254 Report 8.A.A. Advancement of Science. 



Number and Proportion of Races at Last Census, 



On the date of the last census — 17 th April, 1904 — the popula- 

 tion of the Cape Colony, including the native territories and British 

 Bechuanaland, was 2,409,804, made up of — European or white, 579,741 ; 

 Kafir, Fingo and Bechuana, 1,424,787 ; Hottentot, 91,260 ; Malay, 

 mixed and other, 314,016 ; so that the Europeans formed a little over 

 24 per cent, and coloured and native a little under 76 per cent, of the 

 total, the percentage for the Bantu family, comprising Kafi)-s, Fingoes 

 and Bechuanas being just over 59 per cent. 



Natural and Actual Increase : Methods of Calculating. 



For ascertaining the i-ate of increase of a population over a given 

 period two methods of calculation can usually be followed : firstly, to 

 compare the census enumerations taken at the beginning and end of 

 the period, and from these figures to calculate the annual increase 

 during the period ; and, secondly', to compare the births and deaths 

 during each year of the period. The first method gives the total or 

 "actual" increase, and the second the "natural" increase, which will 

 agree with tlie "actual" only when there is no immigration or emigra- 

 tion, or when the gain by immigration balances the loss by emigration. 

 For the purpose of this paper, or if we wish to accurately compare the 

 vitality of the several races, it is the " natural " increase, or the gain 

 by excess of births over deaths, which is of essential importance, and, 

 unfortunately, the data a\ailable for making an accurate and coniplete 

 comparison of this nature are insufficient, whichever system of calcula- 

 tion is adopted. On the one hand we have a European population, with 

 reliable annual statistics of births and deaths, but which is aflPected to 

 a very large extent by migration, so that the "actual " greatly exceeds 

 the " natui'al " increase, and by an unascertaiuable number, there being 

 no complete statistics of emigration and immigration available. On the 

 other hand, we have a coloured and native population little afiected by 

 migration, but with statistics of births and deaths so incomplete as to 

 be not only worthless, but ver}' apt to prove misleading. It will be 

 readily understood that the difficulties in the way of obtaining complete 

 returns of births and deaths in a large and scattered native popula- 

 tion, the greater portion of which is only in process of emergence from 

 barbarism, are insuperable, except at a totally prohibitive cost. It 

 may, however, be mentioned that the law with regard to registration 

 is complied with to a much greater extejit in the case of deaths of 

 natives — and especially of native male adults — than in the case 

 of births, so that in any calculation from the annual registrations of 

 births and deaths the native " natural " increase is apt to be greatly 

 under-estimatpd. As an instance of this I may quote from the annual 

 I'eport for 1906 of Dr. T. Barcroft Anderson, district surgeon of East 

 London. He tiikes the registered births and deaths for the district 

 of East London during the seven years 1900-1906, and finds that 

 ■during that period the " natural " increase on an approximately constant 



