1754. ABSTRACT of the REGISTERING BILL. fame to the clerk of the peace at the next general or quarter feffions; the faid duplicates to be by him, without fee or reward, carefully kept and diftinctly ranged, and the Schedules and abstracts tranfmitted to the board of trade at London, by A whom a compleat abstract for the whole realm is to be annually laid before parliament; and upon the due performance of thefe directions by the clerk of the peace, the juftices to allow him one fhilling per parish. 6. That every cathedral church with its precincts, college, hofpital, infirmary, exempt precinct and place, fhall be, fo far as it concerns this act, understood to belong to fuch adjacent parish to which it fhall be allotted by the bishop of the diocefe; and the clerk of the peace to apply to the bishop's regifter for fuch allotment thereof, and to give notice of the fame to the minilter of the parifh to which it is made, and he to give notice to the overfeers. B C to the parish out of its revenues; of which fum a diftinct account shall be kept by the parish clerk within the bills of mortality, and in other parishes by the minifter. 9. That within the bills of mor-` tality, the annual schedule taken by the overfeers, together with a duplicate of the general registry book, and the abstract thereof, having been examined, approved, and attefted, as aforefaid, fhall be fent by the overfeers to the company of parish clerks in London, who shall tranfmit the schedules and abftracts to the board of trade, and fhall keep the duplicates in a careful and distinct manner. 10. That from June 24, next, every parish-clerk within the bills of mortality, fhall, on every Tuesday before two in the afternoon, deliver an abstract of his day-book, comprehending the number of perfons deceased, together with the age, fex, disease, or caufe of death of each perfon; and alfo the number of perfons born, together with the fex of each perfon, for the week ending the Saturday preceding, to the clerk of the faid company, in the manner and form to be prefcribed by them. 11. That in parishes where there are no overfeers, the churchwardens fhall do and perform all things by this act required to be done by the overfeers, and under the like penalties and forfeitures. 7. That in refpect of the parishes D within the bills of mortality, the notices of births and deaths fhall be fent to the parifh-clerk, who fhall regularly enter them in day. books, under the infpection of the minifter and churchwardens, according to the model of the gene- E ral register-book before mentioned, and on Tuesday in every week deliver a copy of fuch day-book, figned by him, and clofed for the week ended on the Saturday night antecedent, together with the notices, to the officiating minifter of the pa- F cafe they meet with any wilful obrish, to the end the fame may be entered in the general register-book to be kept by him; and the afore. faid 6d. for each notice is to be divided, two thirds to the minifter, and one third to the parish clerk. 8. That the fum to be paid for G the notices of births and deaths in any cathedral church, &c. allotted as before directed, fhall be charged to the account thereof, and repaid 12. That it fhall be lawful for the overfeers or churchwardens, in Atruction in taking the accounts by this act directed; or for the minifter of each parish, or the parithclerk within the bill of mortality, upon the difcovery of any neg'e&t, in the due tranfmitting any notice of birth or death; or for any perfon tendering fuch notice to fuch minifter or parith-clerk, in cafe he refufes to accept the fame, or neglets to make his entry thereof, or Ba to 12 ABSTRACT of the REGISTERING BILL. Jan. B C to produce the fame to the veftry; D fons guilty of fuch neglect, have been fummoned to answer for fuch offence, as before directed. And in cafe any minifter, &c. fhall have been fummoned to answer for fuch neglect or refufal, before any juftice, it fhall be lawful for the juftices, upon any complaint exhibited to them by the clerk of the peace, at their quar. ter feffions, notice in writing of fuch complaint having been first delivered to the perfon or perfons, or left at his or their ufual place of abode, to order the faid perfon or perfons to rectify or fuppy the faid neglect or deficiency within a certain time, to be limited by them, under a penalty of 10l. to be levied in cafe of failure, to the ufe of the faid clerk, by dif trefs and fale of the offender's goods and chattels, by an order for that purpofe at any fubfequent quarter feffions. 13. That the faid company of parish clerks, and their fucceffors, fhall be, and are hereby, invested with the fole right and authority of printing and publishing weekly and yearly, an account or bill of all the births, &c. within the bills of mortality. 14. That they do from time to time render, as heretofore, their faid account or bill, weekly and yearly, according to the models prefcribed in this act, to the king and mayor of London; and do publish the fame at a price not exceeding one penny for each weekly bill, nor one fhilling for each yearly bill; and do regularly deliver to the board of trade F the annual schedules and abilracts, and carefully preferve the duplicates tranfmitted to them; and duly execute all other directions required of them by this act. G 15. That no perfon, without their authority, fhall print, publish, or fell, their weekly or yearly bill, or any abftracts of the fame, within three months after their publication thereof, under pain of forfeiting 20l. to be recovered by action of debt, &c. • Sex Clause 25. 16. 1754. ABSTRACT of the REGISTERING BILL. 13 16. That for carrying this act into execution in Scotland, the minister and two senior elders of every parish, fhall, on or before the 1st of June next, or as foon after as may be, and fo from time to time as often as need fhall require, and the clerk of the kirk feffion demand, provide, at the expence of the heretors of the faid parish, to be defrayed in the manner herein after directed, a folio book, to be called The General Regifter-Book, &c. [Here the notices of births and deaths are to be deli- B vered to the clerk of the kirk-feffion, to whom likewife the minifter folemnizing any marriage is to deliver a notice thereof, and he is to regifter and keep these notices in the fame manner as before directed for England,] C a receipt for the fime; which receipts thall, once in every year, or as often as need fhall require, be produced to the heretors, at fome meeting for that purpose, on intimation from the pulpit; which heretors A are hereby required to replace all the faid fums, by affeflments on themfelves, in proportion to their valued rents. And in cafe they refuse or neglect, it fhall be lawful for the fherif depute, or his fubftitutes, upon complaint made by the minilter and two fenior elders, or by the clerk of the kirk-feffion, to fummon fuch heretors before him, and fummarily to hear and determine the faid complaint; and to take an account of all fums not replaced, and to add thereunto the penalty of rol which faid fums and penalty he fhall affefs and levy on the goods and chattels of each of the heretors of the faid parish, in proportion to their valued rents, and shall replace the faid fumė, and cancel the receipts; and the réfidue of the penalty, after deductDing cofts and charges, he fhall pay 18. That on the last Sunday into the faid clerk for his own ufe.* † June, 1754, and every fucceeding year, the officiating minifter in every parish in Scotland, fhall by intimation from the pulpit, immediately after divine fervice is over, and before the congregation is difmiffed, appoint E a meeting of the faid minifter, the elders, and heretors of fuch parish, or their proxies, to be held on fome lawful day, between the 4th and 14th of July next enfuing, &c. [At this meeting the fame things are to be done with regard to the register-book, schedule, notices, duplicate, and ab. ftract, that are to be done by the yeftries in England; and the clerk is to have zes. for the schedule, and 6d. for every notice.] 17. That on June 24, 1754, or within ten days after, the clerk of the kirk-feffion in every parish in Scotland, fhall proceed from houfe to houfe, &c. [and take the number of the people, as the overfeers are to do in England.] 19. That the minifter and two fenior elders of every parith in Scot land, fhall from time to time as need fhall require, take the fums requifite for purchafing a register-book, and for paying the faid 20s. and the faid 6d's, out of the poors box, leaving G 20. That on or before Aug. 1, 1754, and every fucceeding year, the clerk of the kirk feffion of every parifh in Scotland fhall transmit the schedule, together with the duplicate of the regifter-book, and the abstract thereof, figned and attested in the manner before mentioned, to the theriff depute of the county, who fhall forthwith deliver all the duplicates to the sheriff clerk, to be depoliced, and diftinétly ranged by him among the records of the county: And hall within 20 days tranfmit all the several schedules and abstracts, to the fecretary of the police at Edinburgh, who fhall, on or before the 29th of Sept. in every year, tranfmit the fame to the board of trade in London. 21. and 22. Impowers the sheriffdeputes or their iubititutes in Scotland to hear and determine all complaints against perfons offending or negle& 14 ABSTRACT of the REGISTERING BILL. Jan. ed, according to the following model: And all the notices, with the defcriptions before required, fhall be refpectively entered therein, in the columns affigned for that purpose. [To this there is a model annexed.] And that the abstract of the regifter-book, before directed, fhall be prepared and attefted, according to the following form or model. [To this there is a model annexed.] And that the bill of mortality, to be published by the company of parifh-clerks in London, fhall be prepared and published according to the following model. [To this alfo there is a model annexed] 26. That nothing in this act fhall extend to the taking away or altering any of the fees now cuftomarily due to the minifter or clerk of any parif in England, or the minifter or clerk of the kirk-feffion of any parish in Scotland, for baptifms, burials, or marriages; or to the hindering a regifter of baptifms, burials, and marriages, from being kept by the miD nifter of any parish in England, or a tranfcript thereof being fent to the registry of the diocefe, according to any provifions fubfifting for that purpofe; or to the hindering any lift or account of examinable perfons, or any other regifter or account, relative to any parish, prefbytery, or fynod, or to the births, deaths, or marriages, happening in the fame, from being taken and kept, according to any regulations or provifions made for the fame in Scotland. 23. That the clerk of the peace in every county, &c. in England, fhall tranfmit to the overfeers, or if no overseers, to the churchwardens of every parish within the county, &c. a printed copy of this act; and to receive for the fame 2s. 6d. to be allowed to them out of the fame funds, and in the fame manner as the fums before directed to be retained by them: And that the fheriff. depute of every county in Scotland fhall do the fame to the clerk of the E kirk-f fiion of every parish in the county, at the same price, to be repaid to the faid clerk in the fame manner as he is directed to be paid for his care and trouble. 24. That a copy, duly proved, of the register-books, and alfo of F the duplicates thereof, before mentioned, shall be admitted as evidence in all courts of law and equity. 25. That the fchedule, containing the number of people, as before directed, fhall be prepared, and attefted, according to the following form or model. [To this there is a model annexed] And that the general register-books, before-mentioned, fhall be prepared, and the duplicates made and atteft 27. That from and after the 24th of June next, the parish of St. Mary-le-bon, in Middlefex, fhall, fo far as relates to the execution of this act, be deemed, and taken to be, within the bills of mortality; and every thing shall be done therein as is hereby directed to be done, in eveGry other parish already included within the bills of mortality. N. B. This laft claufe was added by way of rider upon the 3d. reading. JOUR 15 1754 Mr. Prefident, SIR, W * it could produce any mifchief; thereAs the Bill brought in laft Seffion for fore I was inclined to agree to this numbering the People was of too part, for the fake of getting the much Importance to be neglected by other parts of the bill established. our Club; accordingly, after hav- But by letters I have fince had from ing cbtained a Copy of the Bill with feveral parts of the country, partithe Amendments, we had by Appoint- A cularly from the town I have the ment a long Debate upon it, which honour to reprefent, I have been inwas opened by T. Romilius, whofe duced to alter my opinion.. It is true, Speech was to this Effect. I am not myfelf fo fuperftitious as to think, that there is any thing ominous or unfortunate in taking an exact account of the number of the people in any place or country; but by those letters I am informed, that the people every where look upon it in this light, which has not only filled them with imaginary terrors, but has raised fuch a violent fpirit of oppofition to this bill, that if it be C paffed into a law, there is great reafon to fear, they will in many places oppose the execution of it in a riotous manner; and that if it should be accidentally followed by any epidemical diftemper, or by a publick misfortune of any other kind, it may raife fuch a popular flame as will endanger at leaft the peace, if not the existence of our prefent government. ITH refpect to this bill, B which is now for the laft time to be under our confideration, I am under great difficulty, because some parts, and even the greatest part of it I very much approve of, but cannot at prefent give my confent that the whole of it fhould be paffed into a law. That part of it which provides for our having hereafter a regular and exact register of all births and funerals of perfons of all denominations, as well as of thofe of the established church, I think highly reasonable, nor can ID fuggeft to myself any inconvenience it would be attended with: And, I also think, that it might be of great ufe to have a publick and authentick account of the poor receiving alms in every parish, and of the annual fum railed upon the parish for their fupport. But that part of the bill which relates to the numbering the people cannot, I think, be of any great ufe. When I at first heard it propofed, I indeed confidered it as a matter of very great indifference : I could not even then fee the ufe of it; but I thought it would be a fatisfaction to the curiofity of those gentlemen who love to deal in political arithmetick, and I did not think MR E F G My fears upon this head, Sir, may, perhaps, by fome be called pufillanimity, but nevertheless, I fhall in the prefent cafe allow myfelf to be governed by them. If the publick happiness or the publick fafety were apparently and immediately at stake, and it were neceffary to establish the one or provide for the other by a new law, I fhould concur in paffing it, without the leaft regard to any frenzy that might be stirred up by fuperftition among the people; but I hall always have fo great a regard for the fafety even of the most fuperftitious, as not wantonly and See our Magazine for laßt year, p. 466, without 1 |