Constitution of 1898, heretofore signed by the proper number of such taxpayers, and designating the rate of the proposed special tax, the number of years it is to be levied, and the purposes for which the tax is intended, are hereby ratified and validated as in conformity with the essential provisions of said Article 232 of the Constitution of 1898. When Plea of Estoppel Not Good as to Municipal or Local Assessments. 4438. [Act 219, 1914, p. 416.] The plea of estoppel shall never be allowed by the courts of this State in matters of local or municipal assessments where there are radical defects in the proceedings leading up to such local assessments, but such plea shall have full effect, as against mere subsequent irregularities or informalities therein where no protest has been made thereto; provided, that nothing in this act shall apply to the levying of taxes for the security of any issuance of bonds. MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE. Prohibited Degrees. 4439. [C. C. 94.] MARRIAGE. Marriage between persons related to each other in the direct ascending or descending line is prohibited. This prohibition is not confined to legitimate children, it extends also to children born out of marriage. Marriage, between white persons and persons of color is prohibited, and the celebration of all such marriages is forbidden and such celebration carries with it no effect and is null and void. (Amd. Act 54, 1894, p. 63.) The child of a woman slave by a white man cannot inherit the mother's succession opened in Louisiana since the adoption of Act 54 of 1894, Sucn. Davis, 126 La. 178. This law does not repeal C. C. 200, and there is no prohibition upon the legitimation of children born prior to the passage of the act, Sucn. Yoist, 132 La. 309. 4440. [C. C. 95.] Among collateral relations, marriage is prohibited between brother and sister, whether of the whole or the half blood, whether legitimate or illegitimate, between uncle and niece, between aunt and nephew, and also between first cousins. No marriage contracted in contravention of the above provisions in another State by citizens of this State, without first having acquired a domicile out of this State, shall have any legal effect in this State. No officer whose duty it is to issue a marriage license shall do so until he shall have received an affidavit from one of the parties to be married to the effect that he or she is not related to the other party within the degree prohibited herein before. (Amd. Act 9, 1902, p. 18.) The marriage of first cousins is not incest, State vs. Couvillon, 117 La. 935 License. 4441. [C. C. 99.] Licenses to celebrate marriages in the parish of Orleans shall be granted by the Board of Health and Judges of the City Courts, in and for the said parish, and in the other parishes of the State by the Clerks of the Courts, unless the Clerk himself should be a party to the marriage, when the license shall be granted by the District Judge. All marriage licenses shall be issued in duplicate. (Amd. Act 25, 1882, p. 40.) Penalty for Violating C. C. 104 and 105. 4442. [R. S. 2206.] All violations of any of the provisions of Articles 104 and 105 of the Revised Civil Code shall be punished by a fine of not exceeding one thousand dollars. For Offenses Against the Marital Relation, see that title under Crimes, page 545 et. seq. District Judges May Celebrate Marriages. 4443. [R. S. 2207.] The several judges of the district courts in this State shall be authorized to celebrate marriages under the same regulations and penalties as are now prescribed for justices of the peace. Notaries in West Feliciana May Celebrate Marriages. 4444. [R. S. 2211.] The regularly commissioned notaries of this State, in and for the parish of West Feliciana, during their term of office, shall be empowered to perform within said parish the ceremony of marriage, under the formalities required by law, and said ceremony, when performed by them, shall have the same legal effect as when performed by any other person or persons authorized by existing laws to perform the same. Marriages May Be Impeached by Whom. 4445. [C. C. 113.] Every marriage contracted under the other incapacities or nullities enumerated in the second chapter of this title may be impeached either by the married persons themselves, or by any person interested, or by the Attorney General; however, first, that marriages heretobefore contracted between persons related within the prohibited degrees either or both of whom were then and afterwards domiciled in this State, and were prohibited from inter-marrying here, shall nevertheless be deemed valid in this State, where such marriages were celebrated in other States or countries under the laws of which they were not prohibited; second, that marriages hereafter contracted between persons, either or both of whom were domiciled in this State and are forbidden to intermarry shall not be deemed valid in this State, because contracted in another State or county where such marriages are not prohibited, if the parties after such marriage, return to reside permanently in this State. (Amd. Act 54, 1912, p. 64.) Suit for Nullity. 4446. [C. C. 116.] A married person to whose prejudice a second marriage has been contracted can sue for the nullity of such marriage, even during the life of the other party with whom he or she had contracted the first marriage. In case the second marriage has been contracted in this State and the defendant has left the State, an attorney shall be appointed by the court to represent the absent defendant. (Amd. Act 150, 1906, p. 254.) Donations Between Husband and Wife. 4447. [C. C. 1752.] A man or woman who contracts a second or subsequent marriage, having children by a former one, can give to his wife or she to her husband, either by donation or by last will and testament, in full property, or in usufruct, not exceeding one-third of his or her property. (Amd. Act 13, 1882, p. 10.) As note: Sucn. Graf, 125 La. 197; Westmore vs. Hartz, 111 La. 305. Matrimonial Contracts May Be Made Within What Time After Removal to State. 4448. [C. C. 2329.] Every matrimonial agreement can be altered by the husband and wife jointly before the celebration of marriage; but it cannot be altered after the celebration. Provided that in the case of married couples removing to this State and settling therein from other States and countries after marriage, they shall have the right at any time within one year after the passage of this Act, or a like period after such settlement in this State, to make a valid marriage contract, subject in all other respects to the laws of this State. (Amd. Act 236, 1910, p. 400.) "Separate Property" and "Common Property" Defined. 4449. [C. C. 2334.] The property of married persons is divided into separate and common property. Separate property is that which either party brings into the marriage, or acquired during the marriage with separate funds, or by inheritance, or by donation made to him or her particularly. The earnings of the wife when living apart from her husband although not separated by judgment of court, her earnings when carrying on a business, trade, occupation or industry separate from her husband, actions for damages resulting from offenses and quasi offenses, and the property purchased with all funds thus derived, are her separate property. Common property is that which is acquired by the husband and wife during marriage, in any manner different from that above declared. But when the title to community property stands in the name of the wife, it cannot be mortgaged or sold by the husband without her written authority or consent. (Amd. Act 170, 1912, p. 310.) 4450. [C. C. 2386.] When the paraphernal property is administered by the husband, or by him and the wife indifferently, the fruits of this property, whether natural, civil, or the result of labor belong to the conjugal partnership, if there exists a community of gains. If there do not, each party enjoys, as he chooses, that which comes to his hands; but the fruits and revenues, which are existing at the dissolution of the marriage, belong to the owner of the things which produce them. (Amd. Act 87, 1871, p. 201.) Community. 4451. [C. C. 2402.] This partnership or community consists of the profits of all the effects of which the husband has the administration and enjoyment, either of right or in fact, of the produce of the reciprocal industry and labor of both husband and wife, and of the estate which they may acquire during the marriage, either by donations made jointly to them both, or by purchase, or in any other similar way, even although the purchase be only in the name of one of the two and not of both, because in that case the period of time when the purchase is made is alone attended to, and not the person who made the purchase. But damages resulting from personal injuries to the wife shall not form part of this community, but shall always be and remain the separate property of the wife and recoverable by herself alone; "provided where the injuries sustained by the wife result in her death, the right to recover damages shall be as now provided for by existing laws." (Amd. Act 68, 1902, p. 95.) For authorities, see 889, p. 277. Accepting Community With Benefit of Inventory. 4452. [Act 4, 1882, p. 5.] At the dissolution for any cause of the marriage community, it shall be lawful for the wife to accept the community of acquets and gains under the benefit of inventory, in the same manner and with the same benefits and advantages as heirs are allowed by existing laws to accept a succession under the benefit of inventory. Davis vs. Carville, 110 La. 862. Act does not repeal C. C. 2420, Weller vs. Von Hoven, 110 La. 603. How and Within What Time Private or Religious Marriage May Be Legalized. 4453. [R. S. 2212.] All private or religious marriages contracted in this State, at any time previous to the passage of this act, shall be deemed valid and binding, and as having the same force and effect as if said marriages had been contracted with all the formalities and forms prescribed by the laws then existing; provided, that at any time within two years from the date of this act the parties having contracted such private or religious marriages shall, by an authentic act before a duly commissioned notary public, if they reside in the State, or before a competent officer, if they reside in another State, or before a United States Ambassador, Charge d'Affaires, or Consul or Vice Consul, if they reside in a foreign country, make a declaration of their marriage, the date on which it was contracted, the names, sex and ages of the children born of said marriages, acknowledging said children as their legitimate offspring, and in accepting the benefit of this act bind and obligate themselves to perform all the duties and to assume all the obligations imposed by existing laws in relation to civil marriages, and to abide by the same; and provided, that no marriage shall be ratified, nor the issue of such marriage legitimatized by or according to the provisions of this act, when there existed, at the date of such pri |