MARRIAGE, in political economy. The reader may find many curious calculations and remarks relating to this subject in Dr. Price's " Observations on Reversion ary Payments." From a variety of facts, it appears, that marriages, one with an other, do each produce about four births, both in England and other parts of Eu rope. Dr. Price observes, that the births at Paris are above four times the wed dings ; and theretbre it may seem, that in the most healthy country situations, every wedding produces above four children ; and though this be the case in Paris, for reasons which he has 5iven, he has ob served nothing like it in any other great town. He adds, that from comparing the births and weddings in countries and towns where registers of them have been kept, it appears, that in the former, mar riages one with another seldom produce less than four children each ; generally between four and five, and sometimes above five ; but in towns seldom above four, generally between three and four, and sometimes under three. It is neces sary to be observed here, that though the proportion of annual births to weddings has been considered as giving the true number of children derived from each marriage, taking all rniirriages one with another : yet this is only true, when, for many years, the births and burials have kept nearly equal. Where there is an excess of the births, occasioning an in crease, the proportion of annual births to weddings must be less than the propor tion of children derived from each mar riage ; and the contrary must take place, where there is a decrease and by Mr. King's computation, about one in a hun dred and four persons marry ; the num ber of people in England being estimated at five millions and a half. whereof about forty-one thousand annually marry. In the district of Vaud, in Switzerland, the married are very nearly a third part of the inhabitants. Major Graunt and Mr. King disagree in the proportions between males and females, the latter making ten males to thirteen females in London ; in other cities and towns, and in the villages and hamlets, one hundred males to nine ty-nine females ; but Major Graunt, both from the London and country bills, com putes that there are in England. fourteen
males to thirteen females ; whence he justly infers, that the Christian religion, prohibiting polygamy, is more agreeable to the law of nature than Mahometanism, and others that allow it. This proportion of males to females Mr. Derham thinks pretty just, being agreeable to what he had observed himself. In the hundred years, for instance, of his own parish re gister of Upminster, though the burials of males and females were nearly equal, be ing 633 males, and 623 females, in all that time ; yet there were baptized 709 males, and but 675 females, which is thirteen fe males to 13.7 males. From a 'register kept at Northampton for 28 years, from 1741 to 1770, it appears, that the propor tion of males to females, that were born in that period, is 2,361 to 2,288, or nearly 13.4 to 13.
However, though more males are born than females, Dr. Price has sufficiently shown, that there is a considerable differ ence between the probabilities of life among males and females in favour of the latter ; so that males are more short-lived than females ; and as the greater mortali ty of males takes place among children, as well as among males at all ages, the fact cannot be accounted for merely by their being more subject to untimely deaths by various accidents, and by their being addicted to the excesses and irre gularities which shorten life. M. Kerse boom informs us, that during the course of 125 years in Holland, females have, in all accidents of age, lived about three or four years longer than the same number of males. In several towns of Germany, &c. it appears, that of 7,270 married per sons who had died, the proportion of married men who died, to the married women, was three to two ; and in Breslaw, for eight years, as five to three. In all Pomerania, during nine years, from 1743 to 1756, this proportion was nearly 15 to 11. Among the ministers and professors in Scotland, 20 married men die to 12 married women, at a medium of 27 years, or in the proportion of five to three ; so that there is the chalice of three to two,.