REGISTRATION, General, of Births, Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths, and Burials, in England and Wales. The first known public authority under which registers recording births or baptisms, marriages, deaths or burials, were systematically kept in England, was an injunction issued in September 1538 (30 Hen. VIII.), by Thomas Lord Cromwell, lord privy seal and vicegerent to the king, which enjoined, that in every parish a register-book should be kept in a coffer with two locks, by the parson, vicar, or curate, and churchwardens; and that every Sunday, in the presence of one of the churchwardens, the parson, &c. should enter in a register-book a written record of the dates and names of the weddings, christenings, and burials, of the preceding week; by neglect of which duty he incurred a fine of three shillings and fourpence, to be employed in the repair of the church.

In 1547, an injunction was issued by Edward VI. similar to that of 1538, excepting only that the penalty was directed “to be employed to the poore-box” of the parish.

Inquiry was directed, at the instance of Cardinal Pole, under Philipand Mary, in the years 1555 and 1557, whether the clergy had complied with these directions; and in the first year of Queen Elizabeth, 1559, a further injunction was issued, which differed from that of Edward VI. in 1547 only in directing that the penalty should be divided between the poor-box and the repair of the church. These injunctions were not very strictly observed, as appears by the preamble of a bill to “authorize every archbishop and bishop to erect one office of registership of all the church-books, to be kept in every diocese,” which, in March 1563, was read a first time in the House of Commons, but did not pass.

The great importance of registration was in 1590 represented to the Lord-treasurer Burghley, who, impressed with the force of the representation, communicated a plan to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Nothing, however, appears to have been done in consequence until October 1597, when a constitution was made by the archbishop, bishops, and clergy of the province of Canterbury, and approved by the queen; which notices the very great utility of parish-registers, and gives minute directions for keeping them, and for the transmission of a transcript yearly to the diocesan registrar. It appears, too, that persons were appointed for the purpose of ascertaining if the several orders had been complied with; and that every minister, at institution, was required to declare that he would “keep the register-book according to the queen’s majesty’s injunctions.”

In 1603, the first year of the reign of James I. another [7:19:99]injunction was issued similar to that of 1597, with the important addition of a clause, appointing that the ancient registers, so far as they could be procured, but especially since the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth, should be copied into a parchment-book, to be provided by every parish; after which, nothing more appears to have emanated, either from the ecclesiastical or civil authorities, on this subject, till the time of the Long Parliament, when the following entry in the Journal of the House of Commons gives evidence of attention to the importance of registration.

“Anno 1644, Dec. 6. Ordered, that it be referred to the committee for bringing in the ordinance for the establishing the directory, to bring in a clause in that ordinance, for registering the time of baptizing of children, and their parents’ names, and for registering of burials.” In the same year an ordinance was made, directing, that in every parish or chapelry in England and Wales, the minister and other church-officers should keep a register of birth and baptism, of marriage, and of burial; and that all persons reasonably desiring it might search therein and obtain copies.

In August 1653, in pursuance of the recommendations of a law-reform committee appointed in the preceding year, and including many eminent persons, an act was passed, which directed that in every parish a register-book shall be provided for registering all marriages, births, and burials in the parish; and that the custody of such book, and the duty of registration, shall be given to a person, to be called the parish registrar, appointed by the parishioners chargeable to the poor, and approved by a justice of the peace. It was also enacted, that extra-parochial places, or small parishes, might be united, for the purposes of registration, to other parishes, by the justices at their sessions; and that all existing register-books should be kept by the registering officers appointed under that act.

This act was not confirmed at the Restoration, and the business of registration reverted to the clergy of the established church. During the reigns of Charles II. and James II. nothing was done with respect to registers, except that, by a clause in the act of 30 Car. II. c. 3, entitled “an act for burying in woollen,” it was enacted that all clergymen “do, within their respective parishes, precincts, and places, take an exact account, and keep a register, of all and every person or persons buried in his or their respective parishes or precincts, or in such common burial-places as their respective parishioners are usually buried.”

In the reign of William III. registration was rendered a source of revenue. The act of 6 and 7 William III. c. 6, granted duties on births, marriages, and burials, and compelled the clergy, under a penalty of L.100, to keep an exact register of all persons born, christened, married, or buried in their respective parishes, to which register the collector of the tax, and all persons concerned, might have free access without fee. It thus imposed on the clergyman the onerous duty of acting gratuitously as a civil functionary, and collecting information of all births within his parish, without distinction of sect, and irrespective of baptism, a duty the difficulty of which was rendered greater by the attempts of the parents to conceal the birth, in order to elude the payment of the tax. With a view to obviate this objection, an act was passed in the following year (7 and 8 William III. c. 35), which provided that parents should, within five days after birth, give notice of the day of the birth to the clergyman, under a penalty of forty shillings, and that the clergyman should, under a like penalty, register such birth, for which the parents were to pay sixpence; and by the 4th of Anne, c. 12, the clergy were relieved from the ruinous penalties incurred under the act of 6 and 7 William III. c. 6, in all cases where the duties ha<¼ been really paid.

The 26th Geo. II. c. 33, an act “to prevent clandestine marriages,” directed the church-wardens of every parish to provide books of vellum, or good and durable paper, for the registration of marriages. By the 23d of Geo. III. c. 67, a stamp-duty of threepence was imposed upon every registered entry of burial, marriage, birth, or christening, to be demanded by the clergyman from the undertaker, or from the parties married, or from the parents of the child whose birth or christening had been registered. By 25 Geo. III. c. 75, the provisions of that act were extended to dissenting ministers. These measures excited much objection, and were repealed in 1794.

The next legislative measure affecting registers was the 52d Geo. III. c. 146, entitled “an act for the better regulating and preserving parish and other registers of births, baptisms, marriages, and burials, in England.” After reciting that “the amending the manner and form of keeping and of preserving registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials of his majesty’s subjects in the several parishes and places in England, will greatly facilitate the proof of pedigrees of persons claiming to be entitled to real or personal estates, and be otherwise of great public benefit and advantage,” it enacts, that, after the 31st of December 1812, registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials, according to the rites of the established church, shall be made and kept by the officiating minister of every parish and chapelry, in books to be provided by the king’s printer, at the expense of the respective parishes, according to the forms contained in schedules annexed to that act. These schedules contain the following particulars: In case of baptism,— when baptized; child’s Christian name; parents’ Christian names and surnames; abode; quality, trade, or profession; by whom the ceremony was performed. In case of marriage,— the name and parish of the man; the same of the woman; when married; whether by banns or license; whether by consent of parents or guardians; when; by whom; signature of officiating minister of the parties married, and of two witnesses. In case of burial,— the name; abode; when buried; age; by whom the ceremony was performed.

The registers of baptism, marriage, and burial were to be kept in separate books, and signed within seven days after each ceremony had been performed. Annual copies were to be made, verified, and signed by the officiating minister, and attested by the church-wardens, and transmitted by them yearly to the registrar of the diocese; which registrar must report thereon to his bishop; must deposit such copies in a safe receptacle, arranged for reference; and cause alphabetical lists of persons and places to be made, kept, and opened for search.

It is to be observed that this act, which referred in its title to registers of births, made no provision for recording the date of birth. Neither did it provide a record of the date of death. It only provided records of the performance of the religious ceremonies of baptism, marriage, and burial, according to the rites of the Established Church. It therefore afforded an insufficient register, even for members of the Established Church, whilst for those who dissented from the Established Church, and therefore did not avail themselves of its ordinances for baptism or burial, it provided no register at all.

The inadequacy of this system, even if frllly carried into effect, and the insufficient manner in which it was complied with, called loudly for investigation and remedy, and became the subject of inquiry before a select committee of the House of Commons, appointed in March 1833, who, having, as they state, received evidence on registration “from clergymen of the established church, and from parish-clerks; from gentlemen of the legal profession; from authors devoted to antiquarian research; from persons of different religious denominations, including Catholics, Dissenters, Jews, and Quakers; from gentlemen eminently scientific, and attached to statistical inquiries; from medical audio[7:19:100]rities, who have long desired ampler and more accurate information on the extent and causes of mortality; from an eminent foreigner, distinguished for extensive and accurate statistical intelligence; and others, whose wide-spread inquiries in foreign countries, and peculiar facilities of information, entitled them to respect ;” unanimously agreed to a report, which expressed the following opinions as the conclusions at which they had arrived.

“1. That the subject is urgently important.

“2. That it involves matters of great public and national interest, as well as individual satisfaction, and rights and claims to property; and deserves the attention of the humblest artisan as well as of the most philosophical and states-man-like inquirer.

“3. That the existing law is imperfect and unjust, and requires not merely partial amendment, but real fundamental reform.

“4. That the present plan, even if improved and perfected, 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 population of the country, who are Protestant and Catholic dissenters from that church, and 1100 congregations who disapprove 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 estimate and devoutly revere. But,

“6. That even as to the members of the church it is detrimental and absurd, since the registers are mere registers of baptisms and not of births, of burials and not of deaths; since they supply no adequate proof of pedigrees, 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 (52 Geo. 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 experienced only the most limited fulfilment, as, while one fourth of the parishes make no returns, the returns that have been sent are never indorsed, and are subject to fire and decay, and the directions of the act have not and cannot be enforced; and since the value of property is diminished by the difficulties incident to its transfer, and the insecurity by 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.”

The committee further recommended, that, as a remedy for the defects before mentioned, “a national civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths, should be established,” including “all ranks of society, and religionists of every class.”

In pursuance of these recommendations, measures for effecting a better registration were laid before parliament; and in August 1836 the act for registering births, deaths, and marriages in England, and the act for marriages in England, became law. Their operation was suspended for a limited time by the act of 7 Will. IV υ chap. 1, and they were amend ed by the act of 1 Vict. chap. 22, and thus amended they came into operation on the 1st of July 1837.

These acts leave untouched the act of 1812 so far as it relates to the registration of baptisms and burials, but repeal what relates to the registration of marriages, and provide a new registration of marriages, of births, and of deaths.

The circumstances recorded in the register-book under the new law are, in case of birth, the time and place; the name, if any; sex; name and surname of father; name and maiden surname of mother; rank or profession of father; signature, description, and residence of the informant; and the baptismal name, if added after registration of birth. In case of death, the time and place; name and surname; sex; age; rank or profession; cause of death; signature, description, and residence of the informant. Every entry must be signed by the informant and by the registrar, who discharges this duty without any immediate expense to the parties requiring registration, but is remunerated by a moderate fee on each entry paid quarterly out of the poor’s rates. The informant, in a case of birth, must be one of the parents, or the occupier of the house or tenement in whlch the child was born; or, if it be a foundling, the overseer of the poor. In a case of death, it must be some person present at the death, or in attendance during the last illness; or, in default of such person, the occupier; or, in default of the occupier, an inmate of the house in which the death occurred; or, if there be an inquest, the coroner. Persons so qualified must inform under pain of indictment, and sign the register on being requested so to do; and without such signature no birth or death can be duly registered, and the entry cannot be given in evidence.

The new form for registration of marriages, applicable alike to all Teligiousdenominations, records the place and time of marriage; names and surnames of the parties; whether they are of full age or minors; their condition (that is, whether bachelor or spinster, widower or widow); their rank or profession; residence at the time of marriage; father’s name and surname; rank or profession of father; by what rites and ceremonies, after what preliminary forms (that is, whether license, banns, or certificate), and by whom solemnized; and must also contain the signatures of the parties and of two witnesses.

One of the most important circumstances not previously recorded, for which provision is made in the new register, is the “cause of death,” to which a column is assigned in the registers of death, and where it is exhibited in juxtaposition with the period, locality, sex, age. and occupation, thus affording valuable data of the highest importance to medical science. In order to attain the utmost accuracy in the returns of the causes of death, a printed circular has been sent by the registrar-general to all medical practitioners in England and Wales, wherein it is recommended, under the hand of the President of the Royal College of Physicians, the President of the Royal College of Surgeons, and the Master of the Society of Apothecaries, “that every practising member of any branch of the medical profession who may have been present at the death, or in attendance during the last illness, of any person, shall, immediately after such death, place in the hands of such other persons as were in attendance, of the occupier of the house in which the death occurred, and of some inmate who may probably be required to give information, written statements of the cause of death, which such persons may show to the registrar, and give as their information on that subject.”

The recent registration act is peculiarly distinguished from other previous measures on that subject, by the provision of a central office in London, called the General Register Office, for the deposit of certified copies of all registers, and general superintendence over everything relat[7:19:101]ing to registration. It is presided over by an officer named the Registrar-General, appointed under the great seal, under whom in the office is an assistant registrar, a chief clerk, three first clerks, and forty-three others, who are appointed by the Lords of the Treasury, or by the Registrar-General with their approval. Instructions emanate from this office to all the local officers charged with the various duties of registration under this act, namely, superintendent registrars, with their deputies; registrars of births and deaths, with their deputies; and registrars of marriages; all of whom act within their respective districts under the directions of the Registrar-General, in whom is vested the power of dismissal.

• The duties of the Registrar-General are to make regulations, subject to the approval of the Secretary of State, for the management of the General Register Office, and for the duties of all registrars and superintendent registrars; to appoint superintendent registrars for temporary districts; to examine and sanction the formation of registrars’ districts, submitted by the various boards of poor-law guardians for his approval; to examine and sanction, if approved, the plans for local register offices, to be provided by the poor-law guardians, and submitted by them for his approval; to furnish the various books, forms, &c. requisite for registration, to the various parties requiring them; to register certified places of worship for solemnization of marriage; to decide, in cases of doubt, upon all caveats referred to him by the superintendent registrars, and to adjudicate on an appeal from the superintendent registrar’s decision on a caveat; to hear and settle all matters of doubt, dispute, and complaint, respecting the business of registration, and the duties and conduct of the various officers employed therein; to annex extraparochial places to registrars’ districts; to unite two or more superintendent registrars’ districts, or to divide one superintendent registrar’s district into two, with the approval of the Secretary of State; to appoint registrars or superintendent registrars if the guardians neglect to do so; and to send once in every year a report and abstract of all registered births, deaths, and marriages, for the preceding year, to the Secretary of State, to be laid before parliament.

The superintendent registrar is a local officer created by the registration and marriage acts, acting solely within his ' district, which is either identical with a poor-law union, or consists, as in a few instances, of two or more unions formed into one district by the authority of the Registrar-General, or is a temporary district consisting of several temporary registrars’ districts united by the Registrar-General where there is no poor-law board of guardians. In the latter case, the superintendent registrar is appointed by the Registrar-General. Inthe former, he is either the clerk of the guardians, who, as such, is entitled ex officio to take the office, or he is some person whom, the clerk not accepting, the guardians may have appointed, subject in either case to such qualifications as the Registrar-General may by any general rule re quire.

The principal duty of the superintendent registrar is to receive quarterly, from the registrars of births and deaths, and registrars of marriages, within his district, the certified copies of births, deaths, and marriages registered by them for the preceding quarter, and, having verified them by comparison with the original entries in the register-books, to certify their correctness, and transmit them to the Registrar-General; to receive also and transmit, but not also to verify, certified copies of marriages registered by all clergymen of the Established Church within his district, or by any registering officer of the Quakers, or secretary of a Jewish synagogue, if there be any within or assigned to his district. He has also the care of the register office of his district, where are deposited all register-books within the district when filled; and he is to make indexes of these, and permit searches, and give copies of entries in the register-books on payment of certain fixed fees. He may appoint registrars of marriage within his district; and, previous notice having been already given, he may grant certificates for marriage, and, within his district, licenses for marriage, provided such license be not for marriage to be solemnized according to the forms of the Established Church.

The registrar of births and deaths is a local officer acting within his district, which has either been formed, with the∣ approval of the Registrar-General, by a board of guardians 1 established under the poor-law amendment act, or is a temporary district formed by the Poor-law Commissioners where there is no such board established. In the former case, the registrar is appointed by the board of guardians, in the latter by the Poor-law Commissioners, subject, in both cases, to such qualifications as the Registrar-General may by any general rule declare to be necessary.

His duties, which are the same in both cases, are to register, in the books provided for that purpose, every birth and death occurring within his district; and four times in every year to make, on forms furnished for that purpose, copies of all such entries of births and of deaths for the quarter immediately preceding; to certify that such copies are correct, and to deliver them to the superintendent registrar of his district, who, on comparing them with the register-book, which the registrar must also produce, will certify their correctness, and transmit them to the Registrar-General. He also delivers an account of the number of entries so copied, which the superintendent registrar verifies, and sanctions if correct, and which the registrar then presents, and obtains payment of the fees due thereupon from the guardians or overseers of the poor.

The registrar of marriages is a local officer appointed by the superintendent registrar, with the approval of the guardians, or, if there be no board of guardians, of the Poor-law Commissioners, and acts solely within his district, which is the same as that of the superintendent registrar by whom he was appointed.

His duty is to be present at marriages not according to the forms of the Church of England, solemnized either in registered places of worship within his district, or in the superintendent registrar’s office; to register the same in a book provided for that purpose; and to deliver quarterly to the superintendent registrar certified copies of such registered entries, in like manner as is done by the registrar of births and deaths.

Marriages according to the forms of the Established Church are registered, as before, by the officiating clergyman, who delivers certified copies quarterly to the superintendent registrar of his district, to be transmitted to the Registrar-General. The marriages are also registered at the time in duplicate; and one of the books, when filled, is to be deposited immediately in the superintendent registrar’s office.

Marriages according to the ceremonies of the Quakers and of the Jews are registered respectively in duplicate by the registering officer of the Quakers and the secretary of the synagogue, and certified copies are given quarterly to the superintendent registrar for transmission.

The number of persons by whom the registration of births, deaths, and marriages under the existing law is conducted (exclusive of the central establishment of the General Register Office) is as follows :—

There are 618 superintendent registrars, each of whom may appoint a deputy, with the approval of the Registrar-General, to act for him in case of his illness or absence. Of these, 562 have accepted the office as clerks of boards of guardians, or have been appointed by the guardians; and fifty-six are temporary, and have been appointed by the Registrar-General.

There are 2193 registrars of births and deaths, each of whom may appoint a deputy, with the approval of the guardians or of the Poor-law Commissioners. Of these, 1926 [7:19:102]are appointed by the guardians established under the poor-law amendment act, and 267 are registrars of temporary ' districts, appointed by the Poor-law Commissioners.

The number of registrars of marriages who had been appointed and held such office on the 3lst of December 1838 was 817, of whom 419 are also registrars of births and deaths. The foregoing, being in number 3209, act under the directions of the Registrar-General, and are removeable by him.

The number of other persons by whom registration of marriage is effected is as follows:—hi, 11,694 officiating ministers of the Established Church, to whom register-books have been furnished; 2d , ninety registering officers of Quakers; 3rf, thirty-six secretaries of synagogues. All these are in communication with the Registrar-General with respect to the duties of registration.

One of the most important features of the new measures is the provision that certified copies shall be deposited quarterly in the General Register Office in London, there to be arranged and indexed for facility of reference; a provision by means of which henceforth a copy of an entry of any registered birth, death, or marriage, in any part of England or Wales, may be obtained by application at a single office, at the trifling cost of 3s. 6d., which includes the fee for search.

The certified copies thus transmitted from the clergy, registrars, registering officers, and secretaries (amounting together to more than 15,000 persons), are all made on separate leaves of durable paper, of an uniform size and peculiar texture, having a distinguishing water-mark for the prevention of forgery, and furnished by the Registrar-General to every one of the foregoing persons, on whom the duty of registration devolves. They are sent by the superintendent registrars by the general post, each class of return (i. e. birth, death, and marriage) being sent separate, and in a cover denoting by a mark the nature of the contents, and bearing the name of the district to which it belongs. Thus, on their reception at the General Register Office, the confusion which would Otherwuse ensue is avoided, by its being rendered possible to classify the certified copies to a considerable extent even before they are taken out of their covers.

They are then arranged and examined seriatim, and all defects are noted; and letters on the subject of such defects as are of any importance are addressed to the persons from whom the defective copies come, and who are required to furnish either other copies, or such explanations as may remove doubt. The copies are then paged, and inserted in books for reference.

Means of immediate reference to any one of the entries of births, deaths, and marriages deposited in the General Register Office, which will amount yearly to almost 1,000,000, are provided in the alphabetical indexes which are made there. This vast work, far exceeding in magnitude anything of a similar kind ever before attempted in this country, is performed in the following manner. The few particulars requisite for the index are copied from each entry seriatim, on forms prepared for that purpose, containing space for as many entries as there are in one page of a certified copy. These, after having been checked, are cut into separate slips, each containing the reference to one entry; and the slips are then sorted and arranged alphabetically on files, from whence they are then taken off one by one by the indexing clerks, and the contents of each copied into the index. In this manner nearly a million of names will be indexed alphabetically in the course of each year, the processes of transcribing, sorting, and indexing being per» formed by between thirty and forty persons. There is a separate index for each class of entries (births, deaths, and marriages), and for each quarter, or twelve separate indexes for the year. Any person, on payment of one shilling, may search these indexes, and, on finding the name sought, may obtain, for two shillings and sixpence, a copy of the entry of birth, death, or marriage referred to; which copy, being stamped with the official seal, will be “received as evidence of the birth, death, or marriage to which the same relates, without any further or other proof of such entry.” Thus not only are means afforded of obtaining for legal purposes, by application at one central office, certified copies of registers from every part of England and Wales, but the copies so obtained have the additional advantage of being sufficient evidence, without an affidavit, of their being correct, which is often required for the confirmation of extracts given from church registers.

It is stated in the preface to the Population Abstract for 1831, as the result of an inquiry respecting parochial registers in England, “that eight hundred and twelve English parish registers commence in the year 1538, about forty of which contain entries (copied probably from family bibles and tomb-stones), anterior to the date of Cromwell’s injunction; 1822 parish registers commence from a. d. 1538 to 1558, when Queen Elizabeth required a protestation from the clergy; 2448 parish registers commence from a.d. 1558 to 1603, when the canons authorized by King James directed a copy of all extant parish registers to be made and preserved; and nearly one half of them (5082) have been preserved accordingly, and are now extant. Parish registers to the number of 969 commence between that time to the year 1650; 2757 from a. d. 1650 to 1700; 1476 parish registers from a. d. 1700 to the year 1750; the rest (six or seven hundred) since that time.”

In addition to the registers heretofore and now kept under the sanction of ordinances and acts of parliament, there is a vast number of non-parochial registers and records of marriages, births and baptisms, deaths, or burials, which have been kept in some instances from a very remote period by various dissenting congregations, and in many cases with great care and correctness, but in no form produced by authority, and under no legal sanction; and which were therefore not admitted in evidence as registers in courts of justice.

In September 1836, a commission was issued, which has been renewed in the present reign, directing certain commissioners to inquire into the state, custody, and authenticity of such registers or records; “and to inquire whether any or what measures could be beneficially adopted for collecting and arranging all or any of such registers or records, and for depositing the same, or copies thereof, in the office of the registrar-general of births, deaths, and marriages, or for otherwise preserving the same; and also to consider and advise the proper measures to be adopted for giving full force and effect in evidence, in all courts of justice, to all such registers as might be found accurate and faithful, and for facilitating the production and reception of the same.” The commissioners have reported the result of their labours, from which report it appears, that about 7000 non-parochial registers have been transmitted to them for inspection from 3630 religious congregations, namely,

Foreign Protestant churches......................37

Presbyterians, Independents, and Baptists...2264

Wesleyan Methodists..............................618

Moravians.............................................10

Lady Huntingdon’s Connection..................44

Calvinistic Methodists.............................436

Swedenborgians.....................................21

Total..................3430

“Each of these registers,” says the Report, “was authenticated by a certificate under the signature of the minister, or of some officer of the church or denomination, from whom it was received; and this certificate was generally accompanied by answers to the questions which had been circulated by the commissioners.” After being “classed [7:19:103]in lists according to the several counties in England and Wales, and entered in a book, with a careful annotation of any particulars applicable to their state or custody,” they were “submitted to the inspection of the board, by whom the question as to their admissibility was discussed and recorded; and in every instance the chairman, or the commissioner representing the chairman, authenticated such inspection and examination, by affixing his initials to the first and last entry in each register; or if some parts of the register appeared to be copies, or not to bear marks of authenticity, he affixed his initials to such parts only as were deemed original or authentic.” With respect to all such registers as have thus been examined and deemed authentic, wholly or in part, the commissioners recommend, “that they be kept together in some secure place of deposit, under the care of the Registrar-General, or of some other officer to be appointed for that purpose, that, under certain conditions, they be receivable in evidence in all courts of justice:” that the authorized custos of these registers shall permit searches, and grant certified extracts, on payment of moderate fees; and that on payment of a reasonable fee he shall produce any original register deposited with him, on Subpeena or order of a competent tribunal: “that all criminal proceedings shall be by production of the original: that in all other cases, copies or extracts, certified by the officer having custody of the original, shall, after notice, be receivable as evidence of the birth, baptism, marriage, death, or burial to which it relates, subject to the following regulations: that in courts of law, or at quarter-sessions, any party intending to use any certified extract from any register before mentioned, in evidence, on the trial of any cause, or hearing of any appeal, shall give notice in writing to the opposite party, his attorney or agent, of his intention to use such certified extract as evidence at such trial or hearing, and at the same time shall deliver to him a copy of the extract, and of the certificate thereof, in order that there may be a full opportunity to ascertain whether the authenticity, genuineness, or correctness of the entry may be liable to objection; and in proof of such notice and delivery, or on admission of the receipt of such notice and copy, such certified extract shall be received in evidence at the trial or hearing, provided the judge or court shall be of opinion that such service had been made a reasonable time before such trial: that in case any party, instead of making proof by certified extract, intends to produce any original register in evidence, he shall nevertheless, within a reasonable time, give to the opposite party notice of his intention, together with a copy of a certified extract of the entry which he intends to offer in evidence.” The recommendations respecting the admission of registers, or certified extracts, in courts of equity, and in ecclesiastical courts, are: similar in character, containing only such variations as the different practice of those courts requires.

The registration of births, and deaths, and marriages in France is conducted under the provisions of the: Code Civil of Napoleon. The maire of each commune, of which there are about 37,300 in France, is the registering officer charged with the duty of registering, in books provided for the purpose, all births, deaths, and marriages, occurring within his commune. Births and deaths are registered in duplicate, the former upon information, in the presence of two witnesses, and are signed in duplicate by the informant, the two witnesses, and the registering officer; in the case of deaths, one of the witnesses may be also the informant. Marriages are registered in the presence of four witnesses, and signed by the parties, the witnesses, and the registering officer. The register of births records the year, day, hour, and place of birth; the sex and name of the child; the names, surnames, professions, and residences of parents, witnesses, and informant; the date of registration, and the name and quality of the registering officer; and must be signed by him, by the witnesses, and by the informant. When the child is illegitimate, the name of the father cannot be given except by the authority of the father himself.

The register of deaths records the year, day, hour, and place of death; the name, surname, age, profession, and residence of the deceased person; the names, surnames, ages, professions, and residences of the parents of the deceased, and of the witnesses; and the name and surname of the husband or wife, if the deceased was married; also the date of registration, and the name and quality of the registering officer.

The register of marriages records the names, surnames, ages, professions, places of birth, and residences of the parties; the names, surnames, professions, and residences of their respective parents, and of the four witnesses, with the relation in which they stand to the parties; the consent of the parents; whether the marriage has been opposed; time and place of solemnization and registration; and the name and quality of the registering officer.

Registration of births is secured by a provision, which requires, under pain of fine and imprisonment, from the father of the child, or, in default of the father, from some person present and assisting at the birth, a declaration thereof, within three days afterwards, to the registering officer, to whom the child must also be shown.

The registration of deaths is secured by a provision rendering it penal for a burial to take place without the registering officer having first seen the body and registered the death.

The registers are closed at the end of every year, with formalities which preclude interpolation. Alphabetical indexes are annually formed in duplicate for each. One of the duplicate registers, with its index, remains in the commune to which it belongs; the other is transmitted to the tribunal of the district, where it is examined and placed under the superintendence of the procureur du roi, or the local officer of the c∙ , awn. Abstracts are made by the registering officer of each commune, a copy of which is transmitted to the sub-prefevt, who from thence frames an abstract for his arrondissement, a copy of which he sends to the prefect; he also from the abstracts of the arrondissement makes an abstract for his department; and copies of such abstracts are sent by the prefects of departments to be deposited in a central office at Paris.

The system of registration observed in France was introduced into Belgium, Geneva, and the Rhenish provinces of Prussia when under the dominion of France, and is still retained in those countries.

In Austria, registers of births, deaths, and marriages are kept by each minister of the church for his parish, and also by the Jewish rabbin for those of their own persuasion.

The register of births records the year, month, and day of birth; the number of the house in which the birth occurred; the name of the child and its sex, and whether it be born in wedlock or illegitimate; the names and surnames of the parents; their religion; and the names, and surnames, and condition of the sponsors. In the case of illegitimate children, the name of the father cannot be entered unless he acknowledges the paternity.

The register of deaths records the year, month, and day of death; the number of the house in which it occurred; the name, religion, sex, and stated age of the deceased; and, when the information of a physician or surgeon can be supplied, the name of the fatal disease. For this purpose medical men are required to inform the minister, in writing, of the cause of death of such patients as they have attended.

The register of marriages records the year, month, and day of the marriage; the place of solemnization; the names and surnames of the parties; their religion, age, and whether single or widowed; and the names, and surnames, and condition of the witnesses.
[7:19:104]

Bishops, on every visitation of their dioceses, are obliged to call for the production of the registers of births, deaths, and marriages. The provincial authorities are also required to ascertain whether these registers are kept in all places as prescribed by law.

Annual abstracts must be made by the ministers and the rabbin, of which copies must be sent to the district of the conscriptions, and to the office of the circle.

In Prussia, except the Rhenish provinces, registration is committed to the clergyman of the parish amongst Christians, and to the elders amongst Jews. The clergyman is bound to enter the births, marriages, and deaths, of persons who are not of the established church, but who are “simply tolerated,” on the declaration of the parties or their ministers, and to include these declarations in his annual returns. Duplicates of the registers are to be made, and at the end of each year deposited, when examined and verified, in the local civil court, being “the tribunal of the place.”

(Report by the Select Committee on Parochial Registration, 1833; History of Parish Registers in England, by J. S. Burn, 1829; Population Abstract for 1831; Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the State, Custody, and Authenticity of Registers or Records of Births or Baptisms, Deaths or Burials, and Marriages, in England and Wales, Otlier than Parochial Registers, 1838; Manuel des Officiers de PEtat Civilpour la tenue des Registres, par A. E. le Mott, Paris, 1827.) (y. y.)