508 



Transactions. — Miscellaneous, 



manhood in the northern districts and the deficiency of the 

 same in the southern. In economic power the population of 

 WeUington, we may remark in particular, is far more nearly 

 equal to that of her sister provinces than mere numbers of 

 population would indicate, and offers a ereat contrast to Otago 

 especially, with her deficiency both in children and population 

 of early and middle manhood. The same contrast exists 

 to a marked, though not to an equal, extent between the 

 populations of the two northern districts together as com- 

 pared with those of the southern districts : the population of 

 the north excels that of the south beyond the point its mere 

 excess in numbers might indicate, not only in present eco- 

 nomic power, but in capacity for future increase. 



I have on other occasions pointed out that statistics of 

 many kinds, applying to different countries or to one country 

 at difi'erent times, cannot be properly compared unless the 

 differences in age-distribution of the populations be taken into 

 account. The same applies to the case of these provincial 

 districts. It would be absurd, e.g., to draw any inference 

 from a comparison of the death-rates of Wellington and Otago 

 Districts without first taking into account the great excess of 

 the aged in the one district and the still greater deficiency of 

 the other. Similarly, birth-rates and statistics of health all 

 must be specially prepared with a view to allowing for differ- 

 ences in age-distribution before most comparisons are any- 

 thing better than worthless. Thus far we have not taken the 

 sexes separately into account. 



The Tables III. and IV. give results corresponding exactly 

 to those of I. and II., but for the male population only. 



Table III. 



Perckntages of Male Population of New Zealand and Four Chief 

 Provinces in Quinquennial Age-periods. 



