r TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 165 
much to dwell on the value of the registration or on the above anomaly, as to invite 
attention to the subject and discussion of it, with a view to consider the means of 
supplying the want and to show the practicability of doing so. 
In Ireland there is no registration whatever of births and deaths, and but a very 
limited registration of marriages under the Irish Marriage Registration Act of 1844, 
which however does not include the bulk of the population, the Roman Catholics. 
‘The author proposes to remove this exclusion of Roman Catholics from the advan- 
tage of registration, by including their marriages in a general and uniform registration 
‘corresponding with that of all other of Her Majesty’s subjects in the United Kingdom ; 
and he contends that this may be done without offending any religious convictions 
of any class of the community. The Roman Catholics, like others, are already regis- 
‘tered in England and Wales and Scotland. The registry of the Roman Catholic 
matriages would be made by the Roman Catholic clergy by whom the marriages are 
solemnized, and by whom they would continue to be solemnized as at present: the 
registry of other than Roman Catholic marriages is already provided for and would 
not be disturbed. 
For the registration of births and deaths in Ireland, the author proposed to make 
use of the Poor Law organization established throughout the country, and especially 
the system of dispensary districts and medical officers now spread all over the whole 
country in connexion with that organization. He exhibited a map showing the distribu- 
tion and arrangement of the Union districts, which he would adopt for the chief or 
“superintendent registrar’s districts, and which would be subdivided by the Guardians 
into smaller or registrars’ districts, for the registration of births and deaths, by a regis~ 
trar to be appointed for each by the Guardians of the Union district. He dwelt upon 
the importance of securing the cooperation of the medical profession in this registra- 
_ tion, and of obtaining qualified registrars. 
The register of books of births, deaths and marriages, as they became filled, would 
be deposited and open to searches in the office of the superintendent registrar of the 
Union district; and certified copies of the entries therein would be made every three 
months for transmission to a general register-office in Dublin, where they would be 
indexed and open to searches: and means would thus be afforded of access to the 
registers of all births, deaths and marriages occurring throughout Ireland. An annual 
‘summary and report to be made by the Registrar-General and laid before Parliament. 
The author’s estimate of the expense of establishing the system proposed, amounted 
‘to about £31,586, of which £11,887 would be paid out of the public funds, and about 
‘£19,699 out of the local rates. These amounts are about one-third of the cost for 
England, where the total expense is about £92,000 per annum, of which £27,000 is 
paid out of the funds of the state, and £65,000 out of local rates. The annual cost 
of the central office for England is £18,000; that for Ireland would be £6900, being 
only one-third more for the general registration of births, deaths and marriages, than 
the present cost (nearly £4000) of the central office for the registration of a small 
‘portion of marriages only. The estimate for Ireland is at the rate of a farthing and 
seven-tenths of a farthing per head on the population, for the charge on the public 
funds of the state; and one farthing and six-tenths of a farthing on the Poor Law 
valuation for the charge on the local rates. But the author suggests that the whole 
of these expenses, for an object of so great and general importance, and one of national 
_ Yather than local concern, might fairly be charged upon the funds of the state. If 
‘that were done for Ireland, it would be equally right that it should be done for the 
‘other portions of the United Kingdom. He had, however, followed the existing pre- 
cedents in this respect, both in his calculations and in the draft of a Bill which he 
_prepared and submitted to the Government in the summer of last year (1856), for 
carrying out in detail the plan of which his paper gave a general outline. 
od 
Reasons for extending Limited Liability to Joint-Stock Banks. 
a By Josrru J. Murpny. 
____ It was argued in this paper, that could banking companies of limited liability be 
___ established anywhere with perfect facility, the country would be covered with banks, 
__ and the small towns and rural districts would be enabled to enjoy those advantages 
___ of accommodation from banks having their head-quarters on the spot, which at pre- 
___ sent are confined to great commercial centres. 
