1888.] Mr G. Seton on Illegitimacy in Parish of Marnoch. 229 
the village of Aberchirdir furnishing 179 of the 277 illegitimate 
births. 
The parish of Marnoch lies inland, along the north bank of the 
Deveron, on the north-east side of the county, and derives its 
present name from Saint Marnoch. The extent of the parish is 
about 15,000 acres, or about six miles by five. At the last census 
the population amounted to 3220 — 1507 males and 1723 females — 
being a slight decrease (64) as compared with that of the census of 
1871. At the same period the population of the village of Aber- 
chirdir amounted to 1358, of whom 562 were males and 796 females 
— showing a preponderance of the latter to the extent of 234. 
Accordingly, it would appear that while the village of Aberchirdir, 
with a population of 1358, furnished 179 of the illegitimate births 
in question, the remainder of the parish, with a population of 1872, 
furnished only 98. • In other words, while the proportion of these 
births to the population, in the purely rural portion of the parish, was 
about 5 per cent. (5 ’2), the proportion in the village of Aberchirdir 
was about 13 (13-2). The proportion of illegitimate births to the 
population in the whole of Scotland is only 0*27 (or about one to 
every 400 persons), from which it would appear that the rural 
portion of the parish of Marnoch, in the matter of illegitimacy, is 
about 20 times worse than Scotland generally, and the village of 
Aberchirdir about 50 times w^orse ! The inhabitants of the former 
are chiefly farmers and crofters (agriculture and cattle-rearing being 
the principal industries) ; and of the latter, the followers of the 
various trades found in any ordinary country village, besides a good 
many farm servants and agricultural labourers. In both, the 
households frequently consist of from 7 to 10 members. 
According to the Neiu Statistical Account of Scotland, published 
in 1845, “the parishioners of Marnoch are an industrious, quiet, 
well-behaved people, and possessing a high degree of intelligence. 
Many of them are much given to reading ; and it may be 
mentioned that, in the course of two weeks, 60 copies of Dr 
Dewar’s Body of Divinity'^ were sold in the parish.” Besides two 
or three unendowed schools, “ the parochial school is taught in the 
most efficient manner.” At the same date there were regular feeing 
* The body of Humanity does not appear to have been much influenced by 
Dr Dewar. 
