BIRTHS ON SHIPBOARD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21144, 30 March 1932, Page 11

BIRTHS ON SHIPBOARD.

EFFECT OF MARINE LAW. AUCKLAND RESIDENT'S QUERY. An interesting point in the regulations governing the registration of births has been raised by a woman resident of Auckland, who has asked the Herald her position through having been born on shipboard. The resident was born during the voyage of the ship Marlborough from England to Otago Harbour in 1884, and tho question recently arose as to where the circumstances of her birth would be recorded. Under British sej law of many years' standing, a person born on board a British vessel, as in the case of the Auckland resident, has Stepney parish, London, as the registered place of birth. Stepney was selected as a standard birthplace in such circumstances because it was a centre of London's mercantile marine. Oilier regulations apply to tho question of births on board British ships. By the English Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1874, and the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, commanding officers of ships trading to and from British ports must, under a penalty, transmit to the Registrar-General of Shipping, returns of all births and deaths occurring on board their vessels. The registrar-general, in turn, is required to furnish certified copies to the registrars-general of England, Scotland and Ireland, the returns constituting the Marine Register Book. In the case of the Auckland resident a record of birth should be available at Somerset House, London.