# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Illegitimacy

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​ILLEGITIMACY (from “illegitimate,” Lat. illegitimus, not in accordance with law, hence born out of lawful wedlock), the state of being of illegitimate birth. The law dealing with the legitimation of children born out of wedlock will be found under Legitimacy and Legitimation. How far the prevalence of illegitimacy in any community can be taken as a guide to the morality of that community is a much disputed question. The phenomenon itself varies so much in different localities, even in localities where the same factors seem to prevail, that affirmative conclusions are for the most part impossible to draw. In the United Kingdom, where the figures differ considerably for the three countries—England, Scotland, Ireland—the reasons that might be assigned for the differences are negatived if applied on the same lines, as they might well be, to certain other countries. Then again, racial, climatic and social differences must be allowed for, and the influence of legislation is to be taken into account. The fact that in some countries marriage is forbidden until a man has completed his military service, in another, that consent of parents is requisite, in another, that “once a bastard always a bastard” is the rule, while in yet another that the merest of subsequent formalities will legitimize the offspring, must account in some degree for variations in figures.
| | 1876–1880. | 1881–1885. | 1886–1890. | 1891–1895. | 1896–1900. | 1901–1905. |
| England and Wales | 48 | 48 | 46 | 42 | 41 | 40 |
| Scotland | 85 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 68 | 64 |
| Ireland | 24 | 27 | 28 | 36 | 36 | 26 |
| Denmark | 101 | 100 | 95 | 94 | 96 | 101 |
| Norway | 84 | 81 | 75 | 71 | 74 | .. |
| Sweden | 100 | 102 | 103 | 105 | 113 | .. |
| Finland | 73 | 70 | 65 | 65 | 66 | .. |
| Russia | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | .. |
| Austria | 138 | 145 | 147 | 146 | 141 | .. |
| Hungary | 73 | 79 | 82 | 85 | 90 | 94 |
| Switzerland | 47 | 48 | 47 | 46 | 45 | .. |
| Germany | 87 | 92 | 92 | 91 | 90 | 84 |
| Netherlands | 31 | 30 | 32 | 31 | 27 | 23 |
| Belgium | 74 | 82 | 87 | 88 | 80 | 68 |
| France | 72 | 78 | 83 | 87 | 88 | 88 |
| Portugal | .. | .. | 123 | 122 | 121 | .. |
| Spain | .. | .. | .. | .. | 49 | 44 |
| Italy | 72 | 76 | 74 | 69 | 62 | 56 |
| New South Wales | 42 | 44 | 49 | 60 | 69 | 70 |
| Victoria | 43 | 46 | 49 | 60 | 69 | 70 |
| Queensland | 39 | 41 | 44 | 48 | 59 | 65 |
| South Australia | .. | 22 | 25 | 30 | 38 | 41 |
| West Australia | .. | .. | .. | 48 | 51 | 42 |
| Tasmania | .. | 44 | 38 | 46 | 57 | .. |
| New Zealand | 23 | 29 | 32 | 38 | 44 | 45 |
Table I. gives the number of illegitimate births per 1000 births in various countries of the world for quinquennial periods. It is to be noted that still-born births are excluded, as in the United Kingdom (contrary to the practice prevailing in most European countries) registration of such births is not compulsory. The United States is omitted, as there is no national system of registration of births.
This method of measuring illegitimacy by ascertaining the proportion of illegitimate births in every thousand births is a fairly accurate one, but there is another valuable one which is often applied, that of comparing the number of illegitimate births with each thousand unmarried females at the child-bearing age the “corrected” rate as opposed to the “crude,” as it is usually termed. This is given for certain countries in Table II.
| Country. | 1846–55. | 1856–65. | 1866–75. | 1876–85. | 1886–95. | 1896–1905. |
| England and Wales | 17 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 8 |
| Scotland | .. | 22 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 13 |
| Ireland | .. | .. | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Denmark | .. | 28 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 23 |
| Sweden | 20 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 22 | .. |
| Germany | .. | .. | .. | 28 | 27 | 26 |
| Netherlands | .. | .. | 10 | 9 | 9 | 6 |
| Belgium | 16 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 17 |
| France | 15 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Italy | .. | .. | .. | 24 | 24 | 19 |
The generally accepted idea that the inhabitants of the warmer countries of the south of Europe are more ardent in temperament has at least no support as shown in the figures in Table I., where we find a higher rate of illegitimacy in Sweden and Denmark than in Spain or Italy. Religion, however, must be taken into account as having a strong influence in preventing unchastity, though it cannot be concluded that any particular creed is more powerful in this direction than another; for example, the figures for Austria and Ireland are very different. It cannot be said, either, that figures bear out the statement that where there is a high rate of illegitimacy there is little prostitution. It is more probable that in a country where the standard of living is low, and early marriages are the rule, the illegitimate birth-rate will be low. As regards England and Wales, the illegitimate birth-rate has been steadily declining for many years, not only in actual numbers, but also in proportion to the population.
| Year. | Illegitimate Births. | Proportion to 1000 of population. | Illegitimate Births in 1000 Births. |
| 1860 | 43,693 | 2.2 | 64 |
| 1865 | 46,585 | 2.2 | 62 |
| 1870 | 44,737 | 2.0 | 56 |
| 1875 | 40,813 | 1.7 | 48 |
| 1880 | 42,542 | 1.6 | 48 |
| 1885 | 42,793 | 1.6 | 48 |
| 1890 | 38,412 | 1.3 | 44 |
| 1895 | 38,836 | 1.3 | 42 |
| 1900 | 36,814 | 1.1 | 40 |
| 1905 | 37,515 | 1.1 | 40 |
| 1907 | 36,189 | 1.0 | 39 |
The corrected rate bears out the result shown in Table III as follows:
| | Rate per 1000. | Compared with rate in 1876–1880, taken as 100. |
| 1876–1880 | 14.4 | 100.0 |
| 1881–1885 | 13.5 | 93.8 |
| 1886–1890 | 11.8 | 81.9 |
| 1891–1895 | 10.1 | 70.1 |
| 1896–1900 | 9.2 | 63.9 |
| 1901–1905 | 8.4 | 58.3 |
| 1906 | 8.1 | 56.3 |
| 1907 | 7.8 | 54.2 |
Table V. gives the illegitimate births to 1000 births in England and Wales for the ten years 1897–1906 and for ​the year 1907. Table VI. gives the “corrected” rate for certain three-year periods. In connexion with these tables the following extract from the Registrar-General’s Report for 1907 (p. xxx.) is important.
| | Ten years 1897– 1906. | 1907. | | Ten years 1897– 1906. | 1907. | | Ten years 1897– 1906. | 1907. |
| Bedford | 49 | 53 | Leicestershire | 40 | 39 | Wilts | 41 | 42 |
| Berks | 47 | 48 | Lincolnshire | 55 | 54 | Worcester | 37 | 38 |
| Bucks | 40 | 44 | London | 37 | 38 | Yorks— | | |
| Cambridge | 48 | 53 | Middlesex | 30 | 28 | E. Riding | 52 | 49 |
| Chester | 41 | 39 | Monmouth | 29 | 27 | N.  ” | 53 | 45 |
| Cornwall | 50 | 48 | Norfolk | 62 | 65 | W.  ” | 43 | 41 |
| Cumberland | 61 | 58 | Northampton | 41 | 42 | | | |
| Derby | 41 | 41 | Northumberland | 39 | 38 | Anglesey | 81 | 75 |
| Devon | 39 | 39 | Nottingham | 50 | 49 | Brecon | 44 | 40 |
| Dorset | 40 | 37 | Oxford | 53 | 56 | Cardigan | 64 | 61 |
| Durham | 34 | 37 | Rutland | 46 | 70 | Carmarthen | 37 | 41 |
| Essex | 28 | 27 | Shropshire | 64 | 61 | Carnarvon | 60 | 72 |
| Gloucester | 36 | 36 | Somerset | 37 | 35 | Denbigh | 49 | 47 |
| Hants | 40 | 36 | Stafford | 40 | 38 | Flint | 42 | 42 |
| Hereford | 66 | 66 | Suffolk | 56 | 62 | Glamorgan | 26 | 26 |
| Hertford | 40 | 42 | Surrey | 38 | 37 | Merioneth | 71 | 77 |
| Huntingdon | 49 | 46 | Sussex | 52 | 52 | Montgomery | 76 | 73 |
| Kent | 40 | 41 | Warwick | 32 | 30 | Pembroke | 52 | 47 |
| Lancashire | 38 | 37 | Westmorland | 61 | 62 | Radnor | 66 | 67 |
| Registration Counties. | Illegitimate Births to 1000 Unmarried and Widowed Females aged 15–45 years. | Illegitimate Births to 1000 Unmarried and Widowed Females aged 15–45 years. | Illegitimate Births to 1000 Unmarried and Widowed Females aged 15–45 years. | Illegitimate Births to 1000 Unmarried and Widowed Females aged 15–45 years. | Illegitimate Births to 1000 Unmarried and Widowed Females aged 15–45 years. | Illegitimate Births to 1000 Unmarried and Widowed Females aged 15–45 years. | Illegitimate Births to 1000 Unmarried and Widowed Females aged 15–45 years. | Decrease per cent in each County  between the period  1870–1872 and 1907. |
| Registration Counties. | Three-year Periods. | Three-year Periods. | Three-year Periods. | Three-year Periods. | Three-year Periods. | Years. | Years. | | Decrease per cent in each County  between the period  1870–1872 and 1907. |
| Registration Counties. | 1870–1872. | 1880–1882. | 1890–1892. | 1900–1902. | 1903–1905. | 1906. | 1907. | Decrease per cent in each County  between the period  1870–1872 and 1907. |
| England and Wales | 17.0 | 14.1 | 10.5 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 54.1 |
| London | 10.3 | 9.8 | 8.1 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 6.8 | 6.4 | 37.9 |
| Bedford | 21.1 | 18.0 | 11.2 | 8.4 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.7 | 58.8 |
| Berks | 16.8 | 13.4 | 10.3 | 8.7 | 8.6 | 8.1 | 8.4 | 50.0 |
| Bucks | 19.0 | 16.5 | 12.6 | 9.1 | 8.9 | 7.3 | 8.8 | 53.7 |
| Cambridge | 19.3 | 15.6 | 12.4 | 9.6 | 10.1 | 9.7 | 10.4 | 46.1 |
| Chester | 17.5 | 14.2 | 10.3 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 7.2 | 6.9 | 60.6 |
| Cornwall | 16.5 | 14.8 | 11.2 | 8.6 | 8.1 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 54.5 |
| Cumberland | 29.2 | 23.9 | 18.6 | 12.3 | 12.3 | 12.3 | 11.0 | 62.3 |
| Derby | 22.5 | 17.7 | 12.8 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 9.4 | 58.2 |
| Devon | 14.0 | 10.6 | 8.1 | 6.7 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 6.1 | 56.4 |
| Dorset | 14.2 | 13.1 | 9.6 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 8.1 | 6.4 | 54.9 |
| Durham | 24.0 | 18.0 | 13.8 | 11.1 | 11.1 | 10.8 | 11.6 | 51.7 |
| Essex | 16.2 | 12.7 | 9.1 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 6.7 | 6.4 | 60.5 |
| Gloucester | 12.9 | 11.6 | 8.2 | 6.3 | 6.1 | 6.8 | 5.8 | 55.0 |
| Hants | 13.6 | 11.8 | 8.5 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 6.9 | 6.4 | 52.9 |
| Hereford | 21.4 | 19.0 | 13.4 | 11.2 | 11.5 | 10.3 | 11.0 | 48.6 |
| Hertford | 18.4 | 15.3 | 10.4 | 7.0 | 7.2 | 6.6 | 7.5 | 59.2 |
| Huntingdon | 19.8 | 14.0 | 12.9 | 10.9 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 51.0 |
| Kent | 14.7 | 12.1 | 9.3 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 7.2 | 51.0 |
| Lancashire | 16.2 | 13.6 | 10.2 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.5 | 7.2 | 55.6 |
| Leicestershire | 19.9 | 16.1 | 11.4 | 8.6 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 7.3 | 63.3 |
| Lincolnshire | 22.3 | 18.5 | 14.2 | 12.2 | 12.1 | 12.7 | 11.9 | 46.6 |
| Middlesex | 9.4 | 9.4 | 6.5 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 6.1 | 5.7 | 39.4 |
| Monmouth | 18.6 | 15.9 | 11.3 | 10.2 | 9.1 | 9.6 | 9.3 | 50.0 |
| Norfolk | 27.3 | 22.6 | 16.7 | 13.4 | 13.4 | 12.5 | 12.8 | 53.1 |
| Northampton | 18.7 | 15.9 | 11.7 | 9.1 | 8.8 | 9.0 | 7.7 | 58.8 |
| Northumberland | 21.1 | 17.9 | 12.4 | 10.2 | 10.0 | 10.4 | 9.3 | 55.9 |
| Nottingham | 24.5 | 21.7 | 15.4 | 13.7 | 12.6 | 12.0 | 11.9 | 51.4 |
| Oxford | 19.0 | 15.4 | 10.4 | 9.0 | 9.1 | 9.3 | 9.2 | 51.6 |
| Rutland | 18.1 | 12.7 | 7.9 | 7.2 | 6.8 | 9.0 | 11.4 | 37.0 |
| Salop | 28.2 | 21.8 | 16.6 | 12.8 | 13.4 | 13.0 | 11.8 | 58.2 |
| Somerset | 13.3 | 11.3 | 7.4 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 5.4 | 5.5 | 58.6 |
| Stafford | 24.6 | 19.4 | 14.5 | 11.2 | 11.4 | 10.9 | 10.1 | 58.9 |
| Suffolk | 22.0 | 17.8 | 14.0 | 12.0 | 11.7 | 12.4 | 12.5 | 43.2 |
| Surrey | 9.5 | 8.5 | 6.6 | 5.9 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 5.7 | 40.0 |
| Sussex | 13.7 | 11.5 | 8.7 | 7.2 | 7.0 | 6.5 | 6.4 | 53.3 |
| Warwick | 14.9 | 13.2 | 9.7 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 6.6 | 6.8 | 54.4 |
| Westmorland | 21.9 | 17.9 | 13.1 | 8.6 | 9.1 | 8.5 | 7.8 | 64.4 |
| Wilts | 17.1 | 14.7 | 10.3 | 9.2 | 8.7 | 8.6 | 9.3 | 45.6 |
| Worcester | 16.3 | 13.7 | 9.2 | 7.2 | 6.8 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 59.5 |
| Yorks— | | | | | | | | |
| E. Riding | 23.0 | 18.2 | 14.3 | 12.2 | 11.7 | 12.2 | 10.6 | 53.9 |
| N. Riding | 27.7 | 20.2 | 15.4 | 12.1 | 11.6 | 11.9 | 10.2 | 63.2 |
| W. Riding | 20.4 | 16.1 | 11.4 | 9.4 | 9.2 | 8.8 | 8.1 | 60.3 |
| Anglesey | 19.7 | 16.7 | 15.7 | 16.1 | 14.9 | 13.3 | 12.9 | 34.5 |
| Brecon | 19.9 | 18.0 | 12.5 | 10.1 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 8.3 | 58.3 |
| Cardigan | 16.0 | 14.8 | 11.8 | 8.9 | 7.8 | 6.3 | 7.3 | 54.4 |
| Carmarthen | 18.2 | 13.9 | 9.4 | 7.7 | 8.2 | 7.7 | 8.9 | 51.1 |
| Carnarvon | 18.3 | 13.9 | 12.7 | 10.3 | 9.6 | 9.4 | 10.5 | 42.6 |
| Denbigh | 21.1 | 17.6 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.6 | 13.5 | 10.3 | 51.2 |
| Flint | 18.7 | 18.4 | 13.1 | 9.7 | 11.2 | 11.9 | 11.0 | 41.2 |
| Glamorgan | 17.7 | 13.5 | 10.3 | 8.5 | 9.1 | 8.9 | 8.4 | 52.5 |
| Merioneth | 24.4 | 19.5 | 16.4 | 13.5 | 13.4 | 13.2 | 12.7 | 48.0 |
| Montgomery | 29.5 | 24.3 | 16.7 | 13.1 | 13.4 | 12.6 | 11.7 | 60.3 |
| Pembroke | 21.6 | 15.9 | 12.4 | 8.9 | 10.2 | 10.7 | 8.4 | 61.1 |
| Radnor | 41.8 | 33.2 | 20.1 | 14.4 | 13.4 | 8.3 | 11.3 | 73.0 |
| Belfast | 31 | Liverpool | 54 |
| Birmingham | 35 | Manchester | 28 |
| Bradford | 40 | Middlesboro’ | 25 |
| Bristol | 31 | Newcastle | 36 |
| Cork | 18 | Nottingham | 60 |
| Dublin | 28 | Portsmouth | 33 |
| Edinburgh | 69 | Salford | 28 |
| Glasgow | 63 | Sunderland | 30 |
| Leeds | 54 | | |
| Total Births. | Legitimate. | Illegitimate. | Births per 1000 of pop. | Percentage of Illegitimate to Total Births. |
| 132,005 | 122,699 | 9306 | 27.93 | 7.05 |
| | Illegitimate Births. | Percentage of Illegitimate to Total Births. | | Illegitimate Births. | Percentage of Illegitimate to Total Births. |
| 1860 | 9,736 | 9.22 | 1895 | 9,204 | 7.28 |
| 1865 | 11,262 | 9.96 | 1900 | 8,534 | 6.49 |
| 1870 | 11,108 | 9.63 | 1901 | 8,359 | 6.32 |
| 1875 | 10,786 | 8.73 | 1902 | 8,300 | 6.28 |
| 1880 | 10,589 | 8.50 | 1903 | 8,295 | 6.21 |
| 1885 | 10,680 | 8.47 | 1904 | 9,010 | 6.79 |
| 1890 | 9,241 | 7.60 | 1905 | 9,082 | 6.91 |
| | | | 1906 | 9,306 | 7.05 |
| | Illegitimate Births. | Illegitimate Births. | Illegitimate Births per 1000 of Unmarried Women and Widows between 15 and 45. |
| | No. | Per 1000 of Pop. | Illegitimate Births per 1000 of Unmarried Women and Widows between 15 and 45. |
| Districts: | | | |
| Principal Town | 4318 | 7.14 | |
| Large Town | 1029 | 5.58 | |
| Small Town | 1724 | 6.23 | |
| Mainland-rural | 2099 | 9.08 | |
| Insular-rural | 136 | 5.88 | |
| Shetland | 31 | 5.30 | 7.0 |
| Orkney | 29 | 5.99 | 7.7 |
| Caithness | 84 | 9.96 | 19.4 |
| Sutherland | 28 | 6.81 | 10.1 |
| Ross and Cromarty | 74 | 4.40 | 6.9 |
| Inverness | 145 | 8.02 | 11.5 |
| Nairn | 18 | 10.29 | 13.2 |
| Elgin (or Moray) | 169 | 15.66 | 26.3 |
| Banff | 202 | 12.93 | 25.4 |
| Aberdeen | 1083 | 12.38 | 24.2 |
| Kincardine | 93 | 8.15 | 17.0 |
| Forfar | 676 | 9.43 | 14.2 |
| Perth | 215 | 7.93 | 10.8 |
| Fife | 308 | 4.56 | 9.7 |
| Kinross | 20 | 9.95 | 22.2 |
| Clackmannan | 53 | 6.69 | 10.9 |
| Stirling | 235 | 4.91 | 13.2 |
| Dumbarton | 163 | 4.14 | 9.7 |
| Argyll | 148 | 10.07 | 12.7 |
| Bute | 30 | 8.36 | 9.2 |
| Renfrew | 410 | 4.46 | 8.5 |
| Ayr | 499 | 6.23 | 14.3 |
| Lanark | 2872 | 6.28 | 15.9 |
| Linlithgow | 99 | 3.88 | 15.4 |
| Edinburgh | 930 | 7.23 | 11.0 |
| Haddington | 66 | 5.92 | 11.8 |
| Berwick | 60 | 9.63 | 12.7 |
| Peebles | 21 | 6.18 | 7.9 |
| Selkirk | 46 | 9.13 | 11.5 |
| Roxburgh | 83 | 8.67 | 9.8 |
| Dumfries | 218 | 12.51 | 19.9 |
| Kirkcudbright | 92 | 10.71 | 15.7 |
| Wigtoun | 106 | 12.79 | 22.5 |
| Scotland | 9306 | 7.05 | 14.1 |
“It is difficult to explain the variations in the rates of illegitimacy in the several counties. It may be stated generally that the proportion of illegitimate children cannot alone serve as a standard of morality. Broadly speaking, however, the single and widowed women in London, in the counties south of the Thames, and in the south-western counties have comparatively few illegitimate children; on the other hand, the number of illegitimate children is comparatively high in Shropshire, in Herefordshire, in Staffordshire, in Nottinghamshire, in Cumberland, in North Wales, and also in nearly all the counties on the eastern seaboard, viz. Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, the East and North Ridings of Yorkshire, and Durham. In the Registrar-General’s Report for the year 1851 it was assumed that there was an indirect connexion between female illiteracy and illegitimacy. This may have been the case in the middle of the last century, but there is no conclusive evidence that such is the case at the present day. The proportions of illegitimacy and the proportions of married women who signed the marriage register by mark are relatively high in Staffordshire, in North Wales, in Durham and in the North Riding of Yorkshire; on the other hand, in Norfolk, in Suffolk and in Lincolnshire there is a comparatively high proportion of illegitimacy and a low proportion of illiteracy.”
| | 1903. | 1904. | 1905. | 1906. | 1907. |
| Ireland | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.5 |
| Leinster | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| Munster | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 |
| Ulster | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
| Connaught | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
| County. | No. of Illegitimate Births. | Per cent of Total Births. |
| Leinster— | | |
| Carlow | 27 | 3.56 |
| Dublin | 34 | 1.15 |
| Dublin Co. Borough | 314 | 3.29 |
| Kildare | 22 | 1.46 |
| Kilkenny | 54 | 3.29 |
| King’s | 24 | 2.07 |
| Longford | 11 | 1.23 |
| Louth | 27 | 2.01 |
| Meath | 30 | 2.27 |
| Queen’s | 18 | 1.70 |
| Westmeath | 19 | 1.57 |
| Wexford | 89 | 4.11 |
| Wicklow | 37 | 2.91 |
| Munster— | | |
| Clare | 23 | 1.04 |
| Cork Co. and Co. Borough | 151 | 1.69 |
| Kerry | 51 | 1.34 |
| Limerick Co. and Co. Borough | 107 | 3.14 |
| Tipperary N.R. | 19 | 1.49 |
| Tipperary S.R. | 66 | 3.32 |
| Waterford Co. and Co. Borough | 68 | 3.69 |
| Ulster— | | |
| Antrim | 230 | 5.08 |
| Armagh | 99 | 3.49 |
| Belfast Co. Borough | 355 | 3.13 |
| Cavan | 27 | 1.54 |
| Donegal | 54 | 1.36 |
| Fermanagh | 41 | 3.15 |
| Londonderry Co. and Borough | 145 | 4.35 |
| Monaghan | 24 | 1.55 |
| Tyrone | 116 | 3.80 |
| Connaught— | | |
| Galway | 32 | .80 |
| Leitrim | 10 | .77 |
| Mayo | 21 | .45 |
| Roscommon | 9 | .50 |
| Sligo | 9 | .52 |
| Leinster | 716 | 2.67 |
| Munster | 495 | 2.11 |
| Ulster | 1272 | 3.32 |
| Connaught | 81 | .60 |
| | 2564 | |
This latter conclusion may be carried further by saying that in those European countries where elementary education is ​most common, the rate of illegitimacy is high, and that it is low in the more illiterate parts, e.g. Ireland and Brittany.
It has been said that one of the contributory causes of illegitimacy is the contamination of great cities; statistics, however, disprove this, there being more illegitimacy in the rural districts. Table VII. gives the rate of illegitimacy in some of the principal towns of the United Kingdom.
That poverty is a determining factor in causing illegitimacy the following figures, giving the rate of illegitimacy in the poorest parts of London and in certain well-to-do parts, clearly disprove:—
Rate of Illegitimacy per 1000 Births.
| London. | 1901. | 1903. | 1905. | 1907. |
| Stepney | 12 | 9 | 18 | 10 |
| Bethnal Green | 13 | 15 | 13 | 11 |
| Mile End Old Town | 15 | 13 | 16 | 15 |
| Whitechapel | 22 | 24 | 19 | 19 |
| St George’s, Hanover Sq. | 40 | 45 | 45 | 45 |
| Kensington | 48 | 44 | 49 | 54 |
| Fulham | 43 | 42 | 45 | 40 |
| Marylebone | 182 | 186 | 198 | 182 |
Tables VIII. and IX. give the rate of illegitimacy for the various counties of Scotland, and Table X. the rate for Ireland.
Bibliography.—The Annual Reports of the Registrars-General for England, Scotland and Ireland; statistical returns of foreign countries; A. Leffingwell, Illegitimacy and the Influence of the Seasons upon Conduct (1892). (T. A. I.)