“Youmightfindhimflatlycontradicted，ifyoudidaskhimbyanotherauthorityequallylearnedandequallyeminent，“answeredSirPatrick。“Iamnotjoking——Iamonlystatingfacts。HaveyouheardoftheQueen’sCommission？“
“No。“
“Thenlistentothis。InMarch，’sixty-five，theQueenappointedaCommissiontoinquireintotheMarriage-LawsoftheUnitedKingdom。TheReportofthatCommissionispublishedinLondon；
andisaccessibletoanybodywhochoosestopaythepriceoftwoorthreeshillingsforit。Oneoftheresultsoftheinquirywas，thediscoverythathighauthoritieswereofentirelycontraryopinionsononeofthevitalquestionsofScottishmarriage-law。
AndtheCommissioners，inannouncingthatfact，addthatthequestionofwhichopinionisrightisstilldisputed，andhasneverbeenmadethesubjectoflegaldecision。AuthoritiesareeverywhereatvariancethroughouttheReport。AhazeofdoubtanduncertaintyhangsinScotlandoverthemostimportantcontractofcivilizedlife。IfnootherreasonexistedforreformingtheScotchmarriage-law，therewouldbereasonenoughaffordedbythatonefact。Anuncertainmarriage-lawisanationalcalamity。“