GOOD NEWS FOR THE GIRLS.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 202, 26 August 1919, Page 8

GOOD NEWS FOR THE GIRLS.

MARRIAGE MARKET BUSY. RUSH YEAR FOR ORANGE BLOSSOII. THE SEX BALANCE RESTORED. I The noraml Xew Zealand girl has plenty lof poise ami self-reliance: she has the native aplomb of an independent spirit, unci slip is not given to hysteria. There ; wa- ;i period, however, towards the cml 'of the war. when added to the other trials that shred t!:e nerves there arrived repeated news by cable, post and ; returning transport, that n large pro- ' portion of New Zealand's sons were having their affections weaned away from their true and lioiinden allegiance. It really did seem at one time as if about half the New /.ealand army was likely to bring buck war brides from anion;; the daughters of Britain and France. It looked us though our boys abroad had , been (smitten by an epidemic , of marriage making, and murmurs arose, not very loud, but just a hit nervy, from the girls who had been waiting in Xew Zealand with bright eyes and brave heart for the day when the boys came home again. i UKTTIXC! BKTTKR EVKRY DAY i Hut the position turns out to be not so ba,| after all. In fact, one way and another it is remarkably promising for the marriageable girl in New Zealand, who i* very much better oIV fn this regard than is rVr Hr:ti?h sister, in spite ■>f the circumstance, that a thousand ~r l wo of our lade are bringing war brides home with th.-in. In brief the lioverninent Statistician tells us that at the end of .June last the ses balance in the Dominion had been completely restore.!. that is to say that out of a population of 1,130.101 the proportion was sfifl,:tn.» males and .>ofl,7o<) females. This of course, i., : ,s it should be. but il is not merely remaining at that. It is getting better for the girl all the time, for while the immigration oi men— mostly young marriageable men, continues to exceed jtho emigration by a substantial margin, there i.- a reverse tendency respecting J tlie ebb and How of women. ' In the .June quarter S!>l more women left New /<■■<■ I land than entered it. and though this] ! excess n f emigration has ea«e;l off in the past two month*, it is still considerI able. The relaxation of the restrictions! I imposed on women in the shape of travel | ling while the war was on, is largely (responsible for this sudden female flight to foreign parts. Many of them will return, bui a substantial proportion of the-e departing ladies ar ,. gping for j •rood, having been detained here while j I travelling was impossible. A MAKRIACK BOOM. j Another encouraging feature is the cvi : dent di-sire of the young New Zeulander to marry and settle down, now that tinhorrors and uncertainties of war are past. This is very noticeable in Auric-' ! land, and doubtless the same tendency I -exists in the other parts of the Dominion. .The Registrar of Marriage* has iieen nn' exceedingly busy man this year. Busi 'ness has lioom-d in short. ' for besides issuing an unusual number of licenses then* has I n an uncommonly large proportion of the happy couple* demanding to be joined on the spot .is man and wife. Jn InOS a total of 10.-.U licenses was issued by the registrar ut Auckland. while this year the tally up to la-t night |\vas mis. while several'others thii nmr «ng brought the figure over the thousand mark, almost up to last year's total, with four clenr months yet to run. Anion- these new voyagers on the sea of matrimony returned soldiers constitute the major portion of the males, while the blushimr brides are mostly voting New Zealand with a sprinkling of ICnglish girls who have come out Ito be married in New Zealand, and about the customary percentage of elderly folk who drop into the ranks of the iviilded. either for the first, s >nd or some other time. It is so noticeable that among these brides and bridegrooms the marriage aj;e is well below what it lias stood at in the past for a lengthy peri.id. In I IIM4 it was estimated that the mean marrying age for nun in New Zealand I was 2!>.n."i years, and for women IC>.M ! years. The observations of the Auckland Registrar show that in the past year the overages have been well under 'bese ages. Youth is the natural time for marrying and giving in marriage, and as youthful marriages may be naturally looked upon to produce larger families'thU >s? a factor in the present marrying boom which should give infinite satisfaction to the economist and statistician. COMFORT FOR TIIK NERVOUS. j To those who are thirsting to be wed hut tremble at the thought of the cereImonioUß ordeal, is .should lie comfortling to know that getting married ik the I simplest matter in the world if one really wishes it to be en. The performance* is not one in which tlie male has much voice, but if sweet Hi'inplicitv is .also dear to the lady's heart the whole ; matter can lie disposed of in rather Ichh I than half an hour from the time tin , I mind is really screwed up to it. The registrar of marriages will solemnize them between il a.m. and I p.m. on a I declaration that the two contracting j parties have resided in tin , district for three days prior to tin- marriage. It not infrequently happens that a couple will ' stroll in to the ofiice a few minutes InI fore four and announce their desire to i be. made man and wife. If there are no j complications the request may be comI plied with there and then and the twain ! leave as one in a matter of minutes. ! That is when the field, so to speak, is 1 clear. There are. of course, occasions 'when discreet inquiries dim-lone reasons I for an interval before the ceremony. Hut I barring obstacles the process of getting '•hitched" together for life may he fixed up joyfully quick for the people who shrink'from the ordinary wedding bell ceremony.