"BY LAW ESTABLISHED."
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."' SIR,—I do not flatter myself that I am the clergyman who- every quarter rouses the indignation of "A Superintendent- Registrar" by running his pen through the word " Established,' printed on the forms of returns of marriages. 1, too, however,. am guilty of that enormity. But in my case, at any rate, there is no intention of " disclaiming such a connection,' nor any rebellions motive whatever. I only try to obey,. perhaps too slavishly, the Registrar-General. The Register books of my parish are old, perhaps among the earliest issued under the present system of registration ; they omit the word_ "established," using instead, I think (I am at present away from home), the expression "Church of England." The Registrar-General requires me to sign a printed form, certifying that my returns are "true copies" of the entries in the books._ I do not care to mess my books by altering them at every entry,. so I alter the return-form. Verily, Horace's mountains are part
of the eternal hills !—I am, Sir, &c., " RmienDus /Ans."
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