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15
The decline in the birth-rate of Great Britain is becoming
a matter of serious importance, and demands more than passing
attention. In New South Wales, where, as in all the other
Australasian Colonies, a similar decline has taken place, the
subject was considered of such great importance as to give rise
to the appointment of a Royal Commission, which extended
its investigations into the other Australian Colonies and New
Zealand. The report of the Commission appeared to establish
the fact that the diminishing birth-rate was due to a growing
reluctance on the part of the wealthier classes to incur the
responsibilities and sacrifices incidental to parenthood. While
it is undoubtedly true that the same reproach attaches to the
wealthy classes in this country, it is apparent that even
amongst the less fortunately situated classes of our population
the decline in the birth-rate is progressive, and will in the near
future become a national menace. The birth-rate of a country
is its most important asset, and the steady and progressive
decline which has been going on in the British birth-rate in
recent years is a matter of serious import to the future of the
nation.
Marriages.
The marriages registered in Battersea during 1907 number
1,427, or 6 more than the decennial average. The marriagerate,
i.e., the number of persons married per 1,000 of the
population, was 15.7, or 0.8 below the decennial average.