PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. THE fact that there are annually born in England and Wales more than thirty-eight thousand illegitimate children, being upwards of seven per cent. of all the births, is a sufficient proof of the utility of a work upon Orders of Affiliation. 1, CLOISTERS, Temple, June, 1848. T. W. S. * By the Registrar-General's report for the year 1875, the number of illegitimate births (as registered) amounted to 40,813, being 4.8 per cent. of all the births. |