CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



are born than females, but disease, and the perils 

 of industry, trade, and war, cut off a higher ratio 

 of males at all ages. To 100 females are born 

 104-8 males in England and Wales, and 105.4 in 

 Scotland ; but the higher death-rate of males 

 equalises the sexes by the i8th year; finally, how- 

 ever, from emigration and perilous land and sea 

 occupations of males, there are in this country 

 105-3 females to 100 males of all ages. The ratio 

 of females to 100 males in Scotland varied at the j 

 censuses 1801-71, from 118-5 in 1811 to 109-6 in 

 1871. The Scotch serve in the army, navy, and ' 

 mercantile marine in greater ratio to the popula- 

 tion than the English. In 1871, in England and 

 Wales, males preponderated in 8 counties, and 

 females in 32 ; and in Scotland, males prepon- 

 derated only in i county, Linlithgow. In England 

 and Wales, 1871, to 100 males of ages 0-20 there 

 were 99-94 females; of ages 20-40, 110-12; of ages 

 40-60, 107-81 ; of ages 60-80, 114-46 ; of ages 80 

 &c. 140-32 ; and of all ages, 105-37. In Scotland, 

 1871, to 100 males of all ages, there were 112-26 

 females in towns; 118-42 in villages ; and 105-16 

 in rural districts. The per cent, of females in the 

 rural districts is hardly higher than the average 

 of European populations. Certain places shew a 

 still greater disproportion between the sexes ; thus, 

 in 1851, females were 13 per cent, in excess in 

 London ; 17 in Edinburgh; 19 in Dublin ; 42 in 

 Hampstead ; 50 in Bath and Manchester. This 

 chiefly from immigration of domestic servants 

 from rural districts. But males were 9 per cent, 

 in excess in Monmouthshire, a mining district ; 

 and 17 in Chatham. 



The population of Britain contains many more 

 females than males of the ages 20-40, from the 

 greater emigration and mortality of males of 

 these ages ; and there are still more females at 

 riper ages. Manufacturing town populations are 

 generally much younger than rural ; the latter 

 contain an excess of persons, especially females, 

 of great ages. Most immigrants from rural dis- 

 tricts to towns are of ages 20-30. Armies consist 

 of men of the athletic ages of 20-40. During the 

 Russian war, the English army contained i in 12 

 of our population of this age, or about double the 

 ratio in peace. 



The proportion of persons of different ages 

 living at any time was formerly known by the ' 

 registration of baptisms by the church, and is ' 

 now by the censuses, and the legal registration of 

 births and deaths. While the whole population 

 of England and Wales, 1851-71, increased 25 per | 

 cent., the increase under the age of 20 was 26 ' 

 per cent ; of ages 20-40, 21 per cent. ; of ages 40- 

 60, 28 per cent. ; of ages 60-80, 25 per cent. ; of 

 ages 80-100, 20 per cent. ; but there was 44 per 

 cent fewer of ages above 100. Thus the number 

 of persons in the prime of life increased most, 

 and the strength of the nation increased more 

 than its numbers. In England and Wales, 1801, 

 there were 1,351,422 men of the athletic, soldier, 

 and reproductive ages 20-40, and 3,304,477 in 

 1871. In 1871,10 zoo persons, in England and 

 Wales, living under the age of 20, there were 65 

 of ages 20-40, 38 of ages 40-60, 15 of ages 60-80, 

 and i of ages 80, &c. The numbers of the popula- 

 tion above and below the age of 22^ are equal. 

 The number of .children of school age, 3-13, as 

 defined by the English Education Act, is 23 per 

 cent, of the population. The mean age of the 



population of England and Wales at the three 

 last censuses was 26-4 years; that of the people of 

 20 years of age and upwards, 40-4, 40-7, 40-8 ; and 

 that of the males was 0-8 year under that of the 

 females. Supposing no emigration, and a con- 

 stant birth-rate, the mean age of the whole people 

 would have been 32-1 years, or 31-8 for males, and 

 32-3 for females. Emigration, chiefly of adults, 

 and an annual increasing birth-rate, gives an 

 excess of young over old people living, and re- 

 duces the mean age of the whole people. The 

 people of this country are younger than that of 

 many others, not from life being shorter, but 

 because births are always increasing. Little 

 above a third of the nation is self-supporting. 

 In the British Isles, 1851, the number of persons 

 living of ages under 20, 20-40, 40-60, 60-80, and 

 above 80, were in the ratio 1 2, 8, 4, 2, i ; and the 

 ratio of persons living of these ages in England 

 and Wales 1871 was 12-3, 7-8, 4-6, 1-9, 0-14. 



CRIME. 



Crime is a malicious violation of public duties, 

 requiring the offender to give satisfaction to the 

 community, and to repair, if possible, the injury 

 done to person or property. The number of 

 crimes which become publicly known varies 

 with the efficiency of the police of a country, 

 and the disposition to prosecute. Crime, 

 especially the graver offences against the 

 person, has long been decreasing in Britain. 

 Since 1810, however, the increased efficiency of 

 the police has multiplied annual committals six 

 times in England and Wales, and seven times in 

 Scotland, and since 1815, twelve times in Ireland 

 an increase far above that of population. The 

 police now bring to light many minor offences 

 which before eluded punishment, or were sum- 

 marily punished by the populace. The increase 

 of crime in England since 1810 has been least in 

 the best policed and educated districts, as the 

 metropolitan ; and most in the worst, or the 

 mining and manufacturing. 



In England and Wales, 1805, 4605 persons 

 (i female to 2-4 males) were committed, or 

 barled, for trial by indictment, and 58 per cent, 

 convicted ; in 1820, 13,712 (i female to 4-5 males) 

 were committed; in 1840, 27,187 (i female to 4-2 

 males) were committed, and 87-4 per cent, con- 

 victed ; in 1863 the numbers were 20,818 (i female 

 to 3-7 males) committed, and 75 per cent, con- 

 victed ; in 1873, 14,809 (i female to 3-4 males) 

 committed, and 73 per cent, convicted. In Scot- 

 land, 1863, 3404 (i female to 2-7 males) were 

 committed, and 71 per cent, convicted; in 1872, 

 3042 (i female to 4 males) were committed, and 

 74 per cent, convicted. In Ireland, 1863, 6078 

 (i female to 4 males) were committed, and 54 per 

 cent, convicted; in 1872, 4476 (i female to 4-4 

 males) were committed, and 55 per cent con- 

 victed. 



Besides the offenders committed or bailed for 

 trial by indictment, many others, called mis- 

 demeanours, were committed for trial by informa- 

 tion. Of both classes, 231,184 persons (i female 

 to 2-5 males) were committed to prison (except 

 convict and military prisons) in the United King- 

 dom in 1870; or i in 133 of the population in 

 England and Wales ; I in 106 in that of Scot- 

 land ; and i in 165 in that of Ireland. Of these, 



