VITAL STATISTICS. The annual reports of the registrars-general for England and Scotland (see REGISTRATION) form a valuable storehouse of information on the various subjects connected with vital statistics. Besides detailed abstracts for each year of births, marriages, and deaths, tables of the fatal diseases, classified in combination with ages, are given, and comments upon the salient points of the year's registration accom pany the whole. The number of births, marriages, and deaths varies with the state of trade, price of food, and the seasons, and thus furnishes a test of the condition of a nation. We shall notice separately each of'these three divisions of vital statistics.
1. Births.—From the 34th report of the registrar-general for England, it appears that the number of children born alive and registered during the year 1871 was 797,428, the population for the middle of that year being estimated at 22,782,812; the birth-rate being thus 35 per 1000 to the population. The proportion of the sexes was 104 boys to 100 girls. It is found on an average of ten years (1801-71) that Cornwall, North Wales, Northumberland, Cumberland. Rutland, and Northampton have the largest proportion of male births; Hereford and Huntinkdon the smallest. The proportion of male children is greater in the illegitimate then in the legitimate births. The registered per centage of illegitimate to the total births in 1871 was 5.6. Twenty years ago the illegiti mate were nearly 7 per cent of the total births; in the ten years 1851-60, the average was 6.5 per cent; in the following tell years, 6.1 per cent. "I have no ground for suppos ing,' says the registrar-general, " that the general diminution in the illegitimate birth rate is caused by any increase in the omissions to register; on the contrary, I think that, as in those elements of registration which we have the means of accurately observing, undoubted progress in the direction of greater completeness has taken place, it is fair to assume with respect to the registration of illegitimate births, that at any rate no more of them are lost sight of now than in former years." The birth-rate is usually highest in the first three months of the year; taking the mean of each of the quarterly rates during 34 years, the average annual births to 1000 persons living were 35'4 in the March; 35.1 in the June, 32.5 in the September, and 32.3 in the December quarters.
The direct cause of the increase of population in any country (apart from immigra tion) is, of course, the excess of births over deaths, and this will plainly depend cn the following causes: (1) ou the prolificness of marriages; (2) on the proportion born which lives to marry; and (3) on the interval between the mean age of marriage and the mean age of death. All these conditions must be favorable to show the full power of increase in action. They have never yet, on any large scale at least, been found operating with maximum force. In the United States we find a combination of the first two; but from the " expectation of life" (see LIFE, MEAN DURATION OF) not being favorable in that country, it follows that the third cause is not in favorable operation.
2. Illarriages.—It would seem to be contrary to the principles of human nature that early marriages should be united to longevity. Youthful marriages arise where the chances of the acquisition of wealth in youth are favorable; and when these are favor able the fact seems to tell against longevity. One of the most interesting and useful points of view in which registers can he considered is the evidence which they give of the varying prevalence of the prudential check to marriage and population in different countries and places. The prudential check will show itself in two ways—either by the
proportion of marriageable persons who are not married, or by thelateness of the average age of marqing,. On the supposition of the natural prolificness of women remaining at tae same pc:::t, the birth-rate will indicate the extent of prudential check in whichever of the two ways it may manifest itself. Suppose that from any cause the prudential re straint on marriage were to become weaker among any people than it had hitherto been, while the means of maintenance remained the same, what would happen? A corre sponding increase would immediately take place in the annual mortality, and the mean duration of life would be correspondingly reduced. And there,can be no doubt that the premature mortality which prevails all over the world is mainly owing to imprudent marriages. The death of one-half of the human race under the age of puberty does not take place in virtue of any law of man's constitution, but from a disregard of the admoni tions of its laws. Those who have the means of obedience under the conditions of civil ized life generally greatly err; yet not so greatly, for the most part, as to be fatal to infant life. It is the want of means, in other words, imprudent marriages, which is the main cause. The following table is taken from an article " On the Statistics of Mar riages among the Families of the Peerage," by Archibald Day, esq. (Assurance Magazine, No. 48). The results as regards the peerage families are based on the data of a century to Dec. 31. 1855: In the above, column 1 shows the average rate of marriage at the given ages in the fam ilies of the peerage. Thus, of 100 persons married, it will, on an average, be found that 53.08 are under 30 years of age; and so on. Columns 2 and 3 give the same results for all England, as deduced by Mr. S. Brown (see his paper in the Assurance Magazine, vol. vii.). Column 4 is from M. Qnetelet's observations in Belgium Column 6 from a report of the committee of the statistical society upon the poorer inhabitants of St. George's-in-the-East in 1845. Column 8 was compiled by Mr. Sadler, and will be found in the second volume of his work on the Law of Population. From the 34th Report of the Registrar-general for England, it appears that in 1871, in England, the number of persons married was 380,224, being 16,914 more than in the previous year, and 26,284 more than in 1869. In the 34 years, 1838-71, the mean annual ratio of persons married was 1.65 per cent; in 1871, the rate was 1.67 per cent. In the five years 1841-45, nearly 92 per cent of the marriages registered were solemnized according to the rites of the established church; in the five years 1866-70, the proportion was 77 per cent; and in 1871 was 76 per cent. On the other hand, marriages in the superintendent reg istrar's office requiring no religious ceremony whatever, have steadily increased from 2.3 per cent of the total in 1841-45 to 8.9 per cent in 1866-70, and to 9.7 per cent in 1871. The mean age at marriage or remarriage in 1871 was for the men 27.9 years, and for the women 25.7 years. Curious instances are found in the tables of widowers of 60 and 70 marrying maidens of 15 and 19, of a bachelor of 75 wedding a spinster of 21, and of a bachelor of 21 marrying it spinster of 70. At 70 and upward, 238 men and 32 women entered or re-entered into the married state.