STATISTICS OF THE COLONY.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 107, 14 January 1880, Page 2

STATISTICS OF THE COLONY.

In pursuance of our promise, we continue our analysis of data given by the Government Statist, from, which we learn that there is a most noticeable decrease m tho proportion of male births ; for while m the preceding four years the proportion of male to female births, was lOG'S to every 100 females, during 1878 it had fallen to lOl'o. It is also a matter, of regret to discover that illegitimacy is on increase, the number of illegitimate births registered amounting to 429 against Ssl m the preceding year. But although this is 241 of the total births, it Jby no means equals the number of illigitimate

average m England, where it ranged as high, us 4*7 m 1876. As m former yeetrs, Otago heads the list with 141, or considerably more thau one-fourth of the entire number ; Canterbury comes next with 92 ; Auckland third, with 80; while "Wellington registered but 52 illegitimate births ; Hawke's Bay, 16 ; Nelson, lo » Westland, 13; and Marlborough and Taranaki, 10 each. The number of marriages show an incroase ou the preceding year of 263, and of the total number (3"377) 949 were solemnised hy Presbyterians, 848 by the Church of England, 390 by Catholic clergymen, 315 by the Wesleyan Methodist Society, 294 by ministers of other denominations, and 581 by Registrars, the proportion of marriages by Registrars having steadily increased during the last ten years, the proportion to the total number having been 742 per cent, m 18GS against 172 per cent m 1878. 100 men, or 2-96 per cent, of the number married, signed the register with marks, the proportion having been 395 per cent, m 1577. Of the women who married, 282, or 6"57 per cent. '• signed with marks ; b,ut although this may at first sight appear somewhat high, it is considerably lower than the per-centage m 1877, which reached 85 4. Referring bae-k to some statistics which we happen to have m our posses- i sion upon the subject, from them we learn that m England m the year 1870, 19*8 per cent, of the men, and 27'S per cent, of the women, were unable to write ; and it is thus shown that while the rudiments of education would appear to be more generally diffused amongst the people of JN"ew Zealand than that of the Home Country, the proportion of. married women entirely uneducated to uneducated married men is much greater here than m England, although the absolute proportion of uneducated amongst the entire number of married is. so much less. Of the women married there were no less than twelve "whose ages were between fifteen and sixteen years ; and although the Marriage Acts permit officiating ministers to enter the words " full age " or "minor," instead of the exact age, m the marriage register, the permission has been given to meet objections by either of the parties, s.till it is necessary that a declaration shall be made to the Registrar prior to the issue of the. certificate, so as to. have the data for statistical purposes. The greatest per centage of women married were between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-five, although two were led to the hyinenial halter when nearer to seventy than sixty. However, the mean age at marriage m 187S may be approximately stated to have been thirty years for men, and twenty -four years for women. Skipping over a quantity of intoz*es.ting statistics, we come next to deaths, aud its consoling to find that the rate is somewhat lower 1 1-47 m 1877. In the latter year the death rate was cquiyalant to than per 1000 of the population, while m the former it had fallen to 10 90! With the exception of the year, 1871, it was the lowest for teu j'ears, the death rate m 1875 having reach as high as 15:92 per 1000. Contrasting the mortality m New Zealand with that of the Home country, it will be. seen that the advantages are more than 100 per cent, m favor of the colony, the mean death rate m England for twenty-nine years, ending m 1875, b.eing 22*5 per 1000. The diseases which have clono most havoc duriug the year have been phthisis, cancer, pneumonia, heart disease, aud typhoid fever, of which there were m the several hospitals m the colonies the following fatal cases -. 71, S3, 28, 28, and 25 respectively. The mortality m the colony from phthisis was 565 per cent., while m England it ranged as high as 1T52 ; but the rate registered can scarcely be considered a fair one, inasmuch as a number of persons arrive m the colony m impaired health, and as no history oE such cases has been registered, it is impossible to state correctly to what extent the numb,er oi ; deaths from phthisis have been of those persons diseased prior to their arrival m the colony. The number of sudden deaths registered during the year would appear to bo somewhat excessive, being 460, aud of that number 151 wore caused by drowning, and no less than 3.7 cases of suicide. There are eight lunatk 1 . asylums m the colony, containing. 949 patients, of w hom 63.6 were males, and 313 females, being an increase of 56 males and 26 females upon the number of inmates at the beginning of the year. Out of that number it is sad to think that there is the very large number of 411 males, and 211 females, whom the Surgeon-Superin-tendent declares to be wholly incurable. As a contrast to. that gloomy picture, we are pleased to see that instead of increasing, as might certainly have been expected with the growth at the colony, the number of inmates m the four Industrial Schools is decreased by.-ix-teen ; for although there are four more females on the list than were there m 1877, the boys have decreased by 20. This item brings the second part of the statistics to a close, and consequently wo shall leave our remarks with regard to the third, which treats of trade and interchange, to a future issue.