great irregularity of the coasts, make this impossible, an approximation to such a division is all that can be obtained.

Many persons are of opinion that the districts would be too large, if England and Wales, were divided into but five or six parts, as was proposed a few years ago. Perhaps from 1200 to 1600 square miles might be thought an area of sufficient extent for all practicable purposes, without exposing ministers and other persons to great trouble and expense in travelling. If England were divided into thirty-three, and Wales into four well-shaped districts, this number would be considerably less than that of the counties, yet the extreme points of a district would be much nearer to each other, than are the extremities of many of our present counties. On an average, an English district would contain about 1500 square miles, the side of such a square would be about 39 miles, and the diagonal about 54. Each district might be redivided into four sub-districts for the purposes of frequent and easy intercourse. Some such division of the country would be attended with many facilities and advantages.

The most material objection to the adoption of some such plan, would probably arise from the present existence of many county associations. From these associations many pleasing intimacies have been formed, and some useful co-operation has been secured. It would, therefore, require some sacrifice of personal feeling to relinquish these. But if a new arrangement afford facilities for greater public good, ought we not forego our personal predilections? And the new associations would quickly vocate new intimacies with all their friendships and sympathies, and thus form the basis for much more systematic co-operation of all the Congregational churches.

In the accompanying map, the boundaries of the districts (except those on the coasts) are described by longitude and latitude, as these are easily ascertained, and are unchangeable. In all these cases the direction of the meridian and of the parallel is preserved, so that any person can easily mark out all the districts, on any moderately sized map of England and Wales. It is not presumed that the outline here sketched is the best that can be devised. The districts here mentioned may be thought too large, or too small; other arrangements may possibly be advantageously proposed, but if this attempt lead to a more thorough consideration of a subject which the writer deems to be of great importance his purpose will be answered, and he will be happy to hear the announcement of a better plan.

In addition to these just remarks, the Editor would observe, that the principle of adhering to county divisions in the organization of associations has been found so formidable a difficulty, that it has been in many cases virtually abandoned, and while the association bears the name of a particular county, a majority of its members actually live beyond its bounds.

Let the reader turn, for instance, to the Reading district, No. 24, on the map. It is 48 miles long, and 32 wide, and consequently contains 1536 square miles. It includes nearly all the county of Berks, and a considerable portion of the counties of Oxford and Bucks, together with some small parts of Surrey, Hants, and Wilts. This will, we think, clearly show how favourable a new arrangement would be to convenient and combined operations. The bounds that the East Berks, the North Bucks, and the Oxford and West Berks Associations, have marked out, prove how difficult, if not impracticable, it is to confine our unions to county bounds. Let us not be deterred by the charge of innovation from considering this proposal. It is indeed, true, that the Chartists have required that the United Kingdom should be divided into three hundred electoral districts, of an equal number of inhabitants for popular elections; but then let it be remembered that the commissioners appointed to consider the state of the established church, have very truly complained of the great inequality of the existing dioceses, and have recommended plans for new divisions that have been sanctioned by parliament, and are now in the course of progressive adoption to diminish that disparity. Mr. Wesley never dreamt of any revolutionary tendency in his system of division, which now numbers 33 districts and 412 circuits in Great Britain alone, and comprises more than 300,000 members.

In all such proposals we must not attempt to make haste. Paulatim must be our motto, time and reflection will abate misapprehensions, and "by little and little," we doubt not, that, with the blessing of God, our body will become at once the most free, united, and morally influential in our beloved country.

SECOND REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS ON DISSENTING

REGISTERS.

The Commissioners of the Non-Parochial Registration Commission have presented their Second Report, and terminated their useful labours, having examined and certified as accurate and faithful, about nine thousand volumes, containing upwards of five millions of registers of births and baptisms, deaths and burials, together with numerous entries of marriages solemnized previously to the passing of the marriage Act in 1754.

These valuable genealogical records, so important to the community, and so closely connected with the interests of Nonconformist families and churches, are now made legal evidence, and are deposited in a fireproof building, in the Roll's Yard, Chancery Lane, which has been approved of the Lords of her Majesty's Treasury, as a branch of the General Register Office, to which establishment all communications referring to the Non-Parochial Registers must hereafter be made.

Searches are allowed between the hours of ten and four daily, excepting the Lord's-day, Christmas-day, and Good Friday, on the payment of one shilling, and extracts and certificates are granted at two shillings and

sixpence. We must regret that personal application should be deemed indispensable, which is a real hardship to our friends in the country, who have almost universally given up their registers, and who will be under the necessity of employing a solicitor or agent in town, in order to obtain a certificate. Surely they ought to procure such extracts through the post, by enclosing the proper fee. We should likewise be glad to see these highly-important documents, in a branch office, committed to the care of some person under the Registrar-General, familiar with the habits, sentiments, and feelings of the parties chiefly interested in their custody. For we are aware that these books contain, besides registers, various matters relating to chapel deeds and endowments, as well as to ordinations and business of church meetings, so intermixed with the registers, that, in many instances, they could not possibly be detached.

We printed the first Report of the Commissioners in our Supplement for 1838, and the House of Commons has not yet ordered the second Report to be printed: we are happy, however, to be able to give our readers a copy of it which will complete our record of a proceeding deeply interesting to every dissenting family.

TO THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY.

We the Commissioners whose hands and seals are hereunto set and affixed, crave leave to refer to our former report, bearing date the 18th day of June, 1838, which having been laid before both Houses of Parliament, a bill founded on the basis of that report, and giving effect to the recommendations therein contained, passed the legislature and received your Majesty's royal assent on the 10th day of August, 1840. This act was entituled, "An Act for enabling Courts of Justice to admit nonparochial Registers as evidence of Births or Baptisms, Deaths, Burials, and Marriages;" and under the provisions of it the Registrar-General was directed to receive and deposit in the General Register Office, all the registers and records of births, baptisms, deaths, burials, and marriages, then in our custody, as your Majesty's Commissioners; and also such other registers as might be thereafter directed to be deposited with the said Registrar.

And it was further enacted, that the Commissioners should be continued for twelve calendar months from the passing of the act, and authorized during the said twelve months to enquire into the state, custody, and authenticity of every register or record of birth, baptism, marriage, dedication, death, burial, and marriage, which should be sent to them within three calendar months from the passing of the act; and that such as they should find accurate and faithful they should certify under the hands and seals of three or more of them (of whom the Registrar-General should not be one,) as fit to be deposited with the other registers and records directed to be placed in the office of the Registrar-General; and further, that the Registrar-General upon receiving the certificate of the Commissioners, accompanied by an order of one of her Majesty's principal Secretaries of State, should receive such registers and records. On the passing of the act we took immediate measures for the due execution of the same, and the result has been, that within the period prescribed by the statute, more than two thousand additional registers and records were transmitted to us by the following bodies who dissent from the doctrine and discipline of the Established Church:

The Roman Catholics.-The Roman Catholic prelates who in 1837 declined to authorize the inferior clergy of their persuasion to give up the registers in their possession, have (some of them at least) relaxed from the rigour of their decision, and consequently as many as 147 Roman Catholic registers have been transmitted to our custody.

The Society of Friends.—Since the passing of the act the Society of Friends have transferred their registers, contained in 1501 volumes, from the Muniment Room of the Society in Bishopsgate Street to our custody. They are the same, with a few additions, which were comprised in Schedule P annexed to our former report.

Bunhill Fields' Burial Ground.-By a vote of the Common Council of the City of London, the registers of burials which have taken place in Bunhill Fields' burial ground, and which were comprised in Schedule Q of our former report, have been placed under our care.

Registers kept at Dr. Williams's Library in Red Cross Street.-The whole of the registers and records kept at this library, and which were comprised in Schedule H and I in our former report, have also been handed over to us. And we have to observe, that in consequence of this transfer the register of births at Dr. Williams's library has been discontinued since the 31st day of July, 1837.

The Registers in the Consistory Court of London.-The Bishop of London and the Judge and Registrar of the Court have refused to allow the registers of births, marriages, baptisms, and burials of British subjects beyond the seas, comprised in schedule M in our former report, to be removed from the registry of the Consistory Court of London.

Since our last report we have obtained particulars of four registers which have been for some years lodged in the office of the Vicar General of the Archbishop of Canterbury, viz.—

1. A register of marriages, baptisms, and burials in Lisbon, from the year 1721 to 1794.

2. A register of marriages, &c., from 1765 to 1783.

3. A register of marriages, baptisms, and burials in the British factory at Lisbon, from 1794 to 1807.

4. A register of some marriages celebrated at a distance from Lisbon.

But the Vicar General aforesaid has declined to surrender these registers to the Commissioners, on the ground that none of a similar description have been transferred to their custody.

From these several sources the total number of registers received by us since our former report amount to, viz.—

The Presbyterians, Independents, and Baptists

The Scotch churches in England

From the foreign Protestant churches

59

116

15

The Wesleyan Methodists in their several branches
The Moravians

66

14

Lady Huntingdon's connexion'

2

The Calvinistic Methodists

Inghamites...

2

The Swedenborgians

5

Bible Christians

6

The Roman Catholics..

147

In proof of the general request in which these documents have been held, and the frequent resort which has been had to them, it may be fitting we should mention, that since they have been under our charge the secretary to the Commissioners has signed, on different occasions, about 5000 certificates containing extracts from these registers.

In the discharge of our functions we have strictly complied with the directions set forth in the 4th section of the act, preparatory to the final deposit of the registers with the Registrar-General. We have examined the several registers, and three of your Majesty's Commissioners have certified under their hands, upon some part of every separate book, that it is one of the registers to be deposited in the General Register Office pursuant to the act.

The collection of these records, with their subsequent examination and classification, and the other investigation preparatory to their being made receivable in evidence, have occupied us during a period of nearly five years, during which time there have been 209 meetings of the Board, besides occasional attendances for the general despatch of business.

Our last report stated that about 7000 registers had been received by your Majesty's Commissioners, which have been duly certified according to the direction of the act. The additional number above referred to makes a general total of about 9000 registers, every one of which has been examined by the Commissioners, and received the signature of three of them preparatory to their transfer to the custody of the Registrar-General. We have been compelled to reject great numbers of documents which have been wanting, according to our judgments, in faithfulness aud authenticity; others where the custody has been of a doubtful character, and some where they were delivered after the period prescribed by the act of Parliament.

Having now brought our labours to a close within the period prescribed by the statute, we venture humbly to endeavour to impress upon your Majesty the value and importance of these documents: taken together, they embody an immense number of nonparochial registers of your Majesty's subjects in England and Wales, and also of many Protestant foreigners who from time to time have been domiciled in this country. They extend over a period of nearly three centuries, beginning with the year 1567, and ending with the year 1838; and as according to the provisions of the act, these documents (hitherto scattered in different parts of the kingdom) are henceforth to be concentrated and preserved in one and the same place of deposit, we feel it our duty earnestly to impress upon the consideration of your majesty, that any building selected for their future and permanent custody shall be protected from damp and effectually secured against any accident by fire.

The building in which they have been deposited for the last three years of the time they have been in our custody is comparatively secure, being free from damp, and for the most part aloof and separated from any private houses; and accordingly we venture further to suggest, that they should be permitted to remain where they now are till the Registrar-General shall be able to make suitable arrangements for their due preservation and security; and we recommend, that in the mean time the Lords of your Majesty's Treasury should approve of the building in the Rolls Yard, Chancery Lane, which these documents now occupy as a branch or part of the General Register Office.