The Journal of Jonathon Lindey From the main part of the journal - Page 3
Over the course of the next week I pursued the matter further, neglecting, I regret to say, my regular work while so doing. First I had the forms from the previous census brought up and compared them with the current forms. They were identical. It was almost as though someone had copied the forms. I almost went to my superior at this stage, but the urge to have everything wrapped up stayed my hand. The following day I presented myself at the central depository of the Registrar of Births and Deaths for the entire country. I asked at the counter to see the records for Crystal Falls, and was taken into the reading room while an assistant fetched the requested file. Turning the pages of the bound file I came to the summary returns for Crystal Falls. I was astounded to see that the registrar reported that there had been no births or deaths in the town over the ten years covered by the volume. My exclamation of surprise was heard by the clerk, who came over to see what the problem was. I showed him the file and he too expressed surprise. He left to consult his superior and a few minutes later returned and invited me to visit one of the registrars. I accompanied him to an office on the upper floor and was ushered in. The gentleman I was speaking to was an assistant registrar, Mr McCandlass, who, it turned out, was acquainted with the Crystal Falls figures. He too had felt that there was a problem and had carried on a correspondence with the local registrar responsible for the Crystal Falls area. The registrar explained that the town had had an unexplained rash of still births, resulting in no live births for a long period of time. As for the lack of deaths, it seems that the town was a fairly depressing place and that older residents tended to leave in search of more salubrious neighbourhoods! My disbelief must have been obvious because Mr McCandlass held up his hand to silence my protest. He told me that he too did not believe it, and had asked about deaths due to disease and accidents. He got a very frank letter back from the local registrar saying that he, the registrar, didn't believe it either, but the town was in the backwoods and off the beaten track. The registrar didn't have any real proof of wrong doing, and lacked the resources to take the matter further. Mr McCandlass's final letter had been returned unopened by the registrar's clerk with a note to the effect that the registrar had fallen off his horse and broken his back, dying of the complications soon afterwards. Mr McCandlass had written a report on the matter and passed it up the chain of command. Eventually the word came back just to file the report. The local registrar was not the only one who didn't have enough staff! |
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