THE BIRTH-RATE.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXVI, Issue 5219, 8 March 1904, Page 5

THE BIRTH-RATE.

REPORT OF THE NEW SOUTH WALES COMMISSION. SYDNEY, March 7. Tho Birth-rate Commission, allowing the same ratio of doclino as in New South Wales for tho other States, estimates that in the period from 1864 to 1902, Australasia, through tho reduction in tho birth-rate, lost 940,000 of population. Tho legislative regulation of employment in the State-ij has not yot, so far as can bo traced from statistics, bad any tangible influence on tho birth-rate, but the Commissioners say they cannot overlook tho faot that restrictive regulations as to trade effectually interfere with continuity of employment in many walks of life, so that a worker's income is more or loss precarious. This cannot fail indirectly to discourage tho existence of largo families. Dealing with tho relation botwoon tho fall in tho birth-rate and insanity, the report says:—“ln Now Zealand tho hirth-rato has fallen almost continuously since 1878. The insanity rate had had a slight but uniformly upward tendency since 1874. and this tendency became pronounced in 1878.” Comparing New Zealand and New South Wales, both the fall in the hirthrato and tho rise in insanity had been greater in intensity in New Zealand than in Now South Wales. The birthrate table for tho ton years to 1900 places New Zealand in the sixth, not fifth, place, Tasmania, which occupies seventh place, alone of tho Australian States occupying a bettor position, with a doclino from 31.9 to 28.2. In West Australia tho decline was from 35.6 to 30.7; in Queensland, 36.4 to 30.2; Victoria-, 33.6 to 26.8; South Australia, 33.9 to 25.8.