THE CENSUS OF 1861. 13^ 



appears to be the truest criterion of the prolificacy of the two sections, 

 the proportions are reversed. With a view of testing the generally 

 received opinion of the greater prolificacy of the French race, I class- 

 ified the counties in Lower Canada according to their French element, 

 omitting the cities altogether, and I found that in those counties, con- 

 taining 80 per cent, and upwards of French, the percentage of births 

 to married women was 45.629, whilst in the rest of Lower Canada it 

 was only 40.352, and for all the counties in Upper Canada, also omit- 

 ting the cities, it was 42.772. The difference is so great and so 

 uniform, even if smaller divisions are taken, that I am inclined to 

 believe that it is truly characteristic, if not of the races, at least of the 

 habits of society amongst them. How far the greater fecundity of* 

 the French may be modified by a different rate of mortality, we have 

 no means of judging at present. 



If we endeavour to discover the effect of immigration upon Lower 

 Canada, it is observable that the general increase during the nine 

 years since the former Census was taken has been at the average rate 

 of 2.498 per annum, which is almost exactly the same as 2.486, the 

 percentage of natural increase on the average of the several years 

 from 1851 to 1857. The inference seems to be, that there has been 

 no sensible difference between the numbers who have left Canada and 

 the new importations. If we consider separately the population as 

 classed under its origins, taking the figures as we find them, it would 

 not appear that there has been any considerable emigration of the 

 French population, for its rate of increase has been almost as great as 

 the natural increase of the counties, and there is rather a larger pro- 

 portion of French than in 1852, about 76 per cent, against 75 per 

 cent. It is difficult to reconcile this conclusion with the general 

 belief in a large emigration of French. Our loss in this respect may 

 have been over-rated, or the difference may be owing to the imper- 

 fection of the Census of 1852 ; or if it can be attributed to neither of 

 these sources, it would follow that the natural increase must have been 

 even higher than I have estimated it. The numbers of foreign birth 

 are almost the same at both periods, 96,668 in 1861, against 95,153 

 in 1852, showing that the importations have more than counterbal- 

 anced the deaths during the interval. The principle change is in the 

 natives of other origin than the French, whose average annual increase, 

 2.019, has been much less than the annual natural increase, indicating 



