The main division of parishes in Scotland was into civil and ecclesiastical, or, to speak more accurately, into parishes proper (i.e., for all purposes, civil and ecclesiastical) and ecclesiastical parishes. This division is expressed in legal language by the terms, parishes quoad omnia (i.e., quoad civilia et sacra) and parishes quoad sacra—civitia being such matters as church rates, education, poor law and sanitary purposes, and sacra being such as concern the administration of church ordinances, and fall under the cog nizance of the church courts. There are other minor divisions. The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1894 reformed parish government. It established a local government board for Scotland, with a council in every parish, and abolished parochial boards.
The Parish in the United States.—The term "parish" is not in use as a territorial designation except in Louisiana, the 6o parishes of which correspond to the counties of the other States of the Union. In the American Episcopal Church the word is frequently used to denote an ecclesiastical district.
the reign of Edward III. to that of Charles II., the hearth-tax assessments and the land-tax accounts. On the subject of the parish generally see J. Toulmin Smith, The Parish (1854) ; W. Stubbs, Con stitutional History (1880); W. C. Glen, Parish Law 0880 ; J. Steer, Parish Law (1899) ; 0. Reichel, Rise of the Parochial System in England (1905) ; S. and B. Webb, English Local Government, vol. i. (1906). For fuller information regarding the Scottish parish see J. Connell, Tithes (1815), Parishes (1818, 1820) ; J. M. Duncan, Parochial Ecclesiastical Law (1864) ; H. Goudy and W. C. Smith, Local Government in Scotland (188o) ; Cobden club essays on Local Government and Taxation in the United Kingdom (1882) ; M. Atkin son, Local Governmen:`, in Scotland (1904).