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13
This then is my story of the births, marriages and deaths that
have occurred in Islington during the years 1876 and 1877. Two
facts are perfectly patent: first, that the number of boys born is
greater than the number of girls; and secondly, that women generally
attain a greater age than men. Nature seldom indulges in extremes;
and to equalize births and deaths, considering the greater risks run
by men than by women, the number of boys born is in excess of the
girls. But England is a very little place compared with the rest of
the world, and it is worth while now and then to consider not the
statistics merely of our little island, but statistics of far greater
extent. It is a curious fact, that taking the whole range of birth and
death statistics, not of Great Britain, but all that can be obtained,
the number of males born is as nearly as possible the same as the
number of females. It would thus seem that nature has fixed the law
that a man should be the husband of but one wife. Vastly different,
however, is the ratio in different countries; and this would indicate
that though the man is to be the husband of one wife, the intermarriage
of nations is in accordance with nature's plans. Thus the
absolute balance of the sexes is as nearly as possible attained in
France, a boy being born for each girl. To speak accurately, there
are in France 1,000 men to every 1,007 women. I will not here
discuss a question which certainly does not belong to this report;
but the exact effect of this almost perfect equality of numbers on
French life is a tempting subject. Or take some other facts.
Northern countries we speak of as rude and martial, when we
compare them with southern countries, which we should perhaps
describe (and not incorrectly) as lazy and effeminate. And yet,
strange as it may seem, and contrary to all preconceived notions, we
find that in Sweden there are 1,000 men to 1,064 women, whilst in
the more southerly Greece there are 1,000 men to only 933 Greek
women. I need not stay to point out the enormous influence of the
female population in England, but it by no means stands at the
head, and very far from alone, in the larger ratio of women over
men. In some parts of America the disproportion is remarkable.
Thus in Paraguay there are 2,080 women to 1,000 men; but this
most anomalous state of things is a pure accident, and may be
accounted for by the ravages of the Brazilian war, which almost