CURIOUS VITAL STATISTICS.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 1 July 1933, Page 4

CURIOUS VITAL STATISTICS.

BIRTHS HALVED, MABBIAGES DOUBLED. DEATH-BATE IS STEADY. The birth-rate in. the Levin district was cut in half last * quarter as com 1 - pared with the same period in 1932. The total was also below that registered in the January-March pejriod, the difference amounting to 9 births. Marriage figures, on the other hand, (present a paradox. Last quarter they were double w!hat they were in the same period of the preceding year, and they were more than a hundred per cent, up on the returns for the previous quarter of this year. An increase of matriimony has been noticeable in ' boom times, but that it should .recur at the bottom of a slump is somewhat surprising. Possibly, however, it is a good omen for the days that lie ahead. The death-rate is fairly steady, the figure representing the average of the period for the last three years. The vital statistics for the quarter ended yesterday have been kindly supplied by the Registrar a't Levin (Mr E. E. Hirst), and are given below, with the figures for the same quarter of thettwo preceding years for purposes of comparison:— April-June. 1933 1932 ' 1931 Births 16 31 - 29 , Deaths 10 9 11 Marriages *l2 6 7 'lncluding three by the Registrar. 'Three of the births and two of the deaths registered last quarter were those of Maoris.