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and the births to nearly 15 per cent. It is remarkable,
however, that the number of marriages in this
division of the City has been larger than usual. It
has increased from an average proportion of 582 in
the year to 683—an increase that amounts to nearly
28 per cent., and, therefore, forcibly indicates the
general prosperity of the people.
Of the 2,962 births in the year, 1,561 were boys,
and 1,401 girls. These numbers are in the proportion
of 111 of the former to 100 of the latter; the
average proportion elsewhere, as also in the City in
former years, being 105 to 100.
The birth-rate among the citizens has ranged
from 2 per cent. of the population in the City
proper, to 3 per cent. in the Eastern Union—the
mean birth-rate for the whole City being but 2.6
per cent. of the population. This is a small proportion,
for in the rest of London the births are at
the rate of about 3.4 per cent. of the population,
and, in the whole of England, it is nearly 3½ per
cent. Considering, too, that the population of the
City is made up of an unusually large proportion
of males and females in the prime of life, it is remarkable
that its birth-rate should be so small, it is
smaller, in fact, than that of any county in England.
If, indeed, the births for the year are distributed
among the women of the City who are at an age to