212 THE anglo-saxo:n^ and the world's future. 



We are now prepared to ask what light statistics cast 

 on the future. In Great Britain, from 1840 to 1850, the 

 ratio of increase of the population was 2.49 per cent ; 

 during the next ten years it was 5.44 per cent. ; the next 

 ten years, it was 8.60; from 1870 to 1880, it was 10.57; 

 and from 1880 to 1889 it was 10.08 per cent. That is, for 

 fifty years the ratio of increase has been rapidly rising. 



It is not unlikely to continue rising for some time to 

 come ; but, remembering that the population is dense, in 

 making our estimate for the next hundred years, we will 

 suppose the ratio of increase to be only one-half as large 

 as that from 1870 to 1880, which would make the popula- 

 tion in 1980, 57, 000 , 000. All the great colonies of Britain, 

 except Canada, which has a great future, show a very 

 high ratio of increase in population ; that of Australia, 

 from 1870 to 1880, was 56. 50 per cent. ; that of South 

 Africa was 73.28. It is quite reasonable to suppose that 

 the colonies, taken together, will double their population 

 once in twenty-five years for the next century. In the 

 United States, population has, on the average, doubled 

 once in twenty-five years since 1685. Adopting this 

 ratio, then, for the English colonies, their 11.000,000 in 

 1880 will be 176,000,000 in 1980, and about 234,000,000 in 

 1990. Turning now to our own country, we find in the 

 following table the ratio of increase of population for 

 each decade of years since 1800: 



From 1800 » to 1810 36.38 per cent. 



" 1810 " 1820 34.80 " " 



" 1820 " 1830 33.11 " " 



" 1830 " 1840 32.66 " " 



" 1840 " 1850 35.87 " " 



" 1850 " 1860 35.58 " " 



" 1860 " 1870 22.59 " " 



" 1870 " 1880 30.06 " " 



" 1880 " 1890 24.57 " " 



Here we see a falling ratio of increase of about one per 

 cent, every ten years from 1800 to 1840 — a period when 

 immigration was inconsiderable. During the next 



