Bills of Mortality were instituted in the city of London in the year 1592, in order to collect and exhibit the number of deaths, and to record the progress, diffusion, and decline of the epidemic malady, with which the city was at that time infested; but upon the cessation of the plague, the bills were discontinued. It appears, however, in consequence of the recurrence of the sickness, that they were reestablished by public order in 1603, and on the 29th of October in the same year, being the first of the reign of King James, the establishment of a regular series of weekly bills of death commenced. In 1606 the number of christenings, as well as that of burials, appeared in the returns, and although diseases and casualties were recorded as early as 1604, no public notice was made of either before the year 1629, when another important improvement took place—that of distinguishing between the sexes. In 1728 the ages[220] of all who died from under two years of age and upwards were regularly specified, and this may be considered as the last[221] improvement which the bills of mortality have received; for notwithstanding the rapid march of those arts and sciences with which every branch of statistics is so intimately connected, the contents, arrangement, and language of these bills have remained unchanged. The collating, printing, and publishing these documents, as far as they relate to the metropolis, are placed under the superintendance and jurisdiction of the ancient corporation of parish clerks:[222] a power which it is hardly necessary to observe is wholly inadequate to the accomplishment of the medical, political, and moral objects which these bills are calculated to promote. As to the nature of the diseases of which persons die, much error must necessarily arise from the absurd manner in which the investigation is conducted, as the following statement will clearly demonstrate.—The churchwardens of each parish within the bills of mortality, appoint two old women to the office of _Searchers_, who, on hearing the knell for the dead, repair to the sexton of the parish, to learn the name and residence of the deceased. They demand admittance into the house to examine the body, in order that they may see that there is nothing suspicious about it, and _judge_ of what disease the person died, which they report to the parish clerk. The regular charge for the performance of this office is _fourpence_ to each _searcher_; but if an extra gratuity be tendered, they seldom trouble the domestics with any examination. We entirely agree with Dr. _Burrows_[223] in thinking that the office, as at present filled, should be entirely suppressed; and the attestation of a properly qualified medical practitioner, upon actual knowledge of the disease of which the person died, or upon inquiry and examination of the body, should be substituted. Were competent persons only appointed to report, the nomenclature[224] and classification of diseases, in which there has