POPULATION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 775, 26 March 1910, Page 14

POPULATION.

NEW SOUTH WALES BIRTH-RATE. SOMEWHAT ALARMING' FIGURES. Figures furnished a few weeks ago by Mr. John R. Trivott, the New. South' Wales .Government- Statistician, -bear-' in'g qn'the ''recsnt '.- statement 'of Mr." Deakin/that the ; most fundamental question that can be put to Australians is::"Are.'wo an'increasing or a decrease ing race?" disclose the following rather sensational facts:— The fertility of wives between the ages of 15 and 45 in New South Wales has decreased by no less than 30.6 per cent, since the year 1881.

It has decreased in almost all countries, but in no other country to a comparable extent. j

In Ireland, Austria, and Spain it has slightly increased. It has decreased in all other countries—in England and Wales by 17.7 per cent., in Germany by 8.4. France and-Belgium show the biggest decrease after the Australian States—France 19.7, and Belgium 19.8. It must be remembered, however, that in New South Wales-.the'fertility. 30 ■years ago was high. The birfh-rato in; New South Wales is 26.8 lower than that of Russia (47.9), Netherlands .(30.0), Rumania (41.7), Germany (32.2), Denmark (28.3), Austria (33.9), Scotland (27 J0), Italy (31.4), and Spain i(32.9). It is the same-as that of Switzerland (26.8), and a very little higher than that of England and Wales' (26.3). It is true that ,it is higher than South Australia (24.6), Victoria (24.6), and Queensland (26.7). But the only other countries; which are given with lower birth-rates are Ireland (23.2), and France (19.7). Tasmania ' (30.9) is the only one of the Australian States ■ which' has a considerable birth-rate: ,

Sydney (25.4) has a lower birth-rate than St. -'Petersburg, (28.5),'.. Montreal (38.4), Toronto (34.5), Moscow (35.6), and many other cities. It is almost the same as London (25.2). Berlin (23.4); and Paris (18.5) are lower. Tie country with the highest birthrate is European Russia, where in 1903 —according to the last available statistics —47.1 children were born for every thousand of the population. In 1882 the birth-rate there reached the highest point known in recent years—so.4 per 1000. New South Wales used to have a birth-rate as high as 43.9 in. 1864. It fell as low as 25.3 in. 1903.

In all countries the birth-rate has fallen, but not to this extent. Since 1881 it haa fallen in England from 33.9 to 26.3 in 1907; in France from 24.9 to 19.7; in Germany from 37 -to 32.3. In Germany great trouble is takan by the State to keep up the birth-rate, and to see that overy child born is brought up in healthy suiroundings in every way; even if he has to be taken from; his parents. In other countries no. such trouble, is taken. In France the death-rate in 1907 was actually higher than the birth-rate.

The .position of Australia on the list of the'birth-rates of the world is altogether alarmingly low. It is only fair to mention that.its death-rate is so small that the low birth-rate is more than counterbalanced.' The Australian cities have by far the lowest death'rates in the world. For oxample, in 1908 the death-rate in Sydney was 10.3;. London'l3.B, Berlin 15.4, New York 16.5, Paris 17.5, Toronto 20.1, Montreal 23.0, Moscow 28.0, St. Petersburg 28.6. Sydney was the lowest and Rio (32.2) the highest amongst the cheif capitals. The result was that Tasmania, Western Australia, Now Zealand, New South Wales, and Queensland, in that order, caine first on the list- of natural increase. In increase by immigration they coald not compare with American countries.