1866.] 



CARPENTER — ON VITAL STATISTICS. 



141 



before 1861, and adding it for the subsequent years,* we are able 

 to present a table approximately correct, as follows : 



4. Montreal City : Returns of Baptisms and Funeral 

 Services. 



Year. 



i359 



i860 



1861 



1862 



1863 



1864 



1S65 



Average of 7 years 



Average of 6 years( — 1864) 



Supposed 

 Population 



83,803 

 87,063 

 9°>323 

 93,583 

 96,843 

 100,103 

 103,363 



93,583 

 92,496 



Births. 



4,238 

 4>438 

 4,579 

 4,811 

 5,388 

 4,024 

 4,339 



4,545 

 4,°32 



Deaths. 



3,016 

 3,005 

 3,222 

 3,5io 

 4,3o6 

 3,732 



3,39° 

 3,i77 



Excess 

 of Births 



over 

 Deaths. 



+ 1,657 

 + 1,422 

 + i,574 

 + 1,589 

 + 1,878 

 — 282 

 + 607 



+ i,i55 

 + i,455 



Deaths 

 per 

 1. 000 



living. 



30.8 

 34-7 

 33-2 

 34-4 

 36.2 

 43-o 

 36.1 



36.2 

 34-3 



Deaths 

 per 100 

 Births. 



65 

 67 

 65 

 107 



74 



The returns from which this table is constructed were the 

 most accurate known at the time the former article was 

 written. They are now known to be consideraby below the 

 truth. They only profess to register religious services at birth 

 and death ; so that many children are born, and some corpses 

 perhaps interred, without the names appearing in the clerical 

 registers. The returns are not always sent in with becoming punc- 

 tuality ; and none are yet accessible for the year 1866. Their 

 chief use is in furnishing data for the comparison of births and 

 deaths ; and of the city with the country districts. These last 

 consisted, from 1859-1861, of the following counties, viz. : Hoche- 

 laga, Jacques C artier, Laval, Vaudreuil, Soulanges, Laprairie, 

 Chambly and Vercheres. In 1862 Vaudreuil, and in 1863 

 Soulanges, were removed to another registration district ; but their 

 averages have been added in, to make the returns for the different 

 years correspond. The population in 1861 is taken from the census ; 

 a comparison of this with the census of 1861 gives 3817 as the 

 average yearly rate of increase. It is probable that these country 

 returns are more accurate than those of the city ; the population 

 being less affected by immigration; and the proportion who are 

 careless as to religious observances being much smaller. It will 

 be specially noticed that there is no remarkable fluctuation in births 

 in 1863-4, nor extra mortality in 1864. 



* This simple mode is not exact, being less than the real rate. But 

 as the recorded deaths are also below the real numbers, the lower totals 

 of population make the averages more near the truth. 



