REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9567, 13 August 1909, Page 7

REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS.

ITHE LAW'S DEMANDS. REGULATIONS AND PENALTIES. h It is surprising the number of 1 people who are in ignorance of what * they are required to do by law on the ™ birth of a child. Of course, very g few do not know that the birth ha 3 | got to be registered at the office of 1 the District Registrar of Births, I Deaths, and Marriages, but that is I not all. Perhaps this article may | enlighten them. | The r object of the registration I of births is to obtain an accurate I record of the number ;of infants I that come into the world, and also I to enable in later years citizens to I prove their age and birth. This 1 will be easily seen to be especially ' useful in the case of proving claims to inherited property and insurance \ moneys, in the case of marriage, I an J in point of fact, in all the eventualities of life. Registration in New Zealand is made under the provisions of the i Births and Deaths Registration \ Act, 1908, in which is summarised the numerous Acts and amendments made by Parliament from to the Infants' Life Protection Aci, 1907. Under the latter Act, it is compulsory on the occupier of a . house in which a child is born to give notice of the birth of such child within 72 iiours ot such birth, if it occurs within a borough, or 21 days . in other cases. It is public property that this Act, admirable as it is in many respects in the interests of saving and preserving infant life, is a failure throughout the Dominion, as far as t the giving of compulsory notice referred to above is concerned. The object the Legisalture had in view in making the enactment was to get information regardng what , might be called disreputable births, not . necessarily illegitimate ones, but ! children born of indifferent, -careess, j uneducated, and filthy parents. But [ as regards the notice of birth at all ' eventf this class entirely escapes, and legislation is sadly needed to alter i this state of affairs Apparently there will be no real remedy for improving the situation until the penalties of the Act are put into force. Passing now from the provisions of the Infants' Life Protection Act to parents' responsibilities under the Births Registration Act, patents are compelled under that statute to register a child's birth within 62 days of such event, if they desire to register free of charge.. After 62 days, and up to six months, a fee, or rather fine, of 5s is required to be paid before the child can then be registered. After six months no registration can be affected except by the order of a magistrate. There are side issues in , the case of children born outside the , Dominion and brought to New Zealand within a specified time, and considerable latitude is allowed in the event of a child being re-registered under the Legitimation Act, 1908. For the information of the public it might be as well to state the persons responsible for the registration of the birth of a child are (1) its parents, (2) the occupier of the house in which it was born, and (3) failing the occupier, some person,present at the birth. Upon all these persona do the penalties of the Act devolve failing registration. It is not compulsory to name the child at its registration, but it is advisable to do so, as a fee of 2s 6d will be charged for the name being entered later on. After an infant has reschec' the age of 12 months its name cannot be added to or altered under any circumstances. And now for a few comparisons on birth-rales. The birth-rate of the Dominion, in common with practically most of the countries in the world, has fluctuated a good deal in recent years. In 1882 the birth-rate per 1000 of the populat on was about 37:5 per cenc, then.it began steadily to drop, until at the close of the century it had reached the low figure of 25.12 per cent. From th»t time, however, it has steadily risen, j though very slowly, until in 1907 it stood at 27.30 per cent. Comparing the birth-rate of New Zeaalnd with the rest uf the Australasian colonies, we occupy a fair position, coming third on the scale, West Auslralia and Tasmania being ahead of us, and the other Statas behind. \ In comparison with European countries, we hold a fair place, bej ing about equivalent with Scotland. Hungary, Austria, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands are well ahead tof us, whilst Norway, England, Wales, Belgium, Sweeden, Switzerland, Ireland, and France follow in our rear. A comparison ot the in the four centres in New Zealand is interesting. Auckland shows 29.63 per 1000 of the population, against Wellington's 27.53, Christchurch's 30 47, and Dunedin's 25.69, but adding Auckland's is suburban boroughs to the city the rate drops to 27.46; adding Wellington's three suburbs the birth-rate there drops to 27.34, and Dunedin's six boroughs to 25.36. In the case of Chnstchurch, - which has only one suburb to add to it, the rate is increased to 30.48 by the addition. It is interesting to note that to - every 100 females born in New Zealand there are 104 males, and during - , the year for which we have - ' official figures, 1907, there were 244 cases of twins registered in the Domit>ion, thus on an average .one mother in every 102 gave birth to twins, as against 114 in 1906, 97 in 1905, 93 in 1904, and 97 in 1903.