THE MARRIAGE RATE

Evening Star, Issue 20309, 18 October 1929, Page 2

THE MARRIAGE RATE

BELOW, PRE-WAR YEARS JUNE QUARTER FAVOURED WEDNESDAY THE POPULAR DAY The number of marriages registered in New Zealand daring 1928 was 10,537, this total representing an increase of 59 as compared with the previous year. The marriage rate of 7.58 per 1,000 of mean population is slightly lower than that for 1927 (7.62) and 0.19 per 1,000 loss than the preceding five-yearly average. The marriage rate in recent years is a long way below the average rate attained in pre-war years, and the tendency is for the rate to decline still further. This declining movement is not onlv noticeable in New Zealand, but is evident in most other civilised countries. During the period 1904-13 the normal tendency was towards a gradual increase in the marriage rate, but the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 seriously disturbed this upward movement, and the increasing diminution in the number of males of marriagable age quickly brought tho rates to a level never previously approached. DISTRIBUTION OVER YEAR. Marriages are by no means evenly distributed over tho year, and the fluctuations that take place are interesting to note. A comparison of the number of marriages celebrated in each of the four quarters of the last three years is given in the following table;— 1920. 1927.- 1923. Quarter ended March 31 ... 2,575 2,384 2,353 Juno 30 ... ... 3,035 2,997 3,110 September 30 2,268 2,356 2,208 December 31 ... 2,802 2,741 2,866 It will be seen that Juno quarter has tho largest total of marriages, closely followed by December quarter. The fact that the Easter holidays occur during the June quarter accounts for the majority of marriages being celebrated at that period, many couples taking advantage of the opportunity thus presented of entering upon married life at a holiday time. This theory is substantiated by the study of the figures covering a period of years, which reveals the fact that, except when Easter falls in March, tho order of numerical precedence of quarters is mvariably identical with that experienced for tho three years quoted above. With the exception of the holiday months of April and December, tho month of June has in each of the last five years recorded the greatest number of marriages. A table discloses the information that ail of the days daring 1923 on which 100 or more marriages were celebrated were Wednesdays, with tho exception of April 5 and 9 and December 22. That Wednesday is the most popular day of the week for entering into the matrimonial state is further manifested by 'the fact that no fewer than 4,2-12, or 40 per cent,, of the total marriages were performed on a Wednesday, the next most popular day being Thursday with 1,510 marriages, or 14 per cent, of the total. That the element of superstition occupies a prominent place in tho minds of many prospective brides and bridegrooms is amply illustrated by tho figures of marriages celebrated on a Friday, which in 1923 amounted to only 461, or 4-) per cent, of tho total. A table follows showing for the years 1926, 1927, and 1928 tho relative degree of favour in which each day of -Qic week is regarded ■ 1926. 1927. 1923.

The 13th of the month also appears to he-treated with respect, having an average of only 12 marriages during 1923, which is easily the lowest for any one date. The general average was 29 for the year 1928. It is_ interesting to note that the proportion of divorced men remarrying is considerably higher in the largo towns arid cities than in the country districts. The most sparsely populated areas have the greatest proportion of bachelors married during the year. This is also reflected in the separate figures for the two islands, which show that in the more densely populated North Island the proportion of divorced men remarrying is noticeably in excess of that for , the South Island, the disparity being compensated for by the reverse position in the figures of bachelors. MARRIAGES BY MINISTERS. The numbers of marriages at which ministers of the leading denominations officiated during 1928 were as follow; —Church of England, 2,848, which is 52 below the corresponding figure for 1927, the percentage of total marriages showing a fall from 27.68 to 27.03; Presbyterian, 2,835, which is an increase of 30 over the previous year and equal to a percentage of 26.91; Roman Catholic, 1,207 (11.45 per cent.); Methodist, 1,030, an increase of 10 and a percentage of 9.77. Of other religious sects tho only church whoso ministers solemnised more than 100 marriages during tho year was the Baptist Church with 184, which was followed by tho Congregational Independent Church (95), and tho Salvation Army and the Church of Christ each with 68. During the war period tho rate of civil marriages—i.e., those performed before registrars was particularly high, reaching its peak in 1918 with a percentage of 23.07 of the total marriages for that year. Although the proportion fell in 1919. it rose thereafter, reaching its highest point since 1918 in 1925 with a percentage of 20.69, derived from a total of 2,156 civil marriages. Both number (2,063) and per ccntago (19.58) for 1928 showed an increase as compared with the previous year.

Sunday 4f 42 53 Monday ... ... 1,204 1,155 1,348 Tuesday ... ... 1,625 1,563 1,507 Wednesday ... 4,633 4,354 4,242 Thursday ... 1,442 1,520 1,510 Friday ... ... 494 494 461 Saturday ... ... 1,230 1,344 1,416 10,630 10,478 10,537