Associated Content

An Act to provide for the better regulation of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in Scotland.

[7 August 1854]

17 & 18 Vict. c.80

WHEREAS it is expedient that a complete and uniform System of Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages should be established and maintained in Scotland: Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, as follows:
Present system of Registration to cease on 31st December 1854, and this Act to come into operation. I. From and after the Thirty-first Day of December One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, the present System of Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in Scotland shall cease and determine, in so far as regards Births, Deaths, and Marriages taking place after the said Thirty-first Day of December, and this Act shall come into operation: Provided always, that it shall be competent for any Person to register, on or before the Thirty-first Day of December One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the Registers kept and in use before the passing of this Act, any Birth, Death, or Marriage which shall have taken place on or before the Thirty-first Day of December One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the same Manner as if this Act had not been passed: Provided also, that all existing Registers of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, including all such entries as may be made as aforesaid, and all Extracts and Certificates from such Registers, shall be and remain of the same legal Force and Effect in all respects as if this Act bad not been passed.
Her Majesty may provide an Office, and appoint a Registrar General. II. On and after the passing of this Act it shall be lawful for Her Majesty to provide a proper Office in the General Register House at Edinburgh, to be called "The General Registry Office of Births, Deaths, and Marriages," in which shall be kept and preserved a Register of all Births, Deaths, and Marriages in Scotland, and to appoint, under the Seal appointed to be used in Scotland in place of the Great Seal thereof, the Person for the Time being holding the Office of the Deputy of the Lord Clerk Register of Scotland to be Registrar General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in Scotland; and such Registrar General shall be paid, in addition to whatever Salary he may enjoy as Deputy Clerk Register, a Salary not exceeding Four hundred Pounds per Annum.
The Registrar General may appoint a Secretary. III. It shall be lawful for the Registrar General, with the Approbation of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for the Time being, to appoint a Secretary, who may act in his Absence with all the Powers and in the Discharge of all the Duties hereby given to or imposed upon the Registrar General; and such Secretary shall be paid a Salary not exceeding Three hundred Pounds per Annum.
Appointment of Clerks and other Officers. IV. It shall be lawful for the Registrar General, with the Approbation of the said Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, to appoint such Clerks, Officers, and Servants as shall be deemed necessary to carry on the Business of the General Registry Office, and at pleasure, with the like Approbation, to remove them or any of them, and, with the like Approbation, to fix the Salaries of such Clerks, Officers, and Servants, according to the Duties and Services which they may have respectively to perform.
Expenses of Registry Office and Books, &c., how to be provided. V. The Salary of the Registrar General and Secretary, and all the Expenses of the General Registry Office, including the Expenses of Clerks, Officers, and Servants, and of Books and Stationery, and of making and copying Indexes and Inventories, and in relation to Sessional Registers or private Burial Registers, and all Expenses incurred from Time to Time in the Publication and Transmission of Notices in pursuance of this Act, or otherwise, under the Directions and by the Authority of the Registrar General or of the Sheriff, and all other Expenses connected with the Business of the said Office not herein otherwise provided for, shall be paid by the said Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury out of any Monies to be hereafter voted by Parliament for that Purpose.
Regulations for Management of Office and Duties of Officers to be framed. VI. One of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, or the Registrar General with the Approbation of such Principal Secretary, shall and may from Time to Time make Regulations for the Management of the General Registry Office, and for the Discharge of the Duties of the Registrar General, Clerks, and Servants of the said Office, and of the Registrars and Assistant Registrars herein mentioned, so that such Regulations be not contrary to the Provisions of this Act; and the Regulations so made and approved shall be binding on the Registrar General and Secretary, and the Clerks, Officers, and Servants, and on the Registrars and Assistant Registrars; and a Copy of all such Regulations shall be laid before both houses of Parliament within Six Weeks after the same are approved of; or if Parliament shall not be then sitting, within One Month after the Commencement of the next Session.
Abstract of Registers to be laid annually before Parliament. VII. The Registrar General shall transmit once in every Year to Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Home Department a General Abstract of the Numbers of Births, Deaths, and Marriages registered during the foregoing Year, in such Form and at such Date as such Secretary shall from Time to Time prescribe; and every such annual General Abstract shall be laid before Parliament within One Month after Receipt thereof, or if Parliament shall not be then sitting, within One Month after the Commencement of the next Session.
Registrar for each Parish to be elected by the Parochial Board. VIII. A Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages shall be elected in manner herein-after provided by the Parochial Board of each Parish, (including the several Parishes erected or to be erected under the Provisions of an Act passed in the Seventh and Eighth Year of the Reign of Her present Majesty, Chapter Forty-four,) not being a Burgh or Part of a Burgh, appointed and acting under an Act passed in the Eighth and Ninth Year of the Reign of Her present Majesty, Chapter Eighty-three, and such Parochial Board shall be the Judges of the Qualification of Persons to be elected to the Office of Registrar: Provided always, that any Session Clerk who is in Office at the Date of the passing of this Act shall be the Registrar under this Act for the Parish of which he is Session Clerk, unless it shall be proved to the Sheriff that he is unfit for the Office of Registrar, or that the Duties he has to discharge are incompatible with such Office.
Meetings of Parochial Board to be called by the Inspector of the Poor. IX. The Meetings of the Parochial Board in any such Parish for the Trial of the Qualifications and the Election of a Registrar shall be called by the Inspector of the Poor acting under the said Act, by the Direction either of the Sheriff or of the Parochial Board, in such and the like Manner as the ordinary Meetings of the Parochial Board are called under the said Act, and such Meetings shall he called and held forthwith after the passing of this Act; and such Inspector shall, within Six Days after a Vacancy in the Office of Registrar of the Parish of which he is Inspector shall become known to him, apply to the Sheriff or the Parochial Board to appoint a Time and Place for a Meeting of the Parochial Board for the Purpose of electing a Registrar to supply such Vacancy; and in case there shall happen to be no Inspector for the Time, the Chairman of the Parochial Board shall make such Application to the Sheriff, or shall himself appoint a Time and Place for such Meeting: Provided, that if the Vacancy be caused by the Death of a Registrar who was a Schoolmaster, it shall be competent to the Sheriff, or, with the Consent of the Sheriff, to the Parochial Board, or Chairman calling the Meeting, to postpone the Election, for any Period not exceeding Four Months, until the Election of the Successor of such Schoolmaster.
Parishes may be divided or united. X. If it shall at any Time appear to the Sheriff that it is desirable that any Parish should be divided, or that Two or more Parishes or Portions of Parishes should be united into One District, the Sheriff may divide such Parish or unite such Parishes or Portions of Parishes into One or more Districts as he shall think fit, and each such District shall be held to be and be a separate Parish for the Purposes of this Act; and the Sheriff shall fix the distinctive Name by which each such District shall be called for the Purposes of this Act; and a written or printed Notice of such Division or Union, setting forth such distinctive Names, shall be affixed on the Doors of all the known Places of Public Worship within the Parish or Parishes thereby affected for Three consecutive Weeks before such Division or Union shall come into operation, and be published Twice a Week for Three consecutive Weeks in Two Newspapers published or usually circulated in the Parishes or in the County in which the same are situated: Provided always, that any Session Clerk who, under the Provisions of this Act, would be entitled to he Registrar of any Parish, shall be the Registrar of such One of the said Districts as shall be appointed by the Sheriff.
Sheriff may annex small Portion of a Parish to the Parish adjoining. XI. It shall be lawful for the Sheriff, if he shall deem it expedient, in order to avoid any Doubt as to the Boundary of a Parish or otherwise, to annex, for the Purposes of this Act, any small Portion of a Parish to an adjoining Parish: Provided always, that any Charges payable out of the Parochial Funds for Registrations in respect of such Portion so annexed shall be payable and paid by the Parish from which such Portion is detached to the Parish to which the same s annexed: Provided also, that the Parochial Board of the Parish from which such Portion is taken shall have no Voice in the Election of the Registrar of the Parish to which the same is annexed.
Election of Registrar by Parochial Board. XII. At the Time when this Act shall come into operation, and at any Time thereafter when there shall be a Vacancy in the Office of Registrar, the Parochial Board shall, subject to the Provisions herein-before contained, by a Majority of the Votes of the Members present at a Meeting specially called for the Purpose, elect the Registrar of the Parish or District; and in case any Dispute or Difference shall arise as to the voting or Majority of Votes at such Election, or any other Proceedings connected therewith, the same shall be settled summarily by the Sheriff on hearing verbally the Parties or their Agents; and in all Cases of temporary Vacancy of the Office of Registrar, by Death or otherwise, the Sheriff shall appoint an Interim Registrar, who shall, during the Time he shall act, have the like Powers and be bound to discharge the like Duties as the Registrar; and in all Cases of the Election or Appointment of a Registrar or Interim Registrar, such Election or Appointment shall, within Ten Days thereof, be intimated in Writing to the Registrar General by the Parochial Board or the Sheriff; as the Case may be.
Where there is no Parochial Board Heritors may appoint the Registrar. XIII. In case there shall not be a Parochial Board acting under the said Act in any Parish or District at the Time when this Act shall come into operation, or at any Time thereafter, in which it is necessary to elect a Registrar under this Act, the Heritors shall, subject to the Approbation of the Sheriff, appoint a Registrar therein.
Registrar may appoint Assistant. XIV. It shall be lawful for every Registrar, with the Approbation of the Parochial Board, or where there is no Parochial Board with the Approbation of the Sheriff, to appoint, by a Writing under his Hand, a fit Person, for whom he shall be responsible, to be his Assistant in case of his illness or unavoidable Absence, or otherwise ceasing to hold his Office, until the Appointment of another Registrar, and also to act in all Cases where such Assistant may be authorized or required so to do by any Regulation to be made in virtue of this Act, and it shall also be lawful for such Registrar, with the like Approbation, to dismiss such Assistant; and the Entries made in the Registers of Births, Deaths, and Marriages herein-after mentioned, and Extracts made therefrom, and the Duties performed by such Assistant Registrar, shall be of the like Force and Effect as if made or performed by the Registrar: Provided always, that each Folio or Page of such Registers on which any Entry shall be made shall be signed by the Registrar, and every such Entry shall be authenticated by him, by affixing his Initials thereto, unless where the Registrar shall by Indisposition or other sufficient Cause be unable to act, in which Case such Assistant shall sign and authenticate such Registers, and the Entries therein.
Registrars not to acquire vested Rights in their Offices, and to be subject to Removal. XV. No Registrar shall acquire any vested Right in or to his Office by virtue of his Appointment; and in case any Registrar shall fail or neglect or. refuse to discharge the Duties of his Office, or shall be unfit or incompetent to discharge such Duties, it shall be lawful for the Parochial Board to make Application to the Sheriff for his Removal from his Office of Registrar, and the Sheriff shall thereupon hear Parties, and take such Proceedings in reference to such Application as he shall think fit; and if the Sheriff shall be of opinion that such Registrar has failed or neglected or refused to discharge the Duties of his Office, or is unfit or incompetent to discharge such Duties, the Sheriff shall remove such Registrar from his Office of Registrar, and shall direct Notice of such Removal to be forthwith sent to the Parochial Board, and to be published in the Parish of which he was the Registrar, in such Manner as the Sheriff shall direct; and such Registrar shall, from and after such Publication, cease to hold his Office under this Act, and shall be incapable of being reappointed thereto, and the Parochial Board shall, in manner herein provided, elect a Registrar to supply the Vacancy caused by such Removal; and the Judgment of the Sheriff in all such Cases shall be final, and not subject to Review in any Court or by any Process whatsoever.
Appointments exempt from Stamp Duty. XVI. The Appointments of the Registrar General, and Secretary, and of the several Registrars and Assistant Registrars under this Act, and. the certified Copies of Registers, Extracts, and Certificates herein mentioned, shall be exempt from all Stamp Duties.
Fees payable to Registrar. XVII. The Registrar shall be entitled to demand, in respect of Registration and the other Duties required to be performed by him under the Provisions of this Act, the several Fees herein authorized to be taken, and shall keep a correct Account of all Sums received by him in virtue of this Act in the course of each Year, and shall, within Ten Days after the Thirty-first Day of July yearly, deliver or transmit a Copy of such Account up to the said Thirty-first Day of July, authenticated by him, to the Sheriff, to he preserved in the Sheriff Clerk's Office, and to he furnished by the Sheriff to the Registrar General, and, if required, to One of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State.
Existing Registers, &c. previous to 1820 to be transmitted to the Registrar General, and subsequent Registers, &c. to be delivered up to the Registers. XVIII. All existing Parochial Registers, Minutes, and Documents of every Description relating to the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages which shall have been kept in every Parish prior to the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and Fifty-five shall, as far as regards such Registers, Minutes, and Documents made and entered prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and twenty, be transmitted, under the Direction of the Sheriff; to the Registrar General, for Preservation in the General Registry Office at Edinburgh, and as far as regards such Registers, Minutes, and Documents from the Year One thousand eight hundred and twenty, inclusive, to the said First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, shall be delivered over to the Custody and Care of the Person who shall be appointed Registrar of the Parish under this Act; and where any Parish shall be divided, such last-mentioned Registers, Minutes, and Documents shall remain in the Custody of the Registrar of that Portion of the divided Parish wherein such Registers, Minutes, and Documents are at the Time of the Division; and the Registrar to whom such Registers, Minutes, and Documents shall be so delivered shall, if required by the Registrar General, make or cause to he made exact Inventories and Indexes thereof in so far as such Inventories and Indexes do not already exist, noticing in such Inventories any Blanks or Deficiencies therein or other Matter requiring to be noticed; and an authenticated Copy of each such Inventory and a General Abstract of each such Index shall be transmitted by him to the Registrar General, for Preservation in the General Registry Office; and the Registers, Minutes, and Documents, from the Year One thousand eight hundred and twenty to the said First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, hereby appointed to remain with the Registrar of the Parish, shall, at the End of Thirty Years after the said First Day of January, be transmitted, under the Direction of the Sheriff to the Registrar General, for Preservation as aforesaid; and all such Registers, Minutes, and Documents, and the original Inventories, Indexes, and General Abstracts, and the authenticated Copies thereof, whether in the Custody of the Registrar or Registrar General, may be searched, and certified Copies of Entries taken therefrom, at all reasonable Times, by any Person, upon Payment of the Fees authorized to be taken for the like Searches and Copies made in or taken from the Registers and Indexes appointed to be kept under this Act.
Provision as to Sessional Registers. XIX. Provided always, That if in the Registers kept in any Parish prior to the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five there shall be entries of Births, Deaths, and Marriages intermixed with Entries or Records relating to Sessional or other Matters, it shall be lawful for the Sheriff to direct either that Copies of the Entries of Births, Deaths, and Marriages shall be made and delivered to the Registrar of the Parish for the Purposes and under the Provisions of this Act, so that the existing Register may remain in the Custody in which it then is, or that Copies of the Entries or Records relating to such Sessional or other Matters shall be made and delivered over to the Parties interested therein, and the existing Register be delivered to the Registrar of the Parish; and in either Case such Copies shall be examined by the Sheriff and the Registrar, and authenticated by the Sheriff.
Provision as to Burial Registers. XX. And whereas Registers are kept at various Burial Grounds and Cemeteries which are private Property and maintained at private Expense, and are necessary towards the Protection of the Rights of the Owners thereof, such Registers shall, upon Proof to the Satisfaction of the Sheriff to the above Effect, remain with the Proprietors thereof: Provided, that correct Copies of all such Registers in use on the Thirty-first Day of December One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four shall be prepared and authenticated at the Sight of the Sheriff, who shall certify the same, and shall be delivered to the Registrar of the Parish wherein such Burial Ground or Cemetery is situated; but nothing herein contained shall, after the said Thirty-first Day of December, relieve any such Proprietors from the Necessity of registering Deaths in the Parochial Registers under the Provisions of this Act.
The Sheriff to superintend Registrars. XXI. The Sheriff of each County shall have the Control and Superintendence of the Registrars of the several Parishes and Districts within such County: Provided, that where a Parish shall be situated in more Counties than one, such Parish shall, for the Purposes of this Act, be held to be within the County in which the Parish Church is situated.
Register Boxes to be provided. XXII. The Registrar General shall furnish to the Registrar of every Parish a strong Iron Box, to hold the Registers, Copies of Registers, and all other Records, Papers, or Documents connected with such Registers, in the Custody of the Registrar, and every such Box for each Registrar shall be furnished with a Lock and Two Keys, and no more, and One of such Keys shall be kept by the Registrar, and the either Key shall be kept by the Sheriff; and the Register Books of each Parish, while in the Custody of the Registrar, and not in use, shall be always kept in the Register Box, which shall always be left locked; and where, from the Number of Register Books, such Boxes may not be sufficient to contain the same, such Register Books shall be deposited and kept in Fireproof Places approved of by the Sheriff, which shall be kept locked as such Boxes are hereby required to be.
Books and Forms to be printed. XXIII. Upon the Application of the Registrar General, there shall be furnished to him from Time to Time, from Her Majesty's Stationery Office, all such Stationery, Books, Certificates, Schedules, Notices, and Forms as shall be necessary in the Execution of this Act, and as the Registrar General shall require and direct, and the Register Books shall be of durable Materials, and in them shall be printed upon each Side of every Leaf the Heads of Information herein required to be known and registered of Births, Deaths, and Marriages respectively, and every Page of each Book shall be numbered progressively by printed Numbers from the Beginning to the End of the Book, beginning with Number One; and each such Page shall be ruled and filled up according to the Form given in the Three several Schedules (A.), (B.), and (C.) hereunto annexed, and each separate Entry shall be numbered at the Beginning thereof with successive Numbers, beginning with Number One; and the Registrar General shall furnish to the Registrar of every Parish or District a sufficient Number of Register Books of Births, and of Register Books of Deaths, and of Register Books of Marriages, and of Certificates, Schedules, Notices, and Forms.
On Removal or Death of Registers, Register Books, Boxes, &c. to be delivered up to Successors. XXIV. In every Case in which any Registrar, Interim Registrar, or Assistant Registrar shall die or be removed from or resign or otherwise cease to hold his Office, all Register Boxes, Keys, Books, Documents, and Papers in his Possession as Registrar, Interim Registrar, or Assistant Registrar, or which shall come into the Possession of his Representatives, shall be delivered up as soon as conveniently may be to his Successor in Office, or to such other Person as the Parochial Board or the Sheriff shall direct; and if any Person shall refuse to give up any such Box, Key, Book, Document, or Paper in such Case as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the Sheriff of the County where such Person shall be or reside, upon summary Application made for that Purpose by the Parochial Board or any one authorized by them, or without such Application, to issue a Warrant for bringing such Person before such Sheriff; and upon such Person not appearing or not being found, it shall be lawful for the Sheriff to hear and determine the Matter in a summary Way; and if it shall appear to him that any such Box, Key, Book, Document, or Paper is in the Custody or Power of any such Person, and that he has refused or wilfully neglected to deliver the same, the Sheriff is hereby authorized and required to commit such Person to the Common Gaol of such County, or to any legal Gaol or Place of Confinement within the same, near the Place where such Person may be or reside, there to remain without Bail until he shall have delivered up the same, or until Satisfaction shall have been given in respect thereof to the Person in whose Custody the same ought to be, or to the Parochial Board.
Registrars to dwell in Parish and put their Names on their Houses, and their Names to be affixed on Doors of Places of Public Worship. XXV. The Registrar and Assistant Registrar shall dwell or have a known Place of Business within the Parish or District of which lie is Registrar or Assistant Registrar; and every Registrar shall cause his Name, with the Addition of Registrar for the Parish or District for which he shall be so appointed, to be placed in some conspicuous Place outside of or on or near the outer Door of his own Dwelling House, or of his usual Place of Business if different or apart from his Dwelling House; and the Sheriff shall cause to be printed and affixed for Two consecutive Sundays in the Month of November One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, and in the Month of July yearly thereafter, upon some conspicuous Place on the Doors of all the known Places of Public Worship within the County of which he is Sheriff, and of every Burgh in such County, a List of the Names and Dwelling Houses or usual Places of Business, if different or apart from the Dwelling Houses, of every Registrar and Assistant Registrar in such County or Burgh respectively.
Registrar to learn and register Births and Deaths. XXVI. Every Registrar shall, subject to the Regulations to be made as aforesaid, be and he is hereby authorized and required to inform himself carefully of every Birth and Death which shall happen within his Parish or District, and to learn and register, as soon after the Event as conveniently may be done, and without Fee or Reward, save as herein-after provided, in One of the said Register Books, the Particulars required to be registered, according to the Forms in the Schedules (A.) and (B.) hereunto annexed respectively, touching every such Birth or every such Death, as the Case may be, every such Entry being made in Order from the Beginning to the End of the Book as aforesaid; and in case of the Parish of the Birth being different from the Parish of the Domicil of the Parents of the Child, the Registrar of the Parish of the Birth shall, within Eight Days after the Entry of the Birth in his Register, transmit a Copy of such Entry to the Registrar of the Parish of the Domicil, if known to him, and the Registrar of the Parish of the Domicil shall forthwith transcribe such Entry in the Register of such Parish, and mark on the Margin of such Entry the Name of the Parish of the Birth.
Parents, &c. to give Information of Births, and to sign the Register. XXVII. The Parents or Parent, or, in case of the Death or Inability of the Parents, the Person in charge of any Child born, and the Occupier of every house or Tenement in which to his or her Knowledge any Birth shall take place, and the Nurse present at such Birth, and in the Case of an illegitimate Child the Mother of such Child, or in case of the Death, Illness, or Inability of the Mother, the Person in charge of such Child, or the Occupier of the House or Tenement in which to his or her Knowledge the Child was born, or the Nurse present at the Birth of such Child, shall, within Twenty-one Days next after the Day of such Birth, and under a Penalty not exceeding Twenty Shillings in case of Failure, attend personally and give Information to the Registrar of time Parish or District in which the Birth occurred, to the best of his or her Knowledge and Belief, of the several Particulars required by the Schedule (A.) hereunto annexed to be registered touching such Birth, and shall in Presence of the Registrar sign the Register; and in the event of Failure or Neglect so to give Information, such Parents and Persons above specified, and also any other Person having Knowledge of the Particulars, shall, upon being required personally or by written Requisition, within Three Months after the Date of such Birth, and under a Penalty not exceeding Forty Shillings in ease of Failure, attend personally and give Information to the Registrar of the Parish in which such Birth occurred, according to the best of his or her Knowledge and Belief, of the several Particulars by the said Schedule (A.) required to be registered touching the Birth of such Child, and shall sign the Register in the Presence of the Registrar.
Registrar may require any Child to be produced. XXVIII. In case of any Doubt existing as to the Sex or regarding the Birth of any Child, it shall be lawful for the Registrar to require the Production of the Child, and the Parents or any Person in charge of the Child shall be bound to produce it to the Registrar, unless prevented by the Illness of the Child, or other Reason satisfactory to the Registrar, under a Penalty of Forty Shillings in case of Noncompliance.
Intimation of finding new-born Child or dead Body of new-born Child. XXIX. In case any Person shall find exposed any new-born Child, or the dead Body of any new-born Child, such Person shall forthwith give Notice of the finding of such exposed new-born Child, or the dead Body of such new-born Child, to the Registrar of the Parish or District, or to the Inspector of the Poor thereof, or to the District Constable, and such Registrar or Inspector or District Constable shall give the like Notice to the Procurator Fiscal; and any such Person, or Registrar, or Inspector, or District Constable, failing to give the Notice hereby required, shall be liable in a Penalty not exceeding Forty Shillings.
Register of Children born at Sea. XXX. If any Child of a Scottish Parent shall be born at Sea on board of a British Vessel after the said Thirty-first Day of December One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, the Captain or Commanding Officer of such Vessel shall forthwith make a Minute in the Log Book or otherwise of the several Particulars hereby required to be registered, touching the Birth of such Child, so far as the same may be known, and the Name of the Vessel in which the same took place, and shall on the Arrival of such Vessel in any Port of the United Kingdom, or by any other earlier Opportunity, send a certified Copy of such Minute through the Post Office to the Registrar General in Edinburgh, who shall file the same, and shall cause a true and correct Copy thereof, verified by his own Signature, to be entered in a Book to be kept for that Purpose in the General Registry Office, to be called "The Marine Register," and the Registrar General shall keep such Book with the Duplicate Registers according to the Provisions of this Act; and the Registrar General shall, within Three Days after the Receipt of such Minute, transmit a like Copy to the Registrar of the Parish in which the Child's Parents are or were last domiciled, if known to him, and such Registrar shall forthwith enter the Particulars specified in such Copy in his Register, noticing such Transmission therein, in such Manner as shall be prescribed by the Registrar General.
Registration after Three Months from the Birth of the Child. XXXI. After the Expiration of Three Months following the Day of the Birth of any Child it shall not be lawful for any Registrar to register such Birth save as herein provided; and in case the Birth of any Child shall not have been registered according to the Provisions herein-before made, it shall be lawful for either of the Parents of any legitimate Child, and for the Mother of any illegitimate Child, or for the Guardians of any legitimate or illegitimate Child, to make a Declaration in Writing before the Sheriff of the Particulars required to be registered touching the Birth of such Child, according to the best of his or her Knowledge and Belief, and it shall thereupon, with the Authority of the Sheriff, be lawful for the Registrar to register the Birth of such Child according to the Information of the Person making such Declaration; and in every such Case the Sheriff before whom such Declaration is made shall sign the Entry of the Birth in the Register as soon as conveniently may be after such Declaration shall have been so made; and for every such Registration the Registrar shall be entitled, unless the Delay shall have been occasioned by his Default, to a Fee of Two Shillings from the Person requiring such Birth to be registered; and no Register of Births, except in the Case of Children born at Sea, shall be admissible in Evidence to prove the Birth of any Child wherein it shall appear that more than Three Months have intervened between the Day of the Birth and the Day of the Registration of the Birth of such Child, unless the Entry shall be signed by the Sheriff: and every Person who shall knowingly register or cause to be registered the Birth of any Child otherwise than herein provided, after the Expiration of Three Months following the Day of the Birth of such Child, shall forfeit and pay for every such Offence a Sum not exceeding Five Pounds.
Name given in Baptism after Registration may be registered within Six Months. XXXII. If any Child whose Birth shall have been registered as aforesaid shall have any Name given to it in Baptism, or shall have the Name by which it may have been registered altered in Baptism, the Parent or Guardian of such Child, or other Person procuring such Name to be given, may, if such Name shall be given within Six Months after such Registration, or if beyond Six Months, then only with the written Authority of the Sheriff, granted on a Statement of the Circumstances submitted to him, procure and deliver to the Registrar in whose Custody the Register of the Birth of the Child shall be, a Certificate according to the Form of Schedule (D.) to this Act annexed, or to the like Effect, signed by the Minister who shall have administered the Sacrament of Baptism, which Certificate such Minister is hereby required to deliver as soon as may be after the Baptism, or, whenever the same shall be demanded, within Six Months, or if after Six Months, then with the Authority of the Sheriff, as aforesaid; and the Registrar, upon the Receipt of such Certificate, and on Payment of the Fee of One Shilling, to which he shall be entitled, shall, without any Erasure of the Entry of the Birth in the Register, forthwith insert the Name by which the Child was baptized in the Register, and shall, after Entry of the Name in the Register, certify upon the Certificate the Fact of the Name being so entered; and in case the Duplicate Register in which such Entry is recorded shall have been transmitted to the Registrar General as herein-after directed, the Registrar shall transmit the Certificate through the Post Office to the Registrar General, who shall cause the like Entry of the Name to be made in the certified Copy of the Register in the General Registry Office, and shall preserve the Certificate.
Provision for Name given without Baptism after Registration. XXXIII. In the Case of any Child of Parents not recognizing the Sacrament of Baptism or Infant Baptism, it shall be lawful for such Parents or the Guardians of such Child, within Six Months after the Birth of any such Child shall have been registered, or if after Six Months, then only with the written Authority of the Sheriff, granted on a Statement of the Circumstances submitted to him, when any Name shall have been given to any such Child by the Parents or Guardians of such Child, other than that by which it may have been registered, to deliver to the Registrar in whose Custody the Register of the Birth of such Child shall be, a Certificate in the Form of the Schedule (E.) to this Act annexed, or to the like Effect, signed by such Parents or Guardians, whereupon, and upon Payment of a Fee of One Shilling, such Registrar shall, without Erasure as aforesaid, register therein the Name of such Child; and such Certificate shall be certified and transmitted by the Registrar to the Registrar General in the like Manner and to the like Effect as is herein-before prescribed regarding Certificates in relation to Names given in Baptism.
Minister, on Non-production of Certificate of Birth, to send Notice to Registrar. XXXIV. There shall be produced to the Minister or other Person officiating in the Administration of the Sacrament of Baptism of any Child a Certificate of the Registration of the Birth of such Child, and failing such Production such Minister or other Person shall forthwith intimate the Baptism of such Child, with all the Information which he may have regarding the Birth and Parentage of such Child, to the Registrar of the Parish in which the Parents of such Child reside.
Name of Father of illegitimate Child, not to be entered, unless at Request of Father and Mother; but if Paternity or Legitimacy of Child fixed by Decree of Court, the Clerk to notify same to the Registrar. XXXV. In the Case of an illegitimate Child it shall not be lawful for the Registrar to enter the Name of any Person as the Father of such Child, unless at the joint Request of the Mother and of the Person acknowledging himself to be the Father of such Child, and who shall in such Case sign the Register as Informant along with the Mother: Provided always, that when the Paternity of any illegitimate Child has been found by Decree of any competent Court, the Clerk of Court shall, within Ten Days after the Date of such Decree, send by Post to the Registrar. of the Parish in which the Father is or was last domiciled, or in which the Birth shall have been registered, Notice of the Import of such Decree in the Form of the Schedule (F.) to this Act annexed, or to the like Effect, under a Penalty not exceeding Forty Shillings in case of Failure; and on Receipt of such Notice the Registrar shall add to the Entry of the Birth of such Child in the Register the Name of the Father and the Word "Illegitimate," and shall make upon the Margin of the Register opposite to such Entry a Note of such Decree and of the Import thereof; and in like Manner in the event of any Child registered as illegitimate being subsequently found by Decree of any competent Court to be legitimate, the Clerk of Court shall notify such Decree to the Registrar, in the Form as nearly as may be of the said Schedule (F.), who shall forthwith make upon the Margin of the Register in which the Birth is entered, and opposite to such Entry, a Note of such Decree and of the Import thereof, under a Penalty not exceeding Forty Shillings in case of Failure.
Correction of Registration of Children legitimated per subsequens matrimonium. XXXVI. In the event of any Child, registered as illegitimate, being legitimated per subsequens matrimonium, the Registrar of the Parish in which the Birth of such illegitimate Child was registered shall, upon Production of an Extract of the Entry of such Marriage in the Register of Marriages, note on the Margin of the Register opposite to the Entry of the Birth the Legitimation of such Child per subsequens matrimonium, and the Date of the Registration of such Marriage: Provided always, that in all Cases in which the Paternity of such illegitimate Child shall not have been registered in manner herein-before provided as having been acknowledged, or as having been determined by Decree, the Registrar shall not note any such Legitimation or Marriage opposite to the Entry of the Birth of such Child unless authorized so to do by Warrant of the Sheriff granted upon the joint Application of both Parents, of which Intimation shall be made as such Sheriff may direct, and after due Inquiry, and hearing any Parties having Interest who may appear to oppose such Application.
Certificate of Entry of Birth to be given. XXXVII. When any Entry of a Birth shall be made in a Register, upon the Information of any Person required to give Information under this Act, the Registrar on making such Entry shall give or transmit by Post to the Informant, within Two Days after the Date of the Entry, an Extract thereof; without Payment of any Fee, under a Penalty not exceeding Forty Shillings in case of Failure.
Persons present, &c. to give Information of Death, and to sign the Register. XXXVIII. The nearest Relatives present at tile Death of any Person, and the Occupier of the House or Tenement in which the Death took place, and if the Occupier be the Person who shall have died, his nearest Relatives and the Inmates of the House or Tenement in which such Death shall have taken place, shall, within Eight Days next after the Day of such Death, and under a Penalty not exceeding Twenty Shillings in case of Failure, attend personally and give Information to the Registrar of the Parish in which such Death occurred, to the best of his or her Knowledge and Belief; of the several Particulars required by the Schedule (B.) hereunto annexed to be registered touching such Death, and shall in Presence of the Registrar sign the Register; and in the event of Failure or Neglect so to give Information, such Persons, and any other Person having Knowledge of the Particulars, or if such Death shall not have taken place within a house, then every Person present at such Death or having a Knowledge of the Circumstances attending the same, shall, upon being required personally or by written Requisition, within Fourteen Days after the Date of such Death, and under a Penalty not exceeding Forty Shillings in case of Failure, attend personally and give Information to the Registrar of the Parish in which such Death occurred, according to the best of his or her Knowledge and Belief, of the several Particulars by the said Schedule (B.) required to be registered touching such Death, and shall sign the Register in Presence of the Registrar.
In case of Persons dying not in a House. XXXIX. In the event of any Person dying not in a house or Tenement the Occupier of the House or Tenement in which such Person was at the Time lodging or residing, or if the Person dying shall have been the Occupier, then the Inmates of such house or Tenement, upon respectively receiving Information of such Death, shall, within Twenty-four Hours thereafter, give or cause to be given Notice thereof to the Registrar of the Parish within which the Deceased lodged or resided, under a Penalty not exceeding Forty Shillings in case of Failure; and if it shall not be known where the Deceased lodged or resided, any Person present at the Death or finding the Body, and any Parish or public Officer, or any Party to whom the Body shall be brought, and who shall receive the same, shall in like Manner, and under the like Penalty in case of Failure, be bound to give the like Notice thereof to the Registrar of the Parish in which the Body shall be so found, or in which it shall be so received, and the Registrar shall immediately thereupon communicate such Notice to the Procurator Fiscal, under a like Penalty in case of Failure; and in case the Procurator Fiscal shall receive such Notice from any other Person than the Registrar, the Procurator Fiscal shall, within Three Days, communicate such Particulars as are by this Act required to be registered, so far as within his Knowledge, to the Registrar.
Procurator Fiscal to give Result of Precognition. XL Provided always, That in every Case in which a Precognition touching the Death of any Person shall be held, the Procurator Fiscal, having regard to the Particulars herein required to be registered concerning the Death, shall, in such Form and Manner as shall be prescribed by the Sheriff, with the of the Lord Advocate, inform the Registrar of the Result of such Precognition, and the Registrar shall, without requiring the Procurator Fiscal to sign the same, make the Entry accordingly, stating the Procurator Fiscal as his Informant.
Medical Attendant to transmit Certificate of Death to the Registrar. XLI. The Medical Person who shall have been in Attendance during the last Illness, and until the Death of any Person, shall within Fourteen Days after the Death of such Person, and under a Penalty not exceeding Forty Shillings in case of Failure, transmit to the Registrar a Certificate of such Death, in the of the Schedule (G.) hereunto annexed, the Particulars of which shall forthwith be entered by the Registrar in the Register, and the Registrar shall from Time to Time furnish gratis to every Medical Person within his Parish or District known to hint, or who shall require the same, the necessary Copies of such Certificate.
Undertaker to transmit Certificate of Interment to the Registrar. XLII. The Undertaker or other Person having charge of the Interment of any Person shall, within Three Days after such Interment, and under a Penalty not exceeding Forty Shillings in case of Failure, to the Registrar a Certificate of such Interment, in the Form of the Schedule (H.) hereunto annexed, the Particulars of which shall forthwith be entered by the Registrar in the Register, and the Registrar shall from Time to Time furnish gratis to every Undertaker within his Parish or District known to him, or who shall require the same, the necessary Copies of such Certificate.
Register of Persons dying at Sea. XLIII. If any of Her Majesty's Scottish Subjects shall die at Sea on board of a British Vessel after the said Thirty-first Day of December One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, the Captain or Commanding Officer of the Vessel on board of which such Death shall have happened shall forthwith make a Minute in the Log Book or otherwise of the several Particulars herein required to be inserted in the Register touching such Death, so far as the same may be known, and the Name of the Vessel wherein the Death took place, and shall, on the arrival of such Vessel in any Port of the United Kingdom, or by any other earlier Opportunity, send a certified Copy of such Minute through the Post Office to the Registrar General in Edinburgh, who shall file the same, and shall cause a true and correct Copy thereof, verified by his own Signature, to be entered in "The Marine Register," and shall within Three Days after the Receipt of such Minute transmit a like Copy to the Registrar of the Parish in which the Deceased was domiciled, if known to him, so that the Registrar thereof may forthwith make the requisite Entry in the Register of Deaths; and in Cases of Shipwreck, the Captain or any Officer of the Vessel who may have escaped, or if the Officers have all perished, then any Person who may have escaped, and shall be required by the Registrar General to that Effect, shall to the best of his Knowledge comply with the Provisions and Requisitions in this Section, as far as the Case will admit.
Registrar to give Certificate of Registration of Death to be delivered at Interment. XLIV. The Registrar, immediately upon registering any Death, or as soon thereafter as he shall be required so to do, shall without Fee or Reward deliver to the Informant, for the Use of the Undertaker or other Person having Charge of the Funeral, a Certificate under his Hand, according to the Form of Schedule (I.) to this Act annexed, that such Death had been duly registered; and such Certificate shall, under a Penalty not exceeding Ten Pounds in case of Failure, be delivered by such Undertaker or other Person to the Person having the Charge of the Churchyard, Cemetery, Church, Chapel, Aisle, Vault, or other Place of Interment, or having the Control, Management, or Superintendence of the Burial of the Dead in the Place of Interment in which the Body is to be buried, previous to the Interment taking place; and if any dead Body shall be buried for which no Certificate shall have been so delivered, the Person having Charge of such Churchyard or other Place of Interment shall within Three Days there after, under a Penalty not exceeding Twenty Shillings in case of Failure, give Notice thereof to the Registrar of the Parish in which such Death shall have happened, according to the Form of Schedule (H.) to this Act annexed.
Registrar may require Parties to attend him to give Information. XLV. If the Parties bound to give Information to the Registrar for completing his Register shall not attend him for that Purpose, he shall make Intimation to them requiring them to attend him for such Purpose at his Place of Abode or known Place of Business where the Register is kept, at an Hour to be fixed in such Intimation, between the Hours of Eight of the Clock in the Morning and Six of the Clock in the Evening; and in case of their failing to attend, then the Registrar shall make a Second Intimation to the like Effect, and if the Parties shall again fail to attend, the Registrar shall apply to the Sheriff who, upon Evidence to his Satisfaction of such Failure after TWO successive Intimations as aforesaid, shall issue his Warrant for compelling the Attendance of the Parties so failing, which may be executed by any Sheriff Officer; and if the Expenses of such Warrant shall not be recovered from the Parties failing to attend as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the Registrar to include the same in the Account to be furnished by him to the Parochial Board as herein-after directed.
Registration of regular marriages. XLVI. In all Cases of regular Marriages, when the Certificates of the Proclamation of the Banns are given out, such Certificates shall be accompanied by a Copy of the said Schedule (C.), and upon the Solemnization of the Marriage, such Schedule, having all the Information thereby required inserted therein, shall be produced to the Minister solemnizing the Marriage, or to the Person solemnizing any Marriage according to the Rites and Forms respectively observed by Jews and Quakers, or shall be filled up in the Presence of such Minister or Person, and shall be signed by the Parties contracting the Marriage, and by the Witnesses, Male or Female, present thereat, not being less than Two, and also by the Minister or Person officiating, and be delivered to the Parties contracting the Marriage, who shall within Three Days thereafter either deliver or send by Post such Schedule to the Registrar of the Parish wherein the Marriage was solemnized; and the husband, and failing the Husband the Wife, shall in case of Failure so to deliver or send such Schedule be liable in a Penalty not exceeding Ten Pounds; and upon being received by the Registrar, the Particulars of such Schedule shall be forthwith entered by him in the Duplicate Registers; and all such Schedules shall be taken by the Registrar with the Duplicate Registers to the Sheriff, and shall be transmitted by the Sheriff with the Duplicate Registers to the Registrar General, for Preservation in the General Registry Office.
Registrar to attend Parties when required to register Marriages. XLVII. It shall be competent to the Persons intending to contract Marriage to require the Registrar of the Parish to attend at the Solemnization thereof at any Place within such Parish; and such Registrar is hereby required, upon a written Notice of Forty-eight hours given to him to that Effect, to attend with the Register Book accordingly, and to make the proper Entry therein, arid for such Attendance and Entry the Registrar shall be entitled to a Fee of Twenty Shillings, besides the Sum of Sixpence for each Mile which such Registrar shall be obliged to travel in going from his Place of Abode to the Place of such Marriage.
Marriages of Persons fined for irregular Marriages, and Marriages established by Decree of Declarator, to be registered. XLVIII. In the event of any Persons being convicted before any Justice of the Peace or Magistrate of having irregularly contracted a Marriage, it shall be lawful for either of the Parties to such irregular Marriage, and they are severally hereby required, to register such Marriage in the Parish in which such Conviction shall have taken place; and in case of any Marriage being established by a Decree of Declarator of any competent Court, it shall be lawful for either of the Parties to the Action in which such Decree was pronounced to register such Marriage in the Parish of the Domicil of such Parties, or the Parish of their usual Residence; and the Production to the Registrar of an Extract of such Conviction or Decree of Declarator shall be sufficient Evidence and Warrant for the Registration of such Marriages, on Payment to the Registrar of a Fee of Twenty Shillings.
XLIX. The Magistrate before whom or the Clerk of Court in which any such Conviction has taken place, and the Clerk of Court in which any such Decree of Declaration has been pronounced establishing any Marriage as aforesaid, shall, upon such Conviction so taking place or upon such Decree being so pronounced, give Information to the Registrar of the Parish in which such Conviction took place, and in case of a Decree of Declarator, to the Registrar of the Parish of the Domicil, or of the Parish of the usual Residence of the Parties to the Action of Declarator, by Notice of the Import of such Conviction or Decree, in the Form of Schedule (K.) to this Act annexed; and any such Clerk of Court failing so to do shall be liable in a Penalty not exceeding Forty Shillings, which may he prosecuted for and recovered at the Instance of the Registrar.
Registrars to make out Account of Number of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, half-yearly, and Assessment to be levied and Payment made in respect thereof. L. Every Registrar shall make out an Account twice in every Year of the Number of Births, Deaths, and Marriages which he shall have registered in the Half Years terminating on the last Day of June and the last Day of December next preceding, and the Sheriff shall examine and verify or cause the same to be examined and verified; and it shall be lawful for the Parochial Board of the Parish, on Production of such Account so verified and signed by the Sheriff to levy by Assessment the Sums required for Payment to the Registrar of the Amount of his Account so verified, and such further Sum as may be necessary for his Remuneration, and for the Expenses of taking the Duplicate Registers yearly to the Sheriff; and such Assessment shall he made and levied in the same Manner as and along with but separate from the Assessment for the Support of the Poor; and if there shall be no Assessment for the Support of the Poor in any Parish, then such Assessment shall be made and levied by the Heritors, either in the same Manner as and along with but separate from the Rate for the Support of Prisons, or in such other Manner as the Sheriff may direct; and the Parochial Board or the Heritors shall pay to the Registrar such Sums as he shall be entitled to receive in Terms of such verified Account, according to the following Scale; (that is to say,) for the First Twenty Entries of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in each Half Year which he shall have registered, whether the same be of Births or of Deaths or of Marriages indiscriminately, Two Shillings each, and One Shilling for each subsequent Entry of Births and of Deaths and of Marriages in each Half Year; and in the event of such Fees being deemed inadequate to his Remuneration, such further Sum as the Parochial Board shall think fit.
Registrars may be paid by Salary. LI. Provided, That it shall be lawful for the Parochial Board, with the Approbation of the Registrar General or of time Sheriff to place the Registrar and Assistant Registrar upon annual Salaries, the Amount of which shall be fixed by the Parochial Board, with time like Approbation; and such Salaries shall be paid by the Parochial Board out of time Assessment to he levied as herein-before directed, and the Fees received by the Registrar, which in such Case shall be accounted for by him to the Parochial Board.
Forms to be supplied gratis. LII. The Registrar shall furnish gratis to all Persons hereby required to give Information, who shall apply therefor, printed Forms, setting forth the heads of the Particulars required to be specified and inserted in such Forms; and time Registrar General shall cause a printed Copy of Section Forty-six of this Act, and Copies also of the Schedule (C.) hereunto annexed, to be supplied to the several Registrars, who shall, upon Application therefor, furnish such Copies to any Minister at any Time applying for the same, and to the Session Clerk of every Parish, and to the Registering Officers of the several Societies of Friends, and to the Secretaries of the Jewish Synagogues, for Use in the Registration of Marriages under this Act.
Registers to be kept in Duplicate, and annually examined by the Sheriff, and Duplicate to be transmitted to the Registrar General. LIII. All the Registers hereby appointed to be kept shall be kept in Duplicate, and such Duplicates shall be paged continuously alike, and each Page shall be authenticated by the Sheriff affixing his Initials before Delivery thereof to the Registrars, and the Contents of each Page of such Duplicate Register Books shall be the same, and each Page shall be signed by the Registrar; and in the First Week of August in each Year, on such Day as shall be fixed by the Sheriff, the Duplicate Register Books for the preceding Year ending on the Thirty-first Day of December shall he taken by the Registrar to the Sheriff, by whom, along with the Registrar, the same shall be carefully examined and compared, and a Docquet shall be added at the End of each Duplicate, stating the Examination and Accuracy thereof, the Number of Pages, and any marginal Additions or Erasures appearing on either Duplicate, so as to preclude the Possibility of Interpolation, and such Docquet shall be signed by the Parties examining the Duplicates; and One of such Duplicates shall be retained by the Registrar, and the other shall be transmitted by the Sheriff to the Registrar General on or before the Thirty-first Day of August in each Year; and the Sheriff when transmitting such Duplicate shall report any Circumstance relating to the Registers to which he may think the Attention of the Registrar General ought to be called.
Addition to or Alterations of the Registers. LIV. If in the course of any Year any such Additions or Alterations as are directed or authorized by this Act to be made on the Registers shall be so made, the Registrar shall make a Minute in Duplicate of such Additions or Alterations, and on the Day in the Month of August when the Sheriff shall examine the Duplicate Registers, as herein-before provided, the Registrar shall deliver One of such Duplicate Minutes to the Sheriff, together with all the relative Documents, and the Sheriff shall, if necessary, inquire into the accuracy of the Facts therein set forth, and, if erroneous, correct the Minute; and thereupon the Sheriff and Registrar shall examine and authenticate the Duplicate Minutes, and One thereof shall be retained by the Registrar, and the other shall be transmitted by the Sheriff through the Post Office to the Registrar General, with the Duplicate Registers, and such Minute shall be deemed and taken to be a Part of the Registers, and the Alterations and Additions so authenticated shall forthwith be given effect to on or opposite to the Entries in the Duplicate Registers previously transmitted to the Registrar General for the Periods to which such Alterations and Additions apply.
Duplicate Register to supply the Place of any Register destroyed or become illegible. LV. If any Duplicate Register in the Custody of the Registrar shall be lost, destroyed, or mutilated, or shall have become illegible, in whole or in part, such Fact shall be forthwith communicated by the Registrar to the Registrar General, who shall require the Registrar immediately to transmit to him the Duplicate Register which shall have been mutilated or become illegible; and the Registrar General shall thereupon present a Petition to one of the Divisions of the Court of Session, setting forth the Fact of the Loss, Destruction, Mutilation, or total or partial Illegibility, as the Case may be, of such Duplicate and the Date of the Discovery of such Loss, Destruction, Mutilation, or total or partial Illegibility of such Duplicate; and the Court, on being satisfied regarding the same, and after such Intimation as they may think proper, shall order such Register to be corrected or completed, or a new Duplicate to be made, at the Sight of the Registrar General, and such corrected or completed Duplicate, or new Duplicate, authenticated by the Signature of the Registrar General, shall thereupon become in all respects of the same Force and Validity as the original Duplicate.
Index of Parish Registers to be made, which may be searched. LVI. Every Registrar shall forthwith make tabular alphabetical Indexes of the Duplicate Registers in his Custody, to be kept in the Registrar's Office; and every Person shall be entitled at all reasonable hours to search the said Indexes, subject to such Regulations as the Sheriff may prescribe, and to have an Extract of any Entry or Entries in such Registers under the Hands of the Registrar, on Payment of the Fees herein-after mentioned, (that is to say,) for every general Search the Sum of Two Shillings, and for every Search for a particular Register of Birth, Death, or Marriage, the Sum of One Shilling, and for every Extract of any Entry the Sum of Two Shillings; and any Registrar who shall refuse or neglect to make such Extract for One Month after being required so to do shall be liable in a Penalty not exceeding Ten Pounds.
Indexes to be kept at General Registry Office, where they may be searched. LVII. Every Person shall be entitled, on Payment of the Fees herein-after mentioned, to search the tabular alphabetical Indexes of the Duplicate Registers in the Custody of the Registrar General, between the Hours of Ten in the Morning and Four in the Afternoon of every Day except Sunday, and to have an extract of any Entry in the said Duplicate Registers; and for every general Search of such Indexes the Sum of Twenty Shillings, and for every particular Search the Sum of One Shilling, and for every Extract of any Entry the Sum of Two Shillings, and no more, shall be paid to the Registrar General, or such other Officer as shall be appointed to receive such Fees on his Account: Provided, that it shall be competent to the Registrar General to permit gratis Searches to be made by or on behalf of and Extracts to be given gratis to Persons of whose Inability to pay he shall be satisfied.
Extracts of Entries to be admissible as Evidence. LVIII. Every Extract of any Entry in the Register Books to be kept under the Provisions of this Act, duly authenticated and signed by the Registrar General if such Extract shall be from the Registers kept at the General Registry Office, and by the Registrar if from any Parochial or District Register, shall be admissible as Evidence in all Parts of Her Majesty's Dominions, without any other or further Proof of such Entry.
Money received by Registrar General to be accounted for.

4 & 5 W. 4. c. 15.
LIX. Every Sum received by the Registrar General under the Provisions of this Act shall be accounted for, and paid by the Registrar General, at such Times as the said Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury from Time to Time shall direct, into the Bank of England, to the Credit of Her Majesty's Exchequer, according to the Provisions of an Act passed in the Fourth and Fifth Years of his late Majesty, intituled An Act to regulate the Office of the Receipt of His Majesty's Exchequer at Westminster, or be applied by Order of the said Commissioners towards the Payment of the Expenses of the said General Registry Office.
Penalty on giving false information. LX. Every Person who shall knowingly and wilfully make or cause to be made, for the Purpose of being inserted in any Register of Birth, Death, or Marriage, any false or fictitious Entry, or any false Statement regarding the Name of any Person mentioned in the Register, or touching all or any of the Particulars by this Act required to be registered, shall be deemed guilty of an Offence, and on Conviction shall be punishable by Transportation for a Period not exceeding Seven Years, or by Imprisonment for a Period not exceeding Two Years.
Penalty on Registrar for omitting to register. LXI. Every Registrar who shall refuse, or, without reasonable Cause, omit to register any Birth or Death or Marriage, or to make any Addition to or Alteration upon the Register, in accordance with the Provisions of this Act, shall forfeit a Sum not exceeding Ten Pounds for every such Offence.
Penalty for destroying or falsifying Register, &c. LXII. Every Person who shall wilfully destroy, obliterate, erase, or injure any Entry, or cause to be destroyed, obliterated, erased, or injured any such Register, or Duplicate thereof, or any Minute, Notice, or Certificate made or given pursuant to this Act, or shall falsely make or counterfeit, or cause to be falsely made or counterfeited, any Part of any such Register or Duplicate, or any such Minute, Notice, or Certificate, or shall wilfully insert or make or cause to be inserted or made in any such Register or Duplicate any false or fictitious Entry of or any false Statement touching any Birth, Death, or Marriage, or shall wilfully give any false Certificate, or falsify any Certificate, or shall certify any Writing to be an Extract of any such Register, knowing the same to be false or fictitious in any Part thereof, shall be deemed guilty of an Offence, and on Conviction thereof be liable to be punished by Transportation for a Period not exceeding Seven Years, or by Imprisonment for a Period not exceeding Two Years.
For correcting erroneous Entries. LXIII. If any Error shall be discovered to have been committed in the Entry of any Birth, Death, or Marriage in any such Register, the Person discovering the same shall forthwith give Information thereof to the Sheriff, and it shall be lawful for the Sheriff, and he is hereby authorized and required, thereupon, or upon otherwise coming to the Knowledge of such erroneous Entry, to summon before him the Person who made and any Person concerned in the making such erroneous Entry, or having Knowledge regarding the same, and also any Person interested in the Effect of such erroneous Entry, and to examine all such Persons upon Oath; and if the Sheriff shall be satisfied that any Error has been committed in any such Entry, he shall, by Authority in Writing under his own Hand, direct a corrected Entry of the Birth, Death, or Marriage in relation to which such Error has been committed, and bearing the Date of the Correction, to be made in a separate Register Book, to be called "The Register of corrected Entries," and in such corrected Entry Reference shall be made to the Depositions upon which the Correction of the Error has proceeded, and the Sheriff shall also make or cause to be made an Entry or Marking upon the Margin of the original Entry of such Birth, Death, or Marriage in the Duplicate Registers, but shall not alter the original Entry, distinctly referring by Volume and Page and Date to the Entry made in "The Register of corrected Entries;" and in case the Duplicate Register shall have been transmitted to the Registrar General, the Sheriff shall transmit a Copy of the corrected Entry and relative Marking, authenticated by his Signature, to the Registrar General, to be inserted in the Duplicate Register so transmitted; and the Sheriff shall every Year transmit such "Register of corrected Entries" to the Registrar General, at the same Time and in the same Manner as is provided for the Transmission of Duplicate Registers.
Errors in Entry may be corrected before signing. LXIV. Provided always, That Errors committed in the Form or Substance of any Entry may be corrected according to the Truth of the Case before the Entry is signed; and if any Correction is intended to be made by Erasure or Obliteration, the same shall be effected by drawing a Line through the erroneous Words or Figures, but so as to leave the same legible; and any Addition or Alteration relative to such Correction shall be made as near as may be to the Correction, and the Registrar shall affix his Signature thereto.
Recovery and Application of Penalties. LXV. All Penalties imposed by this Act may, unless otherwise directed, be recovered by summary Proceedings upon Complaint in Writing made by the Procurator Fiscal to the Sheriff of the County within which such Penalty shall be incurred, or to the Sheriff of any County in which the Person complained against may be found; and on such Complaint being made such Sheriff shall issue a Warrant for bringing such Person immediately before him, or shall issue an Order requiring such Person to appear at a Time and Place to be named in such Order; and every such Order shall be served on the Person complained against, either in Person or by leaving with some Inmate at his usual Place of Abode a Copy of such Order and of the Complaint whereon the same has proceeded; and either upon the Appearance or on the Default to appear of such Person it shall be lawful for the Sheriff to proceed to the hearing of the Complaint, and upon Proof of the Offence, either by the Confession of the Person complained against, or upon the Oath of One or more credible Witness or Witnesses, and without any written Pleadings or Record of Evidence, to convict the Offender, and upon such Conviction to decree, adjudge, and sentence him to pay the Penalty incurred, and the Expenses attending the Conviction, and to grant Warrant for imprisoning him until such Penalty and Expenses shall be paid: Provided always, that such Warrant shall specify the Amount of such Penalty and Expenses, and shall also specify a Period at the Expiration of which the Offender shall be discharged, notwithstanding such Penalty and Expenses shall not have been paid, and which Period shall in no Case exceed Two Months, and such Penalty shall go to the Registrar General; and the Decision of the Sheriff in all such Cases shall be final and conclusive, and shall not be subject to Review in any Court or by any Process whatsoever.
Town Councils of Burghs to have Powers of Parochial Boards. LXVL Where any Parish shall be situated wholly or in part in a Burgh, the Town Council of such Burgh shall have and possess all the Powers hereby conferred on Parochial Boards, and shall be liable to the Discharge of all the Duties hereby imposed on such Boards in respect of such Parish or Part of a Parish; and such Powers and Duties shall be exercised and discharged by such Town Council as nearly as may be in Terms of the Provisions herein contained relative to such Parochial Boards; and such Town Council shall be entitled to levy such Assessment on the Real Rent of Lands and Heritages within such Burgh as may be required to defray the Expense of their Proceedings under this Act; and the Word "Burgh" shall have the Meaning annexed to it in the Seventy-sixth Section of this Act, excepting in the Case of Burghs which do not as Burghs send or contribute to send a Member to Parliament, the Boundaries of which shall continue to be as fixed by Royal Charter, or Act of Parliament, or other Constitution thereof.
Expense of Correspondence of Registrar General relating to this Act, how to be defrayed. LXVII. The Expense attending the Postage or Carriage of all Letters and Packets relating exclusively to the Execution of this Act, sent by the General Post from Place to Place in Great Britain and Ireland, to or from the Registrar General, and also the Expense of registering any Letter containing any Register transmitted through the Post Office, shall be defrayed as a Part of the Expense of the General Registry Office herein-before provided for: Provided always, that such Letters and Packets as shall be sent to the Registrar General be directed to the Registrar General in Edinburgh, and all such Letters and Packets as shall be sent by the Registrar General shall be in Covers, with the Words "Registrar General, Edinburgh," printed on the same, and be signed on the Outside thereof under such Words with the Name of such Person as the Registrar General, with the Consent of the said Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, shall appoint, in his own Handwriting, such Name to be from Time to Time sent to the Secretaries of the General Post Office in London, Edinburgh, and Dublin, and under such other Regulations as the said Commissioners shall think fit; and if the Person so to be appointed shall subscribe or seal any Letter or Packet whatever, except such only concerning which he shall receive the special Direction of his superior Officer, or which he shall himself know to relate exclusively to the Execution of this Act, or if the Person so to be appointed, or any other Person, shall knowingly send or cause to be sent, under any such Cover, any Letter, Paper, or Writing, or any Enclosure other than shall relate exclusively to the Execution of this Act, every Person so offending shall forfeit and pay the Sum of One hundred Pounds, and be dismissed from his Office, one Moiety of such Penalty to be paid to the Use of Her Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, and the other Moiety to the Use of the Person who shall inform or sue for the same, to be sued for or recovered in any competent Court.
Proclamation of Banns. LXVIII. Nothing herein contained shall affect the Proclamation of Banns, or the Registration thereof, as at present in use, or the Law of Marriage in Scotland.
Registrar General to furnish Notices of Acts required to be done to Sheriffs for Publication on Doors of Places of Worship, &c. LXIX. The Registrar General shall, within Three Months after his Appointment to such Office, and from Time to Time as he shall think fit, furnish to the respective Sheriffs of the several Counties in Scotland such printed Notices respecting the Acts required to be done under this Act by the Persons who are herein required to give Notice or Information with regard to any Birth, Death, or Marriage as he shall think it requisite to be publicly known, which Notices the Sheriffs shall, as soon as conveniently may be after the Receipt thereof cause to be affixed on the Outside of the Doors of all the known Places of Public Worship or other public and conspicuous Buildings or Places within their respective Counties.
Notices may be given by Post. LXX. Wherever Notice is required to be given by this Act, the Person bound to give the Notice shall be held to have sufficiently discharged himself if lie shall have put into the Post Office, before the Expiration of the Period within which the Notice is required to be given, a Letter addressed to the Person to whom and containing the Particulars of which the Notice is required to be given.
Penalties not exigible if Notice given. LXXI. No Penalty imposed by this Act on Parties failing to give any Notice required by this Act shall be exigible, if any of the Parties so required shall have given such Notice.
Parties may sign by a Mark before Witnesses. LXXII. In case of the Inability to write of any Person whose Signature is required or necessary under this Act, it shall be lawful for such Person to adhibit a Cross or other Mark, and being adhibited in Presence of the Registrar, or Sheriff:, or Two Witnesses, who shall adhibit their Designations to their Signatures, such Mark shall be in all respects as binding and effectual as the Signature of such Person if capable of writing would have been.
No Penalty where Failure not wilful. LXXIII. No Penalty shall be exacted in any Case where it shall appear to the Satisfaction of the Sheriff that the Party failing to comply with the Provisions of this Act, in relation to the giving Notices under the same, has not wilfully been guilty of such Failure, but that such Failure has been occasioned by unavoidable Accident, or by Circumstances over which be had no Control, and where he has used every reasonable Endeavour towards Compliance with such Provisions.
Registrar General may alter Schedules. LXXIV. It shall be lawful for the Registrar General, with the Consent of Her Majesty in Council, to diminish, from Time to Time, the Fees hereby authorized to be taken, and to alter the Schedules to this Act annexed, regard being always had to the Objects and Purposes of this Act, and to rendering the same more effectual; and such Alteration of Fees or Schedules shall be published in the Edinburgh Gazette, and shall within Fourteen Days after the same shall have been issued be laid before both Houses of Parliament, or if Parliament shall not be then sitting, within Fourteen Days after the meeting of the then next Session.
Compensation where Keepers of Registers deprived of Office by Operation of this Act. LXXV. If any Person being by Law in the Office of Keeper of any Register of Births, Baptisms, or Burials, and not being a Session Clerk, shall, in the Execution of this Act, be deprived of such Office, and thereby suffer Loss of the Emoluments of such Office, it shall be competent to such Person to make Application to the said Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, setting forth the Amount of such Loss, together with the Vouchers and Evidence thereof, and the said Commissioners may on Consideration of the same find the Applicant entitled to Compensation, and award the same to such Amount as they shall think fit, or find that he is not entitled to Compensation.
Interpretation of Act. LXXVI. The following Words and Expressions in this Act shall have the several Meanings hereby assigned to them, unless there be something in the Subject or Context repugnant to such Construction; (that is to say,)
The Expression "Registrar General" shall mean the Registrar General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in Scotland for the Time being, appointed and acting under this Act:
The Word "Parish" shall include any Division of a Parish or Union of Parishes into a District or Districts made in pursuance of this Act:
And with regard to any Birth, Death, or Marriage herein mentioned, the Words "Registrar" and "Assistant Registrar" shall mean the Registrar and Assistant Registrar of the Parish or District in which such Birth, Death, or Marriage took place or such Marriage was solemnized, celebrated, or contracted; and the Word "Register" shall mean the Duplicate Registers of Births, Deaths, and Marriages to be kept and made pursuant to this Act:
The Word "Sheriff" shall mean the Sheriff of the County of which he is Sheriff, and shall include Sheriff Substitutes:
The Words "Procurator Fiscal" shall mean the Procurator Fiscal of the County or Division of a County of which he is Procurator Fiscal:
The Word "Minister" shall be taken to include Ministers or Pastors of Christian Congregations of all Denominations:
The Word "County" shall include any Division of a County established by Law:
The Word "Burgh" shall apply to a City, Burgh, or Town being a Royal Burgh, or which sends or contributes as a Burgh to send a Member to Parliament, and the Boundaries of all such Burghs shall for the Purposes of this Act be the same as are described in the Act Second and Third William the Fourth, Chapter Sixty-five:
The Word "Heritors" shall mean Heritors entitled to elect a Schoolmaster under an Act passed in the Forty-third Year of the Reign of His Majesty King George the Third, Chapter Fifty-four: The Word "Occupier" shall include the Guardian, Master, Governor, Keeper, Steward, House Surgeon, or Superintendent of every Gaol, Prison, or House of Correction, Workhouse, Hospital, Lunatic Asylum, or public Charitable Institution.
Extent of Act. LXXVII. This Act shall extend only to Scotland.

SCHEDULE A.

1855. Births in the Parish of                   in the County (or Burgh) of Edinburgh. Registered by John Smith, Registrar.

No. Child. Parents. Informant When and where registered, and Signature of Registrar
Name (if given), and whether Informant present or not.

Baptismal Name (if different), or Name given without Baptism after Registration; and Date of Insertion thereof.
Sex. When born.

Year, Day of Month, Hour
Where born.

If in Lodgings, so stated.
Father Mother Signature of Father or Mother or other Informant, and residence, if out of the House in which the Birth occurred.
Name; Rank, Profession, or Occupation; Age; Birthplace When and where married; Issue, living and deceased Name; Maiden Name; Age; Birthplace
98 WALKER
JOHN.
(Present).
Male 1855
February
Eleventh
5h 30m a.m.
1, North Street
Edinburgh
James Walker
Wine Merchant
30 Years
Glasgow
1849, Edinburgh
1 Boy and 1 Girl living.
1 Boy Deceased
Jane Walker,
Maiden Name Hill
(her 4th Child)
29 Years. Stirling
James Walker
Father
1855
February 21st.
At Edinburgh


John Smith
Registrar

[The Words and Figures in Italics in this Schedule to be filled in as the Case may be.]


SCHEDULE B.

1855. Deaths in the Parish of                   in the County (or Burgh) of Edinburgh. Registered by John Smith, Registrar.

No. Description of the Deceased. Particulars of Death. Signature of Informant When and where registered, and Signature of Registrar
Name; Rank, Profession, or Occupation Sex. Age. Where born and How long in this District. Parents' Names and Rank, Profession or Occupation. If Deceased was married, When died.
Year, Day of Month, Hour.
Where died. Cause of death, and how long Disease continued. Medical attendant by whom certified, and when he last saw Deceased. Burial Place.

Undertaker by whom certified.
To whom. Issue in Order of Birth, their Names and Ages.
301 CANTY
William,
Labourer
M 62 County of Cork,
Ireland
36 Years in Edinburgh
Timothy Canty,
Shoemaker, deceased.

Mary Canty,
Maiden Name
Nicholas, deceased
Honoria M'Carty 1. Timothy, 31
2. William, 30
3. Mary, 29
4. John, dec aet 27, in 1854
5. Catherine, dec aet 1 in 1828
6. Stephen, 21
1855, February Twenty-eighth. 6h 30m. a.m. At 16, Collage Lane, Edinburgh Pneumonia —
2 months.
As certified by H. Bloomfield, M.D. who saw Deceased Feb 27th
Burial ground of Greyfriars, Edinburgh
As certified by George Watkins, Undertaker.
Honoria Canty, her X Mark
Widow
        Informant
James Johnston, Shoemaker, Edinburgh
        Witness
George Henderson, Clerk in Register Office, Edinburgh
        Witness
1855.
March 3d.
At Edinburgh. John Smith, Registrar.

[The Words and Figures in Italics in this Schedule to be filled in as the Case may be.]


SCHEDULE C.

1855. Marriages in the Parish of                   in the County (or Burgh) of Edinburgh. Registered by John Smith, Registrar.

No. When, where, and how married. Signatures of the parties. Residence. Age. Rank or Profession, and Relationship of Parties (if related). Condition. Birthplace, and when and where registered. Parents' If a regular Marriage, Signatures of Officiating Minister and Witnesses. If irregular, Date of Extract, Sentence of Conviction, or Decree of Declarator, and in what Court pronounced. When and where registered, and Signature of Registrar
Present Usual If a Widower or Widow, whether second or Third Marriage Children by each former Marriage. Names. Rank, Profession, or Occupation.
Living Dead
11 On March Third, 1855. At Edinburgh: Marriage (after Banns) was solemnized between us according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Established Church of Scotland. William Hastings 6, High Street, Edinburgh. Chelmsford, Essex 32 Carpenter Widower, Second Marriage 2 1 Born and registered on 1 May 1822, at Bristol. Peter Hastings, deceased and Ann Hastings, Maiden Name Payne. Upholsterer



School-mistress
James Brown, Minister of High Church, Edinburgh



John Hastings, Witness. Jane Mitchell, Witness
  1855. March 4th. At Edinburgh.

John Smith
Registrar.
Sophia Ann Mitchell 4 Hamilton Place, Edinburgh. 4 Hamilton Place, Edinburgh. 20 Dressmaker Spinster     Born and registered at Perth. John Mitchell and Sarah Mitchell, Maiden Name Evans, deceased. Butcher.  

[The Words and Figures in Italics in this Schedule to be filled in as the Case may be.]


SCHEDULE D.

I                     Minister of                     do hereby certify, That I have this Day baptized by the name of                       a (state the Sex Child produced to me by                       as the Child of A.B. and C.D. of                       and declared by the said                       to have been born at                       in the County of                       on the                       Day of                       One thousand eight hundred and                      . Witness my Hand, this                       Day of                       One thousand eight hundred and                       .
                                                                  Minister.


SCHEDULE E.

I                       do hereby certify, That the Child named                       was born at                       in the County of                       on the                       Day of                       One thousand eight hundred and                      ; that A.B. and C.D. of                      , are the Parents of the said Child; and that the Name                       was given to the Said Child on the                       Day of                       One thousand eight hundred and                       according to the Rules or Usage of the Sect or Persuasion of                       to which the Parents belong. Witness my Hand, this                       Day of                       One thousand eight hundred and                       .
                                                                  [Signed by Parent or Guardian of Child.]


SCHEDULE F.

To the Registrar of the Parish [or District] of                       in the County [or Burgh] of                       Take notice, That the Court of Session [ or other competent Court], upon the                       Day of                       18                      , pronounced Decree in an Action before the said Court, at the Instance of [Pursuer's Name and Description], against [Defender's Name and Description, relating to the Paternity of [Describe the Child], finding that the said Child was the illegitimate Child or the said [Pursuer's and Defender's Names]. Witness my Hand, this                       Day of                       One thousand eight hundred and                       .
                                                                  [Signed by the Clerk of the Court.]


SCHEDULE G.

To the Registrar of the Parish [or District] of                       in the County [or Burgh] of                       I hereby certify, That I attended                      , who was apparently aged                       Years; that I last saw him [or her] on the                       Day of                       185          ; that he [or she] died on the                       Day of                       185             at                      ; that the Cause of his [or her] Death was                      ; and that the Disease had continued                      . Witness my Hand, this                       Day of                       One thousand eight hundred and                       .
                                          Signed                      
                                          Profession                      
                                          Residence                      


SCHEDULE H.

To the Registrar of the Parish [or District] of                       in the County [or Burgh] of                       Take notice, That upon the                       Day of                       18          , the Body of A.B. of                       was buried in the [here insert the Name of the Churchyard or other Place of Interment.]. Witness my Hand, this                       Day of                       One thousand eight hundred and                       .
[Signed by the Undertaker or person having Charge of the Funeral, or the Person having Charge of the Place of Interment.]


SCHEDULE I.

I                       Registrar of the Parish [or District] of                   in the County [or Burgh] of                   do hereby certify, That the Death of A.B. of                   was duly registered by me on the                       Day of                       One thousand eight hundred and                       .                                           Registrar.


SCHEDULE K.

To the Registrar of the Parish [or District] of                   in the County [or Burgh] of                   Take notice, That A.B., a Justice of Peace for the County of                   convicted C.D., of                   of having irregularly contracted a Marriage with E.F. of                       ; or that the Court of Session [or other competent Court], upon the                       Day of                        18         pronounced Decree in an Action of Declaration of Marriage before the said Court, at the Instance of G.H. [Pursuer's Name and Description], against I.K. [Defendant's Name and Description], finding that G.H. of                        and I.K. of                        had intermarried. Witness my Hand, this                        Day of                        One thousand eight hundred and                       .                                           Signed by the Clerk of Court.