MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY 



99 



relation with the deathrate, which remained high for a 

 time. Then both fell together to their original level as 

 soon as the plague disappeared. A similar correlation 

 of birthrate and deathrate was noticed in Cairo in 1910 

 during a severe fatal outbreak of small-pox. This cor- 

 relation of births and deaths makes any measures taken 

 to modify their rates appear futile, because their relation- 

 ship seems to follow a natural law, which at present is 

 not understood." l It would be interesting to know 

 how these facts could be explained on the " race-suicide " 

 hypothesis. Are we to assume that the population 

 promptly took to the use of contraceptives as soon as 

 the deathrate fell, although they did not think it necessary 

 to use them before ? 



An excellent test case showing the operation of the 

 general law that birthrate and deathrate vary together 

 under circumstances where it would be absurd to appeal 

 to the use of contraceptives for an explanation is provided 

 by India. Here are figures showing birthrates and death- 

 rates among the various provinces of that country : 2 



Bengal 



United Provinces 



Punjab 



Central Provinces 



Lower Burmah 



Eastern Bengal and Assam 



Madras (Presidency) 



Bombay (Presidency) 



North -West Frontier Provinces 



Coorg 



Ajmer Merwara 



The accuracy of these figures is not guaranteed, and 

 they are compiled upon the method of giving the number 

 of births per thousand of population, which is very mis- 

 leading as a guide to fertility, instead of the number of 

 births per thousand married women. Yet in spite of 



1 Problems of Population, p. 382 et seq. * Racial Decay, Beale. 



