350 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY 



eration of the act of the Legislature approved in 1844 ; the average for 

 the Jive years intervening between the operation of the act of 1844 and 

 that of 1849 ; and the average for the eiffht or for the nme years follow- 

 ing the act of 1849. It also presents, for comparison with the foregoing, 

 like ratios for one hundred and sixty-six towns of Massachusetts in 1855, 

 which towns comprise about two thirds of the population of the State, 

 and which were selected, as furnishing trustworthy data, as the basis of 

 the construction of a Life Table for the State.* The table also shows 

 the greatest, the least, and the average ratios for England for the nine- 

 teen years 1838-56, the period during which an efficient system of 

 registration has there been in operation. 



Inspection of these results shows that the passage of the acts of 

 1844 and 1849 produced an immediate and marked influence on the 

 completeness of the returns ; and also that the ratios, when not dis- 

 turbed by legislative enactments, remain comparatively constant, year 

 by year. These observations lead to the conviction, that, by judi" 

 cious legislation at the present time, the returns for the year 18 GO, and 

 all subsequent years, may be rendered so perfect, that cases will sel- 

 dom or never escape notice. 



The ratios of the births, deaths, and marriages actually occurring in 

 the State to the population of the State, probably do not greatly differ 

 from those indicated by the returns of the one hundred and sixty-six 

 towns in 1855 ; that is, thirty-one (31.2) births, twenty-one (21.4) 

 deaths, and twelve (12.4) marriages to every thousand persons living. 

 It will be observed that the legislation of 1844 improved the record of 

 births, but rendered still more defective the record of deaths and of 

 marriages ; the average of the annual ratios of the number of births 

 to one thousand persons living, advancing from eleven to eighteen, but 

 that of deaths receding from thirteen to eleven, and that of marriages 

 from seven to six. The legislation of 1849 appears to have improved 

 tlie returns of each of the three classes of events ; advancing the 

 average of the rates of registered births from eighteen to twenty-nine, 

 of registered deaths from eleven to eighteen, and of registered mar- 

 riages from six to eleven to every thousand persons living. 



Accepting the returns of the one hundred and sixty-six selected 

 towns of 1855 as furnishing just standards for comparison, it appears 



* See Proceedings of American Association for the Advancement of Science, 

 Montreal Meeting, 1857, p. 51. 



