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furthest that Public Health Officials are entitled to go is to
direct those who are anxious for information to the proper place
whether they can obtain it.
There is no doubt from a scientific point of view that, if a
woman has a number of births following too close upon one
another, injury to the germ plasm takes place, as was explained
in a recent lecture by Professor MacBride, and results in a
deterioration of the offspring, occasionaly amounting to actual
deformity; and another curious fact is that defects due to injury
to the germ plasm are likely to be transmitted to the next
generation. Professor MacBride, therefore, insists that births
in a family should be spaced out, so that sufficient interval for
the complete recovery of the mother would be left between each
birth, and this of course, could only be done by a certain
amount of birth control.
Marriages.
The total number of marriages in the Borough in 1923 was
1056, being 48 above the number for 1922, and 164 below the
average for the last 10 years.
The figures have been supplied by the Superintendent Registrar.
This makes a marriage rate of 17.34 per 1,000 of the
population, compared with a marriage rate last year of 16.64 of
the population, 121,100.
Year.
No.
Rate.
1,203
19·21
1913
1914
1,236
19·90
1915
1,714
28·12
1916
1,215
19·65
1,015
16·92
1917
1,106
18·21
1918
19·19
1919
1,242
1,383
21·40
1920
17·99
1,084
1921
16·64
1,008
1922
Average for years 1913 — 1922
1,220
19·72
17·34
1,056
1923