CHAPTER X 



THE DECLINE IN THE BIRTH-RATE ITS CAUSES 



WE are now in a position to take stock of the whole 

 subject of the recent fall in the birth-rate, and to try 

 to find some tentative explanation of the causes at 

 work. 



It is perfectly clear that there is no appreciable 

 diminution of the natural fertility of the nation, since 

 the Clergy, the Roman Catholics of all classes, and the 

 Jews, as well as the miners, the casual labourers, and 

 the feeble-minded, are unaffected, or affected to but a 

 slight extent, by the decline in the size of the family 

 prevalent among the majority of the well-to-do laity and 

 the thrifty skilled artisans. It is possible that some small 

 part of the decline might be traced to the natural and 

 direct effects of luxury, restlessness, or overfeeding ; 

 but by far the greater part of the fall is only indirectly 

 connected with those faults of modern life. In the 

 mass of the community, the able, competent, and 

 successful stocks, who until recent years probably 

 produced relatively nearly as many children as the 

 lower-grade stocks, and certainly reared a far larger pro- 

 portion, have come to the conclusion that they do not 

 wish for large families, and are voluntarily restricting 



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