142 HAPPY INDIA 



them down and killed 4,000,000 of them every year 

 on the average. 



There is no insuperable natural or physiological 

 reason why the people should breed at this rate. 

 In some parts of the country there is prudence in 

 this regard. Among the cultivated classes there is 

 the foresight and care that might be expected. 



This child marriage, this marriage of nearly all 

 the women among the poorer classes, this too rapid 

 production of children, is a matter of fashion. 



Fashions come and grow. 



They remain and decay, and then go. 



This fashion must go the sooner the better. 



