The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1888-07-05
FIFTY YEARS OF PROGRESS.
..soutdern Cdrlatian .Adrocats.

FIFTY YEARS OF PROGRESS.
.Soathern Christian Adcoeats.
/. When England, some years ago, gave
up little i61and iii the Mediterranean,
Bismarck said !: ENGLAND is going down.
Whenever great power begins to give
up territory it shows that decay has set
in" In less than three months after
this remark was made, England virtually
dictated the terms of peace to Russia
Id the German capital, and Disraeli
actually blufed Bismarck into advising
Count schdyaloff to accept the terms he
proposed. England has been great so
long that many wonde der, at the long lease
of power which has been given to her.
With England's consent the regal crown
was placed upon the head Of the Elector
of Brandenburg and the ancestor of EN-.
peror William. The little King of Prus-
sia furnished 5000 men to Marlborough's
army in the war against France. At
that time the whole population Of Eng.
land numbered only 6,50o,00o and her
colohies aefe few and sparsely settled.
Indeed, it was not till CHS Century that
England really began to expand and to
grow. The Queen has just celebrated
her jubilee, and, as was natural, English.
men have looked back to see what they
have been doing during the last fifty
years. A summary of the mighty deeds
is really startling.
The area of the empire has been
greatly enlarged during her Mjesty's
reign. In that brief period Englishmen
have occupied Natal; British Bechuana-
land, Basutoland and the Transkei
British Columbia and the wide North.
west territories of the Canadian Domin-
ion, and settled Australia, New Zealand
and Tasmania. They have also acquired
by cessiou Labnan, Lagos, the greater
portion of the Gold Coast and FIJI; by
arrangement, Cyprus, Port Hamilton
and the basin of the Niger, besides many
smaller possessions and nearly all the
isolated rocks and islands OF the sea.
Their dominion in India and Burmah
has also been largely extended. Now
the British empire covers about fifth Of
the habitable globe. It is one eighth
larger than all the Russias; three times
as large as the United States, sixteen
times as large as France; forty times as
large as Germany. That is, there has
been an enlargement of. area from
2,254, ,9O5 to 1862, ,92O square miles.
The po pulation has increased in like
proportion. It has more than doubled in
fifty years, rising from little over
100, 100000 in 1887 to considerably more
tuan 2OO,OOo,O0O in 1887. The increase
in the United Kingdom has been from
nearly 100000 to 100000 or about
A per cent. In England and Wales the
increase has been about 80 and in Scot.
land about go per cent. In Ireland there
has been q decrease from 100000 to
100000, about 13 per cent. During
this time over 100000 emigrants left
the United Kingdom. In the colonies
and dependencies, exclusive of India, the
increase has been our.fold-from
100000 to 16,0OO,00O-more than hall
of whom are of British race. Australasia
has grown from 100000 to 1000, 1000;
Canada and the .neighboring colonies
have risen from 1,25O,OOO to 100000,
and the South African colonies from
100000 to 100000. But the largest
increase has been in India. Fifty years
ago British rule extended directly over
90, 100000 of people and indirectly over
40, 100000 more, but now it reaches over
2OO,OOO,OOO in British India alone, and
55,OOO,0OO in the natives States depen.
dent upon it. In India there is an
annual increase of one per cent. There
is a daily excess of births over deaths Of
1000. Every year adds 2,25O,0OO people
to the population.
Grand, indeed, and pressing are the
problems raised by the unprecedented
increase in country where there are
already more than ITO persons to the
square mile; where there is very little
fertile land that is not appropriated
where every male is bound by the
strongest and most sacred ties of interest
and piety to marry at the earliest posi-
BILE age; where the superstitions OF the
vast majority will neither allow them tc
emigrate nor permit them the use Of
animal food; where, finally, in conse
quence of British rule, those three
ancient checks on population-famine
pestilence and war-are losing theil
destructive power" The Reign of Vic
toria I, 522.)
In Che United Kingdom the death rate
has decreased and the general health
improved. Statistics for the whole
kingdom only date back as far as 1870
but since that time the death rate hal
decreased 10 per cent. When We con
slider that during the last fifty years the
people have Hocked to the towns and
cities-nearlY twot thirds Of them nov
dwelling in towns-where the death rate
is about 20 per cent. higher than in tht
country, this has been an immense gain
Deaths from heart disease, apople1y
cancer, paralysis, insanity and suicide
have increased. The principal improve
ment has been in the management oi
consumption, pneumonis, scarlatina
fever and dropsy. Who can tell what
saving Of time and money, to say nothing
of sorrow and suffering has been made
by this amendment of the general health
One paragraph (Dr. Brudenall Carter
"The Reign of Queen Victoria T." 4O5,