THE FALLING BIRTH-RATE.
In the past six years our birth-rati£ ! has; dropped by over 27 per cent. It is-' now the lowest in Europe, with the' : single exception of Sweden. Even in France,, where the testamentary division, of property and the custom of dowry make for small families, more babies are born in proportion to the population than in Britain. Every fresh, report issued by the RegistrarGeneral, emphasises the fact that a falling, birth*-rate is not a passing phenomenon, but a permanent feature of our social.life. Is. it that parents think more of. themselves and are more bent on enjoyment than they used to be ? Or is it that they realise more keenly the responsibilities of parenthood and shrink from.having, children whose future is so insecure? Taxation and the economic stringency play a part in the problem, andi so does voluntary restriction practised! for. the sake of greater comfort, and so does the new care of women for their health and their revolt against; the idea that motherhood is the whole of life. It is not a matter that, lends itself to easy dogmatisms, even: though; the statistics seem to show that, it is those as a rule in the best, circumstances who have the fewest children.—-The Sunday Times.
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Waipa Post, Volume 35, Issue 2100, 22 December 1927, Page 2
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209THE FALLING BIRTH-RATE. Waipa Post, Volume 35, Issue 2100, 22 December 1927, Page 2
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