THE CENSUS OF 1861. 17 



©f religious denominations, it would be hopeless to expect any accuracy 

 from such a source. These returns might act as a check upon the 

 facts as otherwise obtained, but there can be no system of registration 

 approaching to completeness other than a compulsory civil registration, 

 as'in England and most European countries, and in some of the states 

 of the neighboring Union. Every person should be bound under a 

 penalty to register with some local officer, within a given time, every 

 death or birth occurring in his family, and in order to remunerate the 

 officer, and to give him an interest in the completeness of the registry, 

 a small fee should be payable to him on each entry. I would take 

 advantage as far as possible of our present municipal organization, 

 and, in Upper Canada at least, the local officer might be the township 

 clerk. As the township clerk is often changed, and as there is gener- 

 ally no proper office in which the registers could be safely kept, I 

 would require the township clerk to file the originals with the regis- 

 trar of the county, at the end of every quarter. These registers, 

 besides their use for statistical purposes, would serve as an authentic 

 record of births and deaths, which, together with the registration of 

 marriages, which is already made in the registrar's books, would be 

 always open for reference in questions of succession to property. 

 Both objects should be kept in view, and the form of the registers 

 might perhaps be something like the fellowing : — The township clerks 

 might be supplied by the registrar with sheets ruled in columns 

 shewing, for births — date of birth, sex, name, father or mother's name, 

 signature of person making the registry, date of registry ; and for 

 deaths — date of death, name, age, disease, signature of person making 

 the registry, date of registry. Each sheet, when returned to the 

 registrar, should bear the certificate of the clerk. In Lower Canada, 

 where the municipal organization is not so perfect, it might be desira- 

 ble to have some other local registrar than the township clerk, and 

 the sheets might be deposited as at present with the Prothonotary ; 

 but the forms, and as far as possible the system, should be uniform 

 in the twa sections, and the registration should be that of births and 

 deaths, and not merely the ecclesiastical record of baptisms and 

 burials. 



It should also be incumbent upon the assessor to have a column in 

 his roll for the numbers in each family. This used always to be done 

 in Upper Canada before the union, and gave very little trouble, and 

 •the numbers under fifteen are still given for school purposes. It 



Vol. X. B 



