POPULATION PROBLEMS 205 



known that they directly affect fertiUty ; and a control 

 of births seems to many to be in line with other steps 

 which man has taken profitably in directing his own 

 evolution. 



But what happened ? The tide turned, in 1877 in 

 England, as men were arguing how to stem its ad- 

 vance. The birth-rate per thousand of the population 

 was 32 about 1850 ; it rose a little (helped by more 

 thorough registration) to its maximum 36*3 in 1876, 

 the year of the Bradlaugh-Besant trial ; it has steadily 

 fallen to about 24 per thousand. This movement of 

 decreasing birth-rate, in which France led the way, is 

 now common to all the more highly civiUsed nations. 

 The decline, corrected with reference to the number 

 of wives under forty-five, has during the last thirty 

 years or so been most marked in New South Wales, 

 then in Victoria, Belgium, Saxony, New Zealand. There 

 has also been a considerable dechne in France, Ger- 

 many, England, and Denmark. There is little evi- 

 dence of any in Russia and the Balkans. Apart from 

 a few interesting exceptions, it may be said that among 

 EngHsh-speaking people there has been a decrease of 

 about one-third in the last forty years. But it must 

 always be kept in mind that this has to be brought into 

 correlation with changes in the death-rate and in the 

 marriage-rate. 



While we cannot enter into details regarding the 

 decline of the birth-rate, we must call attention to a 

 few general facts. The decline is most marked in areas 

 where the highest standard of Hving prevails and vice 



