The Sun. — London, England, 1834-01-03 00:00:00

of Frankfort, for instance, will now find its treaty with England scarcely worth the parchment on which it is written, and will be obliged to abandon an English for a Prussian commercial alliance, unless, indeed, the British Government interferes to prevent a result as offensive, if not as injurious to England as to its humble ally. Its inhabitants have lately, as we observe by the German papers, taken alarm at the circle of douans with which they will be surrounded if they do not join the league, and have addressed petitions to the Senate praying their magis trates to subscribe to tie Confederacy. 'We are still in hopes that Prussia, which is at the head of this extensive association of States, will follow better counsels than raise its tariff so high as to exclude English manufactures or Colonial pro duce, though the clamours raised on the subject of our reciprocity treaty with that powerful Go vernment, and our almost prohibitive duties im posed upon its corn and timber, might warrant such an attempt at retaliation. It was said by a Parliamentary wiseacre, in a late endeavour to pour contempt on our trade with Prussia, that she only took from us goods to the amount of about 786,0001., while Germany, by the return of 1831, consumed English produce and manu factures to the value of 10,213,3361. This is, no doubt, true, as it appears on the face of our official statements ; but Hon. :Members who dis cuss such a question ought to have known that the former account includes only goods sent to the Prussian ports in the Baltic, and that a great part of the supply of Prussia is carried to her provinces by the Rhine or the Elbe, and is entered as for Germany. But granting that such an explanation could not be admit ted, what will such illiberal reasoners, such ene mies of commercial freedom and of reciprocity treaties, say now ? Prussia, whose produce is nearly excluded from our markets by prohibitory duties,—whose timber and corn are obliged to take the circuit of the Atlantic, and to be smuggled from Canada, instead of coming direct from the Baltic, in order to be admitted at a reasonable rate into England, has now the power of making a tariff for the whole of that great German market of which they boasted as a con trast to that of Prussia ! Germany is not only our best European customer, but consumes nearly one-third of our exports to all Europe. Her trade is of more value to us than that of Russia, Sweden, Denmark, France, Spain, and Portugal, and some half-dozen of other states put together ; and yet, unless we amend our commercial system, this market may be entirely shut, or extremely limited by that Power whose produce we exclude, and of whose commercial influence we speak with contempt. No time should he lost in revising our commercial system, so as to remove all pretext on our part for the adoption of a policy by which we must so immediately and enormously suffer.— Times. PAROCHIAL REGISTRATION. Report of the Select Committee appointed to consider and report on the general state of Parochial Registries, and the Laws relating to thew, and on a general Registra tion of Births, Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths, and Bu rials, in England and Wales; to whom also several petitions presented to the House during the session on Parochial Registration were referred ; and who were empowered to report the minutes of evidence taken be fore them. Your Committee commenced their inquiry by endeavouring to ascertain the history and state of the law as affecting registries of marriages, and of baptisms and births, burials and deaths ; and as affecting the members of the Established Church, and the various classes of the community who dis sent from that Church. As the registers for mar riages are more particularly regulated by tl:e recent Alarriage Act, 4 Geo. IV., c. 76, and appear to be comparatively correct, the Committee only refer to that Act ; and, abstaining from a diffuse digest on the subject of other registries (especially as in Nos. 14 and 15 of the Appendix to the report the sta tutes and decided cases have been detailed), they will only briefly and generally mention the history and state of the law. In September, 1538 (30 Henry VIII.), an in junction was issued by Thomas Lord Cromwell, Lord Privy Seal and Vicegerent to the King. It directed a book and coffer, with two locks, to be provided in each parish, and ordered the parson, weekly, before the wardens, to write and record in the book all the weddings, christenings, and burials made the week before, and subjected him for ne glect to a fine of 3s. 4d., to be employed in the re pairs of the church. In 1547 a similar injunction was issued by Edward VI., only directing the pe nalty to be employed towards the poor man's box of the parish. In 1559 (1 Elizabeth) a nearly si milar injunction was issued, only that the penalty was directed to be equally divided between the poor-box and the repair of the church. In 1562.3 Parliament first interfered. Then a Bill was intro duced into the House of Commons, and read, " I'o erect an office of registership, to be kept in every diocese ;" but, through the interposition of the clergy, did not eventually pass. In 1590 Lord Treasurer Burghley perceived the importance of an office for a general register of all the christenings, marriages, and burials, within England and Wales. Among the objects and advantages of the establish ment, he enumerated " that there should be yearly delivered a summary of the whole, whereby it should appear how many christenings, weddings, and bu rials were every year within England and Wales, and every county particularly by itself, and how many meet-children and women-children were born in either of them, severally set down by Themselves." He accordingly recommended the measure to the Queen, and propounded it to the Archbishop of Canterbury, by whom its pro gress appears to have been estopped. But in 1597 (39 Elizabeth) a constitution was made by the archbishop, bishops, and clergy, of the province of Canterbury, and approved by the Queen, de claring the importance and utility of parochial re gisters (quorum pernzagnus uses est), and enjoining their more careful preservation, directing a copy to be sent yearly within a month after Easter to the register of such diocese, to be received without fee, and faithfully kept ; and threatening punishment to all by whom the precept was infringed. In 1603 (1 James I.) another and somewhat similar man date was issued and endeavoured to insure accuracy in the entries, and their careful preservation. During the civil commotions in the; reign of Charles I. no special attention was directed to the subject; but in 1652 a law reform committee was appointed. It included the most eminent lawyers and statesmen, and they prepared a draught of a bill, which in 1653 was adopted by the Parliament. That draught will be found No. 20, and the Act No. 19, in the appendix to the report. That Act was entitled " An Act how marriages shall be solemnized and registered, and also for a register of Births and Burials." It first introduced the registers, not of baptisms but of births. It treated marriage as a civil contract, to be solemnized before a justice of the peace. It directed that for the entry of all marriages, and " of all births of children, and burials of all sorts of people, within every parish," the inhabi tants of every parish chargeable to the poor should choose " an able and honest person, to be called the Parish Register," sworn before and approved by a neighbouring magistrate. This officer, it provided, I should have the keeping of the register-book for three years, and longer, unless removed by the parish ; and that he should be paid 12d. for every entry of marriage, /a 4 4d. for every entry of birth and of death. It* enacted, that small parishes, or places not-ARbi any parish, might be un;ted or added to oth parishes by the justices at their general sessions, and that they should then be ac counted one parish as to the matters only of the Act ; and that for such parishes and places so united one register should serve; and also provided, that all subsisting register-books should be delivered, to be kept as records by the registers appointed under that Act. Until after the Restoration, the provi• sions of this Act were found perfectly practicable, and were carried into useful effect ; and in vestry , many parishes, notwithstanding all the prejudices against the measure, the books continue to be fairly preserved. After the revolution, and in the reign of William 111., several Acts were passed to enforce, not a re• gistry of baptisms, but of births, and also of mar riages and burials, as a source of revenue to the state ; for by an Act 6 and 7 William 111., c. 6, (1694), an Act granting his Majesty certain rates and duties on marriages, births, and burials, the clergy were compelled, under a penalty of 100/. for neglect, to take an exact and true account, and keep a register of all persons married, buried, chris tened, or born in their respective parishes, and the collectors, and all persons concerned, were to have free access to them without fee or reward. Under this Act, it will be perceived that the clergy were compelled to act gratuitously, as civil officers, and to collect information of the births of all children born within their parishes, to whatever religious denomi nation the parents might belong, and quite irrespec tive of any baptismal rite performed by them, or by any ministers dissenting from their church. This duty having been found too onerous, and informa tion as to births being unattainable by clergymen, since the parents by concealment eluded payment of the tax, the Act 7 and 8 William 111. c. 35 (1695) provided that the parents of every child should, within five days after birth, give notice to the clergyman of the day of the birth of such child, tinder a penalty of 40s. ; and the clergyman should, under a like penalty, take an account of and keep a distinct register of every child born and not christened, for doing which the parents were to pay 6d. to him. Ultimately this tax was discontinued ; but in 1783 (23 Geo. 111., c. 67) a stamp duty of 3d. was imposed on every entry of burials, marriages, births, or christenings, to be demanded by each cler gyman from the undertaker or parties married, or the parents of a child whose birth or christening was registered : and by the 25 Geo. 111., c. 75, the Act was extended to dissenting ministers, whose registra tions of births or baptisms or burials were so recog nized bylaw. In 1794, however, this Act was also repealed, and at present the parochial registries for baptisms and burials are regulated by the Act 52 Geo. 111., c. 146, passed in 1812, and commonly called Sir George Rose's Act. This Act is entitled " An Act for better regulating and preserving parish and other registers of births, baptisms, marriages, and burials in England." It directs (sec. 1.) officiating ministers to keep registers of public and private bap tisms, of marriages, and of burials. (Sec. 2.) King's printer to transmit to each parish a printed copy and register books, adapted to forms prescribed. (Sec. 3.) Registers to be kept in separate books, and signed within seven days after each ceremony was per formed. (Sec. 4.) Certain forms to be observed where the ceremony is not performed in the parochial church or church-yard. (Sec. 5.) Register-books to be kept by officiating minister in an iron chest, provided at the parochial expense, and whence they may not be removed. (Sec. 6.) Annual copies to be made, and by the officiating minister verified and signed, arid by the churchwardens attested. (Sec. 7.) Such copies to be yearly transmitted to the registrars of each diocese by the churchwardens, by post. (Sec. 8.) Diocesan registrars to report to the Bishops yearly thereon. (Sec. 9.) In case of neglect by officiating ministers to verify and sign, church wardens to certify his default. (Sec. 10.) Where there are no churches, a memorandum of each baptism and burial to be delivered to the officiating minister of an adjoining parish. (Sec. 11.) Letters containing annual copies to go by the post, and free from postage. (Sec. 12.) Annual copies trans mitted to registrars to be safely deposited and secured from damage or destruction by fire, and carefully arranged for reference ; and the registrars to cause alphabetical lists of all persons and places to be made, and kept, and to be open for search. (Sec. 13.) A report to be made before the Ist of March, 1813, to the Privy Council, of the state of every place where copies of parochial registrars and wills are preserved, and their protection from damp and safety from fire. (Sec. 14.) Persons making false entries or wilfully defacing or destroying register books, to be guilty of felony, and trans ported for fourteen years. (Sec. 15.) But punish ment not to attach for accidental errors. (Sec. 16.) Accustomed fees to continue. (Sec. 17.) Annual copies not to he subject to any stamp duty. (Sec. 18.) One half the penalties levied under the Act to go to the informer, and the remainder either to the poor of the parish or to such charitable pur poses as the Bishops direct. (Sec. 19 ) List of all extant register•books to be transmitted by offi ciating minister before the Ist of June, 1813, to dio cesan registrar. And (Sec. 20.) the provisions to extend to cathedrals and collegiate churches, and to extra parochial chapels. On this extraordinary statute the whole system of parochial registration at present depends ; and that it is extraordinary will appear, if reference be made to this title, which includes a register of births, for which no provision was framed, and which can not legally be kept; to the clauses directing the la bours of receiving and arranging and indexing ail the copies of registers, and making.reports to the bishops by the diocesan registrars, for which no compensation is awarded ; and to the clause for ap propriating penalties which are not imposed, and of which the only one directed is transportation, which no informer would desire to share, nor any charity to partake. Connected with the statute law, are cases which should not be unknown. Those cases have decided-Ist, that entries of births made by clergymen, on the representation of parents, in re gisters of baptisms, are not evidence of birth, and that, as evidence, the entries cannot be read ; 2d, that entries in register-books occasionally made up from memoranda, and from day or rough books used in many parishes, cannot be received in evi dence ; and 3d, that while copies from parish re gisters may be evidence without the production of the originals, as the books are in the nature of pub• lie documents and record!, yet copies of Dissenters' registers of birth or baptism are not evidence, and that their registers of burials are no evidence of deaths. The laws relating to parochial registration being thus ascertained, your Committee have endea voured to collect facts and opinions as to the excel lence or defects of the law; as to their practical operation ; as to their merits when compared with the institutions and practice of foreign countries;' as to the necessity and advantages of an improved and general registration; and as to the means of attaining that desirable end. To procure and supply such information, they have examined witnesses in different situations, and they refer to the valuable testimony received from clergymen of the Established Church—from gen tlemen of the legal profession—from authors devoted to antiquarian researches—from persons of diffe rent religious denominations, including Catholics, Dissenters, Jews, Quakers, Methodists, and parish clerks—from gentlemen eminently scientific, and attached to statistical inquiries—from medical au thorities, who have long desired ampler and more accurate information on the extent and causes of mortality—and from an eminent foreigner, distin guished for extensive and accurate statistical intelli gence ; and others whose wide-spreading inquiries in foreign countries, and peculiar facilities of infor mation, entitled them to respect. From these wit nesses they have obtained the forms of the reg is- 1 tration of bapti sms an d b ur i a l s used . by English Ca tholics—of bi r th, marriage, Quakers—of e,antdiiterment by the Jews, and the S oc i ety birth used by Protestant Dissenters at Dr. Williams's General Register of Births —and of birth and baptism which the Wesleyan Methodi s t s a d opt; and also various forms which, as improvements on the present terms, Mr. Black, Mr. Burn, Mr. Cooper, and Mr. Edgar Taylor, have suggested, and which are an nexed to the report. By the prompt and obliging assistance of the Foreign-office, they have, too, obtained accounts (also annexed), of the formulw or laws as to regis tration existing in Austria, in Belgium, at Berne, in France, at Geneva, in Prussia, and in Spain. In Spain the forms are superior to our own ; as the native places of persons married, and the names of their parents, are inserted in the registries of mar riages ; and in registers of baptisms the native places of both parents, and the names and birth places of the paternal grandfather and mother are also introduced. An alphabetical index to each book is also prepared. At Berne, the time of the birth of the child, the maiden name of the mother, and the marriage-place of the parents appear in the baptismal register, and the maiden name of the female appears in the registers of deaths. In Aus tria, though the Catholic clergy exercise the func tions of registrars, they insert equally and indiscri minately the names of the Protestant inhabitants with those of the Catholics, and in the tables columns are arranged for the entry whether the parents are of the Catholic or Protestant faith. There the ac curate keeping of the registers is deemed very im portant, and the regulations are strict and minute. The registers are of births. :Midwives and accou cheurs are to notify the event to the registrar under legal penalties, and a forfeiture of the right to ex ercise their profession. The maiden name of the mother is inserted ; and in the register of mortality the date of death, the age of the deceased, and the malady and mode of death, are also set forth, and there is either an inspection of the dead, or the physicians in ordinary and local surgeons are bound to inform the minister in writing, of the distemper of each patient whom they have attend ed. Bishops, on visitations, are obliged to require the production of the registers, and provincial au thorities to ascertain that they duly are kept ; and at the conclusion of each year the registrar is to extract an annual list from each register, divided in columns and in regular forms, and to transmit the same to the Office of Conscriptions, and to the Office of the Circle, and which last is similar to our Sessional Court, and to the Office of the De partrr ental Prefect in France. In Prussia, except the Rhenish provinces, the custody of the registers is confided officially to the clergyman of the parish, among Christians, and to the elders among the Jews; and there are correctional, and even criminal penalties imposed on these registrars for neglect, or for fraudulent subtraction or forgery. But though the parochial clergyman be appointed, it is his duty to enter the births, marriages, and deaths, of persons who are not of the Established Church, but who are " simply tolerated," on the declara tion of the parties or their ministers, and to include these declarations in his annual returns. In bap tismal registers the day and hour of birth is intro duced ; in registers of marriages, the names of the fathers of the bridegroom and the bride; and in registers of deaths, its day and hour, the age of the decease, the disease and cause of death, and the names of the heirs, if known, also appear. The entry is required to be immediate after a ceremony is performed or notified : it is to be neatly and legi bly written; the dates are to be expressed in let ters; a duplicate is to be made, and at the end of each year is to be deposited, when examined and verified, in the local civil court, being " the tribunal of the place." Many of the regulations in all these countries are excellent and imitable, but the law and practice in France may be justly preferred, introduced in Les Ging Codes, of Napoleon. The regulations as to marriages, births, and deaths are included in Le Code Civil, liv. 1, and the details and operation ap pear in the appendix to the report, as to Geneva and France, and in the testimonies of Dr. Bowring Mr. Finlayson, and Mr. Adolphe Quetelet. These, regulations record marriages as civil arrangements, and treat the registers of births and deaths as a purely civil affair. They do not prescribe or in terfere with any religious ceremonies or observances of the Catholics or Protestants on the celebration of marriages, or on baptisms Of interments, and allow the most perfect religious choice to every member of the state; but they require as to births, that within three days every child should be pro duced to the registrar or civil officer of the parish or commune, and that an entry be made—as to mar riage, that the place of celebration, the names of the parties, and their respective parents, should be ex- , pressed—and as to deaths, that no interments take place without previous notice to the registrar or civil officer of the parish or commune, and a written authority from him, after he shall have recorded (on testimony of two witnesses, be ing the nearest friends or relations of the de ceased) his name, age, profession, and abode ; the day, hour, and place of his death ; the names of his wife ; and also, if possible, the names of his parents, and the place of his birth. These registers are compulsory and universal. They are kept by a civil officer in every commune, of which there are forty thousand in France. Their accuracy and re gularity are most carefully assured. Duplicates are kept and closed at the end of each year with for malities that preclude interpolation. Tabular al phabetical indexes are annually formed. One copy of the duplicates and indexes remains in the records of the parish or commune, and the other is trans mitted to the tribunal of the district, where it is examined arid placed under the superintendence of the Procureur de Roi, or the local officer of the Crown. From all these local documents another complete alphabetical index, and a quinquennial or decennial analysis, are made ; and statistical docu ments result to furnish the useful information as to the movement of population which philanthropists, and wise statesmen, and good Governments desire. But as it might be apprehended that these regula tions, though of public utility, might be productive of individual and social vexation, and considerable expense, it is important to know that the system is deemed throughout France an individual and social benefit, and is neither evaded nor disliked. And it is also important to know, that in Geneva, in the Rhenish provinces of Prussia, arid in Belgium, where the regulations were introduced when those countries were subjugated by France, they are still tenaciously retained, though the countries have long since be come independent, and might have returned to the forms they previously observed ; and that in Bel gium, after the last revolution in 1830, an attempt was made to restore the clerical registrars by the parochial Catholic clergy, but that it was frustrated by the decided exertions of the nation, who would not consent to the change. There the regi , trations are gratuitous; and since that revolution these re gistrations are rendered additionally independent of religious opinions; anti though the clergy are allowed to record births, marriages, and deaths, when they are called in to perform religious ceremonies, yet their inscriptions and memoranda are purely ecclesiastical arid have no official character in civil affairs. There,' too, it has been stated with pleasure by the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs, the humblest indivi dual may trace his parentage and the origin of his family, as well as the most illustrious personages who possess genealogies, the result of laborious re search. The entries prescribed by these excellent and widely adopted regulations of the French code might, however, be improved by simplification, and by the adoption of tabular forms.* From this inquiry and general survey, and from the concurrent representations incidentally made by the Commissioners on real property, in their re p; by yetolmiepporsoevdinocfia4l,oomemdteemal,bearnsd, saisirsgeimeablleadssao-t Bristol ; and by the factory commissioners, arid even tehxeaa m p i p n e e n d di b x y )yo tr c n o ( m a m nd itte al e l some h m i c e h o a f r e t h i n e e p u e d r e s d o n i n s have arrived at the conclusions 1. Teat the subj,ct is urgently important. 2. That it involves matters of great public and national interest, as well as individual satisfaction, and rights and * Since the preparation of the report, documents and for. muhe have also been received from Denmark, Holland, Na pies, Sweden, and Tuscany, by which the conclusions of the Committee are clearly confirmed. claims to property ; and deserves the attention of the humblest artisan, as well as of the most philosophical and statesmanlike inquirer. 3. That the existing law is imperfect and unjust, and requires not merely partial amendment, but real funda mental reform. 4. That the present plan, even if improved and per fected, as applicable to the members of the Established Church, being founded on religious rights, is exclusive and intolerant; as it would not include a very considerable portion of the reflecting, intelligent, and influential popu lation of the country, who are Protestant and Catholic Dissenters from that Church, and 1,100 congregations, who disapprove of infant baptism ; and must practically punish them (including, too, the community who may purchase or derive property from them) for claiming the rights of conscience, and believing what their judgments direct. 5. That even to many pious and worthy clergymen of the Established Church the system is productive of pain and regret, as it often induces a compliance, from mere secular motives, with sacraments which they highly esti mate and devoutly revere; but 6. That even as to the members of the church it is detrimental and absurd, since the registers are mere re gisters of baptisms, and not of births—of burials, and not of deaths—since they supply no adequate proofs of pedi• gree, or means of proving or tracing ancestral descent—since they are often falsified, stolen, burnt, inaccurately inscribed, and carelessly preserved—since the securities intended to be given by the last General Register Act (62 George III.), by directing the yearly and universal transcription of the registers, their deposit with the diocesan records, and the preparation of indexes to facilitate searches, have all ex perienced only a most limited fulfilment, as while one fourth of the parishes make no return, the returns that have been sent are never indexed, and are subject to fire and decay; and the directions of the Act have not been and cannot be enforced, and since the value of property is diminished by the difficulties incident to its transfer, and the insecurity with which it is so often held and acquired : and, 7. That great trouble, vast expense, utter uncertainty, capricious charges, and local and general evils exist, while no means are supplied to obtain the information other countries possess, and justly value, as to the state of disease, the operation of moral and physical causes on the health of the people, the progress of population, and other matters on which accurate knowledge can scarcely be too highly appreciated or too intensely pursued. From these considerations your Committee con clude that a national civil registration of births, mar riages, and deaths, should be established ; that such registration should equally include all ranks of so ciety, and religionists of every class—that in the forms such improvements should be made as, avoid ing perplexity and needless multiplication of state ments, might direct inquirers to the parents or last ancestor of each person recorded, and assist medical and statistical inquirers in useful research ; that a parochial arrangement should be continued ; that a duplicate of each register should always be made ; that such duplicate should be periodically transmitted to the metropolis, where a general national office should be formed, a superintending authority should exist, and alphabetical and accurate indexes and ab stracts should be prepared ; that the parochial charges should be defrayed by moderate salaries or small fees, payable by respectable inhabitants, and out of the rates for persons in more indigent cir cumstances, or receiving relief; while the metropo litan office would be supported by payments on searches, and an allowance of Id. on every entry which each parish should send. To that metro politan office lists of all parochial registers now ex tant should be transmitted, but the present registers they would continue in the parochial depositories, with the registers that will hereafter be made. In such an arrangement your Committee would not interfere with any religious institutions among Dis senters or members of the Established Church. The baptismal rite, tlae marriage ceremony, and the burial service, might be fitly continued without the smallest alteration, and the clergymen or other offi ciating ministers might, at the desire of parties, continue optional registers of all the sacred services they perform. To such a plan it may be objected, that the people, arid especially the poorer classes, would withhold the information of births and deaths needful to its universal effect. But your Committee are convinced that a register of depths (and even if the malady arid cause of mortality be inscribed) will be easily attained by prohibiting interment without entry; and that even the labouring and most illite rate among the people will perceive the benefits of the design, and will, as in France, and Geneva, and Belgium, and on the continent, cheerfully help, rather than obstruct, the improvement, and espe cially if information be required from midwives, and parochial assistance be withheld for children whose birth shall not be inscribed. Your committee have been led to prefer a conti nuance of our parochial division, because it is de fined and existing; though they are not insensible to the advantages of some improved and more equal division of the country into other districts, and which will, ere long, probably result from the introduction of local law judges and courts, the improvement of municipal and magisterial arrangements, a different system for the management of the poor, and the consequent appointment of such local offices and officers as in other countries generally exist ; but they would contemplate, for the purpose of registra tion, the consolidation of small and thinly populated parishes, and the division of some large and popu lous parishes into different liberties or wards. Du plicates they prefer to copies, because duplicates will be originals, and remain always as evidence to prevent the falsification of parochial registers, and to supply their accidental loss or destruction by fire; and a metropolitan office they prefer to county or diocesan depoiitories, because the metropolis is now so easily and universally accessible—because searches might be more promptly and economically made— and because the general results for medical and sta tistical information might be so focally collected, ab stracted and ascertained. But " Who should be the registrar ?" your com mittee are aware may be anxiously inquired. To them three suggestions on that subject have been made, and between them they do not presume to decide. The first is, that a new civil officer should be appointed in each parish to act as registrar. To such proposal it has been objected, that in many small agricultural parishes and districts no compe tent person could be found; and to the objection it has been replied, that in every parish there are poor rates, and highway-rates, and assistant overseers, surveyors, or clerks, who might also fulfil the func tions of registrars with care and success; and that throughout France, where education and society are generally less advanced than in England, such officers are found in every parish and commune, and the whole business is duly and ably performed. The second suggestion is, that the duty of registration should be continued to the parochial clergymen, though purely as civil, and not as ecclesiastical officers; and it has been urged that their education and respectability would fit them best for its fulfil ment, while the church would so retain the emolu ments itat present enjoys. To this second suggestion it has been objected, that Dissenters would not like to wait on a clerical registrar and communicate with him ; that he might abuse the influence and authority; that in many parishes clergymen are non-resident, and transitory; that the duties of the office would interfere with their sacred functions, already too multiplied and laborious to afford them adequate leisure; and that very many would scru pulously, and from their consciences, be averse to act merely as civil officers, and to record with an implied approval any acts, especially of marriage, that any Dissenting ministers might perform. But to that objection it has been replied, that during the reigns of William 111. and Anne, they did so act as registrars of births and deaths; that on the continent, in Austria, they act as civil func tionaries, and record alike the births, mar riages, and deaths of persons not of their own Christian communion; that in Prussia they make the entries on the report of the baptisms, marriages and interments, which from Dis senters from the established religion they are enjoined to receive; and that it would be absurd to suppose that our clergy would be less liberal, catho lic, and enlightened than the clergy whom those countries possess. The third suggestion is, that in each - parish the registrar shout.] be annually or triennially elected by the inhabitants contributing to the rates, and who should determine on the place for the depository of the records—that the election should be confirmed by two neighbouring magis trates—that the registrar should exercise the office under the superintendence of the clergyman, church wardens, and overseers—and that such an arrange ment would meet every objection, as it would enable the clergyman to accept the office, if he thought proper, and would enable the parishioners to invite him to its fulfilment, and remunerate his labours, where no person more eligible appeared, or where it seemed mutually desirable that a resident clergy man should undertake the fulfilment of the task. On these suggestions your Committee repeat that they decline to decide; but whoever may ap pear to the wisdom of the House most fit to be appointed as registrar, your Committee cannot hesi tate to state their decided opinion that a new na tional system of registration should be attempted, and that on some mode for the election of a registrar the House should resolve. By such an internal, but most needful improve ment, they believe that the national honour will be promoted—that inestimably useful information will be insured—that great evils affecting all landed pro perty, and obstructing its descent and sale, and ac quisition, will be diminished—that a mean will be prepared for the accomplishment of that revision of the laws on marriage, against which complaints are loud and general, and which revision cannot long be delayed —and that there may be removed some re maining fragments of that religious intolerance and oppression that are connected with the present sys tem, and which the House, with the country, must deplore and condemn. They are not unaware that some objections may be stated, some interests effected, and some preju dices alarmed ; but they trust the matter will not be considered as any party question, or any source of political strife, as they too are persuaded that all apparent difficulties may be obviated with facility— and that, by liberality and perseverance, an improve ment will be cheaply, promptly, and permanently accomplished, which they venture to recommend— and which the most practical, experienced, and en lightened of all religious denominations emphatically and conjointly desire. COURT OF BANKRUPTCY, JAN. 2. (Before Mr. Commissioner EvANs.) DUCKETT, :BORLAND, AND CO.'s BANKRUPTCY. A meeting of the creditors of the separate estate of Mr. Thomas Tyringham Bernard, one of the partners in the banking firm of Sir G. Duckett and Co., against whom a commission of bankruptcy was issued some time since, was held to-day, for the proof of debts and the declaration of a dividend. The proofs made were under 510/., and the ac counts having been audited, a dividend was this day declared of 20s. in the pound. There were no proceedings gone into to-day in the joint estate. JAMES CUTLER STEWART'S BANKRUPTCY. A meeting of the creditors under the separate estate of this bankrupt, who was connected with the firm of INPlntosh and Co., the great East India merchants, was held to-day for the proof of debts and the declaration of a dividend. The proofs were only about 1501., and a dividend of 7s. 6d. in the pound was declared. SECONDARIES' OFFICE. THE FEES OF SURGEONS.SIMPSON V. RALFE. This was an issue tried before Mr. POTTER, the Secondary. It had been sent down from the Courts above, and is the first one tried on the question of the fees of medical men in their distinct capacities of surgeon and apothecary. Mr. BUSHBY, for the plaintiff, stated that his client sought the very moderate sum of W. ss. 6d. for attending the defendant and his wife in the surgical cases of inflammation of the eyes and palpitation of the heart. Elizabeth Payne, servant to a lodger in the house in which Mr. Ralfe lodged, deposed that the plain tiff had for a considerable time attended the defen dant and his wife, and that she had opened the door often to a boy who brought medicine to them. Mr. James Simpson, brother to the plaintiff, deposed that the plaintiff was a surgeon only, and not an apothecary, and resided in Bedford-street, Bedford-square. Plaintiff had been several years in business, and was in the habit of drawing prescrip tions, which were made up by chytnists. Mr. Handy, a surgeon and apothecary in Stam ford -street, Blackfriars-road, was examined as to his opinion whether inflammation of the eyes was a surgical case, lie said that there existed a differ ence of opinion on the subject, but he certainly con sidered it to be a surgical case. Mr. CE3IIIIING, for the defendant, said that the plaintiff must be nonsuited, as it was evident that he had acted as apothecary as well as surgeon. Mr. POTTER, in addressing the Jury, said, if they were of opinion that the plaintiff had acted merely as a surgeon, and had not made up the pre scriptions, they would find for the plaintiff, as he was under no obligation to produce such testimonial. The Jury found a verdict for the plaintiff for the full amount of the claim. A distressing accident occurred in the neigh bourhood of Worthing on Thursday. The son of Mr. Walker, of Chamingdean, rode up the hill, a short dis tance from his father's house, to join a party on a shooting excursion. Oa arriving at the spot, he left his pony in the care of a boy, named Evans, to hold until his return. Soon after his departure the boy mounted, and told his brother " he would ride as far as Groomes's Laud before he could count a hundred," and accordingly put the pony into a brisk gallop. lie soon, however, lost his seat, and was thrown from the saddle, when his foot unfortu nately caught in the stirrup. His cries so alarmed the animal, that it continued at full speed, dragging the un• fortunate boy. By the time the pony was stopped, the poor fellow had breathed his last, and his body, from being dragged so great a distance, presented a most frightful ap pearance, the back and hrad being covered with wounds, and stripped of his garments. This is the second person of the family who has met with an untimely death. Brighton Gazette. The following remarkable instance of som nambulism is given by the Augsburg Gazette Dres den was the theatre of a melancholy spectacle on the 20th ult. As early as 7in the morning a female was seen walking on the roof of one of the loftiest houses in the city, apparently occupied in preparing some ornament as a Christmas present. The house stood as it were alone, being much higher than those adjoining it, and to draw her from her perilous situation was impossible. Thou sands of spectators had assembled in the streets. It was discovered to be a handsome young girl, 19 years of . age, the daughter of a master baker, possessing a small inde pendence, bequeathed to her by her mother. She conti nued her terrific promenade for hours, at times sitting on the parapet and dressing her hair. The police came to the spot, and various means of preservation were resorted to. In a few minutes the street was thickly strewn with straw ' • beds were called for from the house, but the heartl ess fa ther, influenced by the girl's step-mother, refused them. Nets were suspended from the balcony of the first floor, and the neighbours fastened sheets to their wind ows . All this rime the poor girl was walking in perfect unconsciousness, sometimes gazing towards the moon, and at others singing or talking to herself. Some persons succeeded in getting on the roof, but dated not approach her, for fear of the consequence if they awoke her. Towards 11 o'clock she approached the very verge of the parapet, leaned forwards, and gazed upon the multitude beneath. Every one felt that the moment of the catastrophe had arrived ; she rose up, however, and returned calmly to the window by which she had got out: when she saw lights in the room, she uttered a piercing shriek, which was re-echoed by thou sands below, and fell dead into the street. The scene that followed cannot be described. The city on the following day was full of sorrow. The police and the father are both blamed for having left a light in the chamber. The citizens say the police are too officious in meddling with their private affairs ; they are violent against the tither, as h e i s accuse d o f h av i ng attempted to poison his first wife, and of rejoicing at the melancholy fate of her es he will now inherit her property." 40s. to 571 Li , 353. to 549. 28s. to 39e. ~ 273. to 335. ',"- t I , !`..ti to Ws. j r i Ong. 9d to 13;iit.i. per rt. 225. to 255. per load. gn, —l. to —l. per last. LEEDS CORN MARKET. Wheat, Norfolk and Suffolk, 601 b. - York. and Lincoln. 601 b. Barley, Norfolk and Suffblk - Yorkshire and Lincolnshire - Grinding Beans 631 b. Oats, otatoe -Healing, For. 12(L to 13(1 P Shelling Rapeseed, English, 231. to 27, Foreil '.—Dec. 31. LIVERPOOL CORN EXCHANGE.—Dec.3I. WIIEAT, English, White, per 701 b. Red 7 0 7 3 Scotch, Welch, and Manx Irish, White 7 0 7 3 39 6 9 ----- Red - Foreign . 7 6 8 0 OATS, English, Welsh, and Scotch, per 451 b.... 2 fi 3 0 - Irish - Foreign BARLEY, English,`Malting, per Imp. q uarter 32 0 33 0 -- Scotch and Irish, per 601bs. - Feeding 3 2 3 6 BEANS, English, per Imperial quarter 34 0 41 0 - Irish, &c. - Foreign PEASE, English, per Imperial quarter 42 0 41 0 - Foreign FLOUR, English, per 9.801 b. - Irish 1,5 0 39 0 OATMEAL, English and Irish, per 2401bs 2l 6 23 9 INDIAN CORN, per 440 W. 36 0 38 iticE, per Imperial quarter MALT, per Imperial quarter ....................... ! 46 0 54 0 I M PORT of GRAIN for the Week ending Dec. 30. wheat. Oats. Barley Flour. Oatmeal. Qrs. Qrs. Qrs. Foreign. Brls.ll nsh, &c. Scks.l Loads. 4,576 7,932 , 1,358 25 1 4,175 232 soUTHALL MARKET.—Jan. 1. In this day's market, which was but moderately supplied throughout, and not very numerously attended by buyers. par ftom London, each kind of meat met with a silk:gbh sale, at the following prices per stone of 81b. to sink the offais Beef 3s. 4.1. to 4s. 4d. 10d. to ss. Bd. I Mutton „—.. 4 2 5 0 3 8 4 The foregoing quotations are Beef 2d. per stone lower, Veal 4,1. to 6d. per stone higher than on this day se'nnight ; prices of Mutton and Pork stationary. Beasts, 225; Sheep, 2,248 ; Calves, 33; Pigs, 69. A small portion of the supply left the market unsold. LEWIS "MARKET.—IIee. 31. 8eef..._...,... ay. Bd. to 4s. Gd. I Veal ~,,,,.,...,.r . . Cs Od. to Os. Od NI !Mon ---. 4 6 5 2 I Pork 4 0 4 4 A moderate supply ; trade with the primest Beef and '- rather brisk, but otherwise dull. Mutton RUMFORD MARKET.—Jan. 1. s. d. to s. d. g. d. s. d. Beef 3 4 4 4 Veal Mutton 310 410 Pork 3 8 4 4 Suckling Calves, 14s. to 30s. ; Quarter old Store Pigs, 123. to 208. Mitch Cows, with their small Calf, 10/. to 15/, Supply moderate, and trade dull. COURT FOR THE RELIEF OF INSOL VENT DEBTORS. The Matters of the Petitions and schedules of the Pri soners, hereinafter named (the same having been filed in the Court) are appointed to be heard at the Court house, in Portugal.street, Lincoln's Inn-Gelds, on Mon day, the 13th of January, 1834, at Nine o'clock in the Forenoon. Terry, William, late of Gloucester-place, New-road, St. Marylebone, plumber, painter, and glazier. Rabbits, William, late of High-row, Knightsbridge, eating.. house-keeper and retailer of beer. Edwards, William, late of Francis-street, White Conduit.. fields, Barnsbury_row, Islington, tailor. D vies, Thomas John, late of Holton Old Town, tailor. Corrin, William, late of Tottenham -court New-road, paper-hanger and stainer. Barr, Henry, late of Upper Marylebone-street, St. Mary lebone, bricklayer. Butcher, Joseph, late of Northfleet, Keat, carpenter g and publican. Doren, Robert, late of Brewer street, Gohlen-square, journeyman tailor. Bone, Barnabas, late of London -street, Greenwich, cabinet maker and upholsterer. Sheldrake, Timothy, late of Grosvenor-cottage, Grosvenor.. street West, Pimlico, surgeon for the prevention and cure of personal deformities. Walker, Alexander, late of Margaret-street, Cavendish.. square, engaged in works of literature. Ilaselden;James, late of Union-street, Blackfriars, licensed 4 , horse dealer and late a victualler. On TUESDAY, Jan. 14.—Same Hour and Place. Manning, John, late of King-street, Commercial-road East, baker. Bradley, George, late of the Rose of Normandy, High street, St. Marylebone, licensed victualler. Robson, Emily, late of Gower-place North, Bedford square, spinster. Deacon, Martin, late of Oporto, in the kingdom of Por tugal, in the service of Don Pedro, an officer in the army. Jarman, Benjamin, late of King-street, Golden-square, carpenter, builder, appraiser, and undertaker. Baugh, Joseph, late of High Holborn, tailor, and clothes salesman. Boulter, Joseph, late of Millfield-place, Green-lanes, Stoke Newington, bread and biscuit baker. Abraham, Samuel, late of Bath-buildings, Baldwin-street, City-road, auctioneer and general dealer. White, Robert, late of Charles-street, Horselydown, Southwark, journeyman oil-cooper. Freake, Joseph Frederick, late of Kettering, Northamp tonshire, coachman. Barnaby, William, late lodging at No. 23, Borough market, Southwark, shipwright in the Dock-yard at Chatham. Deane, Thomas Anthony, late of Wolsingham-place, near the Asylum, Lambeth, portrait and historical engraver. THE MARKETS. GENERAL AVERAGE PRICE OF BRITISH CORN, For the Week ended Dec. 27, 1833, made up from the Returns of the Inspectors in the different Cities and Towns in England and Wales, per Imperial Quarter. Wheat--. 495. 2d.f Oats 184. 10d.I 2d. Barley--......28s 4d Rye 30a. 4d 38s. 9d. IMPERIAL AGGREGATE AVERAGES OF TILE SIX WEEKS PRECEDING. Wheat . 495. Pd.! Oats .....—... 19s. 345. sd. s. 6d.1 Rye 335. 7d I 40i. 2d. DUTIES ON FOREIGN CORN. „ . Wheat........ 375. Bd.lo;ts ............, 18s. 3d.lffeans.—...lBs. 3d. Barley ...........18s. 4d.1 Rye .—.......... 19s. 9d.1 Pea5e........ Os. 6d. COUNTRY CORN:MARKETS DURING THE WEEK. Wheat. Barley. Oats. Beans. Per Quarter. s. to s. s. s. s. to s. a. to s. Blandford 53 27 20 42 Brigg . 4O 58 36 40 15 22 30 35 Cambridge 50 29 17 38 Chard 48 54 22 28 16 20 34 38 Hunting/on 58 63 23 28 15 21 26 34 Long Sutton 56 64 17 22 32 35 Louth 4B 54 28 32 18 22 40 42 Lynn 5O 60 22 25 16 20 32 31 Newark 57 60 29 40 16 22 37 40 Nottingham 45 52 28 35 20 25 32 40 Peterborough 38 48 25 29 13 21 28 36 Plymouth 50 64 30 34 20 23 P0ntefract.......—..... 67 43 27 43 Sleaford 65 70 36 38 22 28 41 43 Uppingham 42 47 28 32 22 26 36 38 Wisbech 4B 62 20 33 14 22 i 3O 35 BIRTHS. On the 2cl inst., at the Crescent, Clapham common, Mrs George Gay, of a son. On the Ist inst., Mrs. White, of Haydon-square, of a son, still-born. On the 30th ult., at Walton House, the lady of W. Ponsonby Johnson, Esq., of a daughter. MARRIED. On the Ist inst., at Enfield, Joseph Dodson, Esq , of Tot. tenham, to Sarah Fentlall, fourth daughter of the late A. k E sq ., of Wormley, Herts. inst., at Clifton, th e R ev . S am uel Lysons, rector of Rodmarton, Gloucestershire, to Teresina, eldest daughter of i 'lst N‘fta()o n s the jor-General Moore, C.B. _ Esq., of New. Esq., of Upton, On the Ist inst., at Brighton, Edward Elkins, o f o f t . : i h o , r o d f o man- n street Is a t n i d tis S t io a k t e i N ,y e n w n i , ng j t o o s t: p , htor:lya,riyuJna:e, daughter of Richard Lane, Esq., of Charlotte-street, Bright°°• Esq., to Mrs. Bell, of Sutton, widow. Essex, to Alice, eldest daughter of the late Rev. John Part. ridge, of Cranwick, Norfolk. On the 31st ult., at St. James's Church, Mr. John Barrow- On the Ist inst., at Sutton-on -the-hill, Richard Jones, Esq., Martin's-lane, to Miss Ellen Sherwood, of Pall-mall. On the 31st ult., at West Ham Church, Mr. John Dobson, to Mrs. Louisa Dixon, of Upton house, Stratford. On the 31st ult., at Tottenham Church, Charles Wilmot Sym, Esq., of Ch a rterhouse-street, to Ann, youngest daughter of Mr. David Evans, of the Hingoad.farm, near Kington, Here. fordshire. DIED. On the 21)th ult., in Belgrave-street, Pimlico, Mrs. Lewes, relict of the late Eustace Lewes, Esq., aged 70. On the 30th ult., Elizabeth, wife of Captain Tatham, of the It. L. Militia. _ . _ aged 67. On the 2d inst., at Haverstock-hill, Hampstead, John Hod. sell, Esq., aged 76. - On the 2d just , suddenly, Mr. sWur.leSrk,inTnheorm, as of Boultbee,Coleman street, aged 43. Boulogne -r , e S i Sussex , Mr. Fred. Gottlieb On the 30th ult., in her 21st year, Maria, fourth daughter of William Clarke, Esq., of Farmoor-house, Hambledon, Bucks, and late of Compton, Berks. at Everton, near Liverpool, Susan, the Es .10 0 . ,n n ot t f h hT e e r 2soit t e : y. u ur l ai t t . r , „ a a t ut Wolf, late of Clement's-lane. On the 12th November, at the Island of Grenada, Almeria, the wife of Lewis Hayes, Esq. At the Rectory, Carlton, Charles Willoughby,eldest son of the Rev. Charles Eyre, in his 6th year. wifOuluifthAer26thtuhr Lainstth.,am, Esq. PRINTED AND PUBLIFIIED BY hIU RDO YOUNG, AT TWA 5,N OFFIIIII, 112, STRAND. - ,--