Suggestions as to Transcription. 



LIMITS OF DATE. 



It is evident that there is most reason for transcribing the oldest 

 Registers, but those of later date are also of great value, and it is 

 suggested that 1812, the date of the Act of 52 Geo. Ill, cap. 146, 

 is a suitable point to which copies may be taken. 



CHAEACTEE OF WEITING. 



In transcribing, great care must be used to avoid mistakes from the 

 confusion of certain letters with modern letters of similar form. 



An alphabet is adjoined giving some of the ordinary characters, 

 but Eegisters vary, aiid the manner in which the capital letters are 

 formed is of infinite variety. It may be noted that capital F resembles 

 two small ff's, but there is no reason whatever for printing it in the 

 latter way ; G is a difficult letter running into C and T ; K and E are 

 formed exactly alike, except that the direction of the top loop is always 

 reversed ; W is formed as two U's or two Vs. 



Great help in deciphering names may be gained from a study of 

 existing local names. It must, however, be borne in mind that the 

 same name may be continually spelt in different ways, and may undergo 

 considerable changes in the course of time or from the hands of 

 different scribes. 



In copying dates it must be remembered that down to 1752, the 

 year began on the 25th of March and not on the 1st of January. 



METHOD OP TRANSCRIPTION. 



There can be no doubt that a verbatim et literatim transcription is 

 of far more value than any other form ; it is otherwise impossible to be 

 sure that some point of interest and importance iias not been over- 

 looked ; the extra trouble of making a complete transcript is small, 

 and the result much more satisfactory. In any case the names should 

 be given literatim and all remarks) carefully copied, with some indi- 

 cation, where possible, as to the date of the remark. Other records, 



