The Sun.
London, England, 1860-07-28 00:00:00

STATISTICS OF LIFE.

Besides his quarterly report published' about
a month after the close of every quarter, the Re-
gistrar-General of England issues a more elaborate
annual report, which takes much time to prepare;
the report for 1858 has just appeared. Nearly a
million and a half of names were inscribed on the
national registrar in that year ; it is a book into
which we all get, for, even if we do not marry, we
can neither enter life nor quit it without occupying
our " line and a half" in this history, at all events.
Referring first, not to England alone, but to Great
Britain, we find that its estimated population in the
middle of 1858 was 22,626,334, and the excess of
births over deaths in. the year 246,488. 759,676
children were born alive, 351,346 persons were
married,and 513,18 S died; so that, on an average, upon
every day in the year 2,080 children were born,
962 persons married, and 1,405 died, leaving a
gain of 675 as the result of the day. The birth
rate for Great Britain was 33.57 to 1,000 living,
the death rate 22.68, the marriage rate (persons
married) 1552. For easy recollection it may
be noted that rather more than twice as many
are born in a year as are married, and the deaths
should not be so high as midway between those two
numbers. To 1,000 people living in the two coun-
tries the births in the:year were 34 in Great Britain,
27 in France—a very striking difference ; the
deaths 23 in Great Britain, 24 in France • the
persons married 15.5 in Great Britain, 16.9 in.
France. In Scotland the marriages, if all regis-
tered, were not so numerous as in England; the
births were almost exactly at the same rate ;
but the percentage of deaths in Scotland was only
2 047, in England 2.303. Turning now to Eng-
land and Wales only, we learn that to every 1,000
girls 1,045 boys were born, and 102 males
died to every 100 females, the average of 21
years being 103 ; but there are more females living
in England than males, and out of equal num-
bers living 105 males died to every 100
females, the average being 107. The births are
always most numerous in the first half of the year;
in 1858 they were as 2,091 to 1,909 in the two half-
years. To every 100 women living of the age of 15-45
there were 14'3 births in the year. 43,305 children
were born out of wedlock in 1858, or one in every 15
of all the children born alive ; 106.2 boys were born
illegitimate to every 100 illegitimate girls, .while
among children born in wedlock the boys were
only 104.4 to 100 girls. The marriages in. 1858
were below the average. Marriages are celebrated in
England and Wales in 12,350 churches, and in
4,072 chapels not belonging to the Establish-
ment, 505 of these being Roman Catholic.
There were 128,082 marriages celebrated in
churches, and 27,988 otherwise, 6,643 being of
Roman Catholics, and 9,952 in the Registrar's
office, and not at any place of religious worship.
The marriages of minors increase. The propor-
tion of minors in 10,000 persons marrying in-
creased.from 885 in 1843 to 1;212 in 1858. To
every 130 marriages in 1858 by licence there
were 728 by banns, which may be taken as the pro-
portion of marriages of the higher and middle classes
to those of the lower. In 1841, 41 in 100 of the per-
sons married had to sign the register with their
mark ; in 1858 only 32 ; the improvement is most
strikingi among the women. In 1858, 73 in 100 men,
on 100 women, wrote their names on this im-
tecasion. The mortality of the year was high.
rarnoh rdet6ad
n2eaths in the chief towns were at the rate of
2.655 ; in the country districts, 2.006. The deaths of
in the army abroad were more than usual, in conse-
quence of the Indian mutiny. The average strength
of the army abroad was 111,730, and the deaths abroad
were no less than 7,363—m0re than double the num-
ber in the previous year, when the strength was
77,67 G. The number of merchant seamen at sea in
1858 is calculated at 177,832, and 3,486 deaths at sea
among this body were reported to:the Registrar- Gene"
ral of Merchant Seamen, with an account of their
effects. This would be 19 6in I,ooo—a high rate
among men of their age and physical advantages.
This return does not include seamen dying ashore
foreign parts ; the account of their effects is sent
to the Board of Trade by the consuls. Tl
captains of vessels return the births of 11'
English subjects in British vessels at sea'
and 390 deaths. We close with a table!
which must be read with the recollection that
on our side the population of Scotland and Ireland,
between nine And ten millions, are not included
England and Wales. France.
1854, 1858. 1854. 185,.€!• 79
population 18,618,760 19,553,103 36,155,682 36,3513
159,727 156070 270,900
3°,7,,,,e5fig
IBirths
Deaths., 437,905 449,656 093,779 8