19 Id. 515. Same principies of law apply to dealings with husband and wife as those of strangers. Id. 516. Property of wife not liable to levy and sale for debts of husband; purchaser at such sale acquires no title, and is not entitled to possession as against owner or one claiming under her. 19 Id. 552. Property of wife levied upon to satisfy judgment against husband; evidence examined and writ of replevin by wife to recover such property, Held, Properly issued and sustained. 21 Id. 158. Mortgage by wife on her real estate to secure promissory note of husband, Held, Under facts stated, that there was sufficient consideration for the mortgage. 19 Id. 718. In case stated, Held, That proof fails to show duress or that the real estate was purchased with the money of the wife. 20 Id. 196. Fraudulent conveyance made by husband to wife, set aside after divorce and, Held, Subject to lien for alimony. 20 Id. 59. Cases depending upon peculiar and particular facts affecting rights of husband and wife and creditors. 8 Id. 319, 329. 13 Id. 456. 15 Id. 593. 4 Id. 169. 9 Id. 52. 13 Id. 387. 11 Id. 53. Contract made in good faith on adequate consideration not fraudulent because of the mere fact that vears afterwards husband was unable to pay