MOR 
M OR 
which irritates tlie organs of smell. Its so- 
lution precipitates acetate of lead, nitrate of 
silver, and nitrate of mercury. 2. M. of 
ammonia, obtained by pouring carbonate of 
ammonia into the solution of tlie moroxylate 
of lime. This solution, when evaporated, 
yields crystals of moroxylate of ammonia in 
long slender prisms. 
MOROXYLIC acid, discovered a few 
years since by Dr. Thompson on the bark 
of the moms alba, or white mulberry, grow- 
ing at Palermo in Sicily. It coated the 
bark of the tree in small grains, of a yellow- 
ish and blackish brown colour. An account 
of the analysis of this substance may be 
found in Nicholson’s Journal, vol. vii. This 
acid has the taste of succinic acid ; it is not 
altered by exposure to the air; it dissolves 
readily in water and alcohol ; it does not 
precipitate the metallic solutions like its 
salt. From the small quantity of this acid 
on which the experiments were made, it ap- 
pears to be compounded of oxygen, hydro- 
gen, and carbon, but the proportion of the 
constituent parts is not known. The com- 
poutids which it forms with alkalies has 
received the name of Moroxviates. See 
above. 
MORTALITY, bills of, registers of the 
number of deaths or burials in any parish or 
rlistrict. The establishment of bills of mor- 
tality' in Great Britain, originated in the 
frequent appearance of the plague, which 
formerly made great devastations in this 
country, and an abstract of the number of 
deattis was published weekly, to shew the 
increase or decrease of the disorder, tliat in- 
dividuals might not be exposed to unfound- 
ed alarms, but have some means of judging 
of the necessity of removal, or of taking 
other precautions, and government be in- 
formed of the propriety or success of any 
public measures relating to the disorder. 
Since the disappearance of the plague, 
these registers have, been continued from 
the convenience found in ascertaining by 
tliem the precise time of the birth or death 
of individuals, and for the information they 
furnish respecting the rate of human mor- 
tality, and the state of population. 
The first directions for keeping parish 
registers of births and burials were given in 
1538, when Thomas Cromwell was ap- 
pointed the King’s vicegerent for eccle- 
siastical jurisdiction, and in that capacity 
issued certain injunctions to the clergy, one 
of which ordains, that every officiating mi- 
nister shall, for every church, keep a. book, 
wherein he shall register every marriage. 
christening, and burial ; and the injunction 
goes on to direct the manner and time of 
making the entries in the register book 
weekly, any neglect of which is made pe- 
nal. In 1517 all episcopal authority was 
suspended for a time, while the ecclesiasti- 
cal vi.sitors then appointed went througli 
the several dioceses to enforce divers in- 
junctions, among which was that respecting 
parish registers. This injunction was again 
repeated in the beginning of the reign of 
Elizabeth, who also appointed a protesta- 
tion to be made by the clergy, in whieh, 
among other things, they promised to keep 
the register-book in "a proper manner. One 
df the canons of the church of England 
prescribes very minutely in what manner 
entries are to be madQ in the parish regis- 
ters, and orders an attested copy of the re- 
gister of each successive year, to be annu- 
ally transmitted to the bishop of the diocese 
to be preserved in the bishop’s registry. 
This canon also contains a retrospective 
clause, appointing that the ancient registers, 
so far as they could be procured, but espe- 
cially since the beginning of the reign of 
Elizabeth, should be copied into a parch- 
ment book, to be provided by every pa- 
rish ; which regulation was so well obeyed, 
tliat most of the ancient parish registers 
now extant, commence with that Queen's 
reign, and some of them earlier, quite as far 
back as the date of the original injunction. 
The London bills of mortality are found- 
ed upon the reports of the sworn searchers, 
who view the body after disease, and deli- 
ver their report to the pari.sh clerk. The 
parish clerks are required, under a penalty 
for neglect, to make a weekly return of bu- 
rials, with the age and disease of which the 
person died ; a summary of which account is 
published weekly ; and on the Thursday 
before Christmas-day, a general account is 
made up for the whole year. These general 
accounts of christenings and burials taken 
by the company of parish clerks of London, 
were began December 21, 1592; and in 
1594 the weekly account was fiist made 
public, as also^the general or yearly ac- 
count, until December 18, 1595, when they 
were discontinued upon the ceasmg of the 
plague ; in 1603 they were resumed, and 
have been regularly continued ever since. 
The original bills comprehended only 109 
parishes, but several others were afterwards 
inelpded, and in 1660 the bills were new 
modelled, the twelve parishes in Middlesex 
and Surry being made a division by them- 
selves, as were likewise the five parishes in 
