New-York tribune., 1900-12-11
THE GROWTH OF AYGLO-SAxoNDoM.

I
THE GROWTH OF ANGLO-SAI0NDON.
Mr.. J. 81. Schooling has recently devoted-in
THE Pail Mall Magazine"-one of his statistl-
cal and analytical articles TO the subject OF the
growth OF the British Empire in the nineteenth
century. The showing which he makes is
highly impressive one. The territorial increase
has been in the colonies. from sixteen times to
ninety-six times the area of the United King
dom, or from 100000 to 100000 square
miles, and this has been made in all parts of the
world-America, Asia, Africa and Australasia
Comparable with this has been the increase Of
population. In 1900 the population of the Brit
ish Empire. outside of the United Kingdom, was
about 100,O00,O00. only 100000 being white
In 1900 the total is 349OOOOOO, and 100000
are white. These figures, of course. vastly sur
pass those Of any other European nation. We
have said that British colonies. etc., are now
ninety-six times the area of Great Britain.
Those of Germany are only five times the area
of Germany True German colonization is of
recent date. But France has been colonizing as
long as England. and her colonies to-day are
only eighteen times her own area At the same
time that Great Britain has thus been planting
great colonies her domestic population has in
creased much more rapidly than that of either
of her great rivals. The population Of the
United Kingdom has increased during the CEN
tury from 100000 TO 41000O00 or 173 per
cent. while that of Germany has increased from
21,0O0,OO0 10 55,000,O00 or 162 per cent and that
of France from 27OO00O0 to 100000. or only
As per cent. In these figures are shown the
tremendous vitality of the British stock and one
of the secrets of the unrivalled growth of the
British Empire.
The other great branch of the Anglo-Saxon
race, or of the English speaking race, shows dur
ing the same century growth only a little less
impressive in some respects than that of the
British Empire. and decidedly more impressive
in other respects. AT the beginning of the cen
tury the area of the United States and its pos
sessions was something less than $4,000 square
miles. At the close of the century. by virtue of
successive processes Of expansion, that area is
approximately 100000 square miles, in both
hemispheres and in three Of the globes five
zones. The population has in the same space Of
time increased from less than 100000 to about
9O,0O0,0OO. the overwhelming majority being. of
course white and speaking the English Ian
guage as their native tongue While the terri
torial growth of the United States has been
therefore less than that of the British Empire.
the growth in population has been proportion
ately much larger. If we should enter into sta
tistics of increase in manufactures, commerce
and wealth we should find the United States TO
have surpassed the British Empire and all the
rest Of the world so far as to be beyond all COM
parison with them. 1t is, indeed. no mere brag
or spread eagleism to say that, beginning the
nineteenth century one of the minor coun-
tries Of the world at the end Of the same CEN
tury
Earth's Biggest Country's gut her soul
An risen up Earth's Greatest Nation
These two great Powers, then, easily outrank
all others in growth and present magnitude
They do so, each Of them, taken separately
Taken together, in a classification of the world
according TO languages thev have most i'm
pressive supremacy At the beginning of the
century the English language was, in point of
numbers, one Of the minor tongues. 1t was used
by perhaps 21,OOOOO0 people, and was consid-
erably surpassed by the French. German and
Spanish languages, and probably also by the
Italian To-day it is the language of about $780,
100000. or Of nearly twice as many as any of
the others mentioned, German coming next
with about 65,O0O,000, Spanish with 55,OOO.OOO.
French with 4oOOO00O and Italian with S5,-
OOO,OOO Even Russian. which is scarcely
ranked among the cultivated languages. is not
used by as many as is English, nor is il at all
certain that any one Of the various distinct
languages used in China and India surpasses
English in the number Of its users. We shall
not incur the reproach Of extravaganza. then. if
we reckon that the English language is to-day
used by more people than any other Ianpuape
in the world. When we consider from what a
small beginning this fact has been developed in
these hundred years the expectation of a prsc
tically universal language within the next CEN
tury seems by no means overstrained. and when
we bear in mind the enormous ethical. social
commercial and political influence of language
the future promise OF the English speaking race
expands beyond all measurement