I had assumed that the registration of births with the Church was never legally required and that any compulsory registration in Scotland only came into force in 1854. I was surprised by an entry in the Kirkwall Cathedral Session minutes in 1837 "The Session Clerk stated that many parents in the parish neglect the Registration of the Births and Baptisms of their children whereby the Register is rendered defective and both he and the Beadle are deprived of their legal dues. The Session considering said statement and being desirous that the Register should be correctly kept appoint the Clerk and Beadle to print and issue an advertisement stating their determination that all concerned should comply with the law in this respect, and pointing out the evils resulting to the parties themselves from neglecting it." Would "the law" referred to, be Civil Law or Canon Law? Robert Slater