The morning call., 1890-07-22
THE roPULATION OF FRANCE.

Vital statistics reveal remarkable state
of things in France. 1t appears that the
marriage rate and the birth rate are falling
of. while the death rate remains stationary;
thus the population of the country Is de-
Ginning. This. for a country which owes
more money than any other nation in the
world-over $4,000, 0OO, 0O0-is an unpleasant
discovery
Thirty years ago the population Of France
was about thirty-seve and half millions.
nearly equally divided between the sexes {;
SIX years after the war with Germany 1t
was about 81, 000000 In 1886 a census was
taken, and the total population was given
as IS, 21S, COO No complete returns of popu-
lation have been taken since then, but 1t
is inferred from local statistics that the
aggregate is now under IS, 100000. During
the decade ending in 1886, the annual In
crease varied from 90 to AZ per cent. The
slow increase is traced TO two causes, the
rarity of N arriages and the smallness OF
families. In the whole republic, not over
$4,000 marriages are celebrated, on the
average, in each year. This may in part be
due to the excess of males over femaleS-a
very unusual condition Of affairs in an old
country; and likewise to some extent to the
substitutes for marriage which are pre7a-
lent in French cities. According to the
census of 1876. over one-half the males in
France were unmarried, and a still larger
proportion Of the females. The population
of country in which over 100000 men
and as many women remain single cannot
we'll increase.
NJ. Lagneau of the Institut, who is reason
ing from vital statistics, states that the
average number Of children in each family
is three. Other statisticiaHs give the aver
age as two. and one careful computer states
the average number of members of each
family, including father and mother, at
three. 1t will be remembered that one of
the ablest English statisIicians lately de-
clared that when the average number of
children born from each marriage fell be-
low four the population OF England began
to decline. Many reasons have been as
signed for the smallness Of French families.
The most potent cause is undoubtedly the
difficulty in finding living for young men,
and the necessity of restricting the number
of girls for whom a dOwTy has to be pro-
vided. Political economists have been IN
the habit of assuming Il connection between
the productiveness of marriages and the
price OF food; this reasoning will not hold
in France, and it is doubtful if it can be
maintained of any country. In the rural
departments of France food is cheap, but,
though there is practically no emigration
the aggregate annual number of emigrants
being under 7to0-population does not in
crease.
There is no country in Europe in which
the numbers of the people are growing to
any extent, ana in several countries, as in
France, Italy ard Spain, they are actually
declining. 1t is reckoned that the popula-
ton of England doubles in about ffty-three
years; but it is an exception. In our time
we have seen the Governments of Germany,
Italy and Spain interfere to prevent emigra-
ton on the ground that, If continued, it
would deplete those countries of labor and
material for armies. still stronger OBJ
lection might be drawn from the fact that
emigration reduces the number of persons
who are liable for national debts.