SOCIAL STATISTICS. 



SOCIAL STATISTICS, or Political Arith- 

 metic, is a branch of the science of Society, 

 founded about 1750, by Achenwal of Gottingen. 

 It furnishes facts, which give averages leading 

 to general laws of human phenomena, as to the 

 social condition and prospects of a nation. Social 

 statistics are very important in Political Economy, 

 and give the statesman facts for his guidance. 

 Statistical inquiries include facts as to crops, 

 industry, commerce, currency, wealth, institutions, 

 population, births, marriages, deaths, health, 

 disease, education, religion, crime, &c. Numer- 

 ical results are obtained, and may be expressed 

 in tables. 



Statistical conclusions rest on two principles : 

 I. The law of stability, or the regular recurrence 

 of particular phenomena, as shewn by observa- 

 tion ; 2. the law of variation, or the mode and 

 limits of human and other powers brought into 

 play to modify human life and action and material 

 phenomena. Thus, individual human actions, 

 (especially voluntary), liabilities, and tendencies, 

 present diversities, irregularities, and uncertain- 

 ties ; but these in a large area of cases are found 

 to neutralise each other, as they occur in excess 

 and defect of a mean value. They obey definite 

 and constant laws, often complex and difficult to 

 discover, and this is true even of the most fleeting 

 movements of the mind. Thus, the same propor- 

 tion of letters are annually posted unaddressed or 

 unsealed, many inclosing money, &c. 



Statistical investigations lead to results con- 

 nected with the mathematical theory or calculus 

 of probabilities. They conduct to averages or ap- 

 proximations to actualities, with a margin of varia- 

 tion, which is less, the greater the number of the 

 cases from which we infer. The laws are reached 

 especially by the inductive method of Concomitant 

 Variations, and enable us to foresee and control 

 the future. 



Statistical calculations were first practically 

 applied to annuities and insurances, after ascer- 

 taining the probable duration of life of a large 

 number of human beings, so as to distribute the 

 increased risk in exceptional lives. At first, the 

 mean duration of human life was considerably 

 underrated, entailing a loss on annuities, and a 

 gain on insurances granted. 



Most civilised governments collect and publish 

 statistics. The population of the United King- 

 dom has been enumerated every tenth year since 

 1801. Since 1832, there has been a Statistical 

 Department of the Board of Trade. Births, mar- 

 riages, and deaths have been registered by law 

 in England and Wales since 1837 ; in Scotland, 

 since 1855 ; an d in Ireland, since 1865 ; and Re- 

 ports published. Our government also period- 

 ically publishes statistics on agriculture, trade, the 

 census, education, emigration, health of the army 

 and navy, pauperism, crime, public health, rail- 

 ways, and on many other subjects. The British 

 Association has a statistical department, as also 

 the Social Science Association. The Statistical 

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Society of London, founded in 1834, has published 

 a Journal since 1839. There is a periodical Euro- 

 pean Statistical Congress in some European city, 

 the first having been at Brussels, 1853, under the 

 presidency of M. Quetelet, the greatest statistician 

 of the age. Numerous individuals have long been 

 labouring in the same field in all countries. Such 

 sustained efforts supply a continually broadening 

 basis of correct statistical data, so indispensable 

 to generalisation. In the following pages, we give 

 the results, from reliable sources, on some of the 

 more important elements in the life of nations. 



BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, AND DEATHS. 



The mean annual ratio of births, persons mar- 

 ried, and deaths per 1000 of the population, in 

 various countries, is as follows : 



In England and Wales, the annual ratio of births 

 to looo of the population, 1838-71, has varied 

 from 30-3 to 35-8 ; of persons married, from 14-7 

 to 17-9; of deaths, from 20-5 to 25-1. In the 

 British Isles, the ratio of births to the population 

 is now greater, and the deaths less than formerly, 

 and the births have always exceeded the deaths. 

 Compared with Britain, the above table shews a 

 low birth-rate in France, and high death-rates in 

 Austria, Prussia, Italy, and Spain. 



The ratio of births, marriages, and deaths also 

 varies with the temperature of the seasons, the 

 state of trade, the price of food, the occupations, 

 hopes, fears, enjoyments, sufferings, and density 

 of the people, &c There are more marriages 

 and births, and fewer deaths, in fine seasons, and 

 in long periods of cheap food, plentiful work, high 

 wages, brisk trade, high consols, and low interest ; 

 the reverse in opposite conditions ; but in general, 

 many births, many marriages, and many deaths 

 accompany each other. In England and France, 

 most births occur from January to May. In 

 England, most marriages occur in the three 

 months after harvest, especially in. the rural dis- 

 tricts, and there are three marriages in the last 

 quarter of the year to two in the first. In France, 

 most marriages occur in February, during the 

 Carnival; and fewest in March, during Lent. In 

 English towns, and manufacturing and mining 

 districts, where wages depend less on the sea- 

 sons, the autumn excess of marriages is less. In 

 London, most marriages occur in the third and 

 fourth quarters. Most deaths occur in the cold 

 months January to May, and fewest in the warm 



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