THE HEW ZEALAND BOY.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XLIX, Issue 12566, 1 August 1905, Page 2

THE HEW ZEALAND BOY.

. r A NOVEL THEORY. AN INTERESTING COMPARISON. As the result of a comparative an- i Sfchroporaetric studies, Dr. Chappie, of c "Wellington, has arrived at the conclu- * -Bion that New Zealand.boys are the best | developed in the world. In a lecture * which he recently delivered before a » .Ji.eeting of the Socialist party he gave J •the figures bearing out his conclusion, j -snd sought also to find a scientific ex- * planation of the fact according to the t 'theory of evolution. The survival of * ■the fittest ensures the development and i improvement of species, but divergency £ -of type results from the operation of f .the law of isolation. Dr Chappie gave - some interesting illustrations of the < ■working of thn tew. A hurricane blows < .all the longest-winged insects from an > island to a mainland, and an isolation takes place, which in the course of time t Jives a wineglass species only evolving or; the island. Some goats climb higher J -up mountain sides, and thus become < isolated from their fellows, «and develop- ] ing,^urei- feet and warmer coats diverge 1 ij^itth^Koriginal type. A striking : AmitthcS^oi the result of human isola- ■ tien, deliberate, class isolation, appears in the Bourboh'i family, where close; ift: "[ ter-marriage iecpto.degeneration.' ;&£s&. } .Maori exodus in Nfew .^Zealand was a ! /notable instance of isolation. The .aftri- ] butes of the natives were broken away '- fiom the luxuriant loveliness a"nd ener- ] vating heat of the Pacific seas were a s discontent with their environment, a 1 wide mental outlook, a consciousness of 7 physical capacity, a courage and a love 1 or'"adventure. By the law of isolation their virtues were not lost by intercrossing with a weaker race. Similar • selective forces were in operation when < European settlers cam© to New Zea- '. land. It required more courage to start 1 a voyage to the extreme end of the globe, a land of savage cannibals, than to any other part of the world. None ( but the brave and strong dared think -ov such an isolation from their home. Besides these forces of courage and -strength there was a restiveness under the restraint imposed by British laws -and customs. This voluntary immigration Avas therefore a process of natural selection of the fittest to survive and •conquer a new land, and, as might be ■expected, New Zealanders were, as a class, a strong, well developed, healthy, wholesome, liberty-loving people. Here Dr Chappie quoted the figures referred ;to. . The New. Zealand boys were 924, taken from the Newtown, Te Aro, and South Wellington schools. The figures for the boys of other countries (Australia, America and England) vw • taken from scientific and State records. .Ao the age of five, the New Zealand boys were a* tittle taller and heavier than tho English, but an inch shorter, and half a pound lighter, than those of -New South Wales, yet their vital capacity, 832.2 cubic centimetres, was vastly superior to that of the New South Wales boys (620). The figures .aro given for each age up to fifteen. JJyi to the age of twelve, the height -and weight of the New Zealand subjects are definitely superior to those of tho other countries compai-ed at that age. However, the figures begin to ■close up, until at fifteen years the New Zealand boys were smaller and lighter than any of the others, the figures being:—New Zealand, 60.7 in., 951b; New JScuth Wales, 62.5 in., 103.11b: England, -62.2 in, 102.71b; United States, 61.8 in, IGllb; Tasmania, 60.8 in, 96.81b. But throughout, the vital capacity of the New Zealand boy exceeded that of the New South Wales boy. The New Zealand figures are:—Five years, 43.Sin, 43.51b; six years, 45.8 in, 48.21b; seven ..years, 46.5 in, 50.91b; eight years, 48.1 in, 57.31b; nine years, 51.1 in, -€2.71b; ten years, 52.6 in, 67.51b; eleven years, 54.2 in, 72.61b; twelve years, 56.3 in, 78.51b; thirteen years, 58.4in^ ■8/".81b; fourteen years, 60.4 in, 91.21b; rfifteen years, 60.7 m., 951b. The climate and the mountainous and sea-girt condition of the country have played their part in ensuring progress and development. These forces, the doctor pointed °ut» ""ere still operating, and one might still hope for a continuous of the evolu-tionary-process. The original selective force had largely ceased to act however, owing to the safe, swift and -cheap transport. All went well while tho natural demographic forces were allowed to operate alone, but in 1870 Sir Julius Vogel's immigration scheme resulted in an influx of worthless, vicious -and degenerate people.