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

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