394 Of the Checks to Population Bk. ii. 



increase of a year, will give a proportion of annual 

 increase to the population, as 1 to about 156 ; and 

 this proportion of the annual excess of the births 

 above the deaths, to the population, will, accord- 

 ing to Table II. at the end of Ch. xi. Book ii., 

 give a rate of increase which would double the 

 population in about 108 years. 



On the other hand, as the population of old 

 France in 1813 was 28,786,911, and in 1820 

 30,451,187, the difference or the increase of po- 

 pulation during the seven years being 1,664,276, 

 the annual average increase will be 237,753, in- 

 stead of 193,026; and this greater annual in- 

 crease, compared with the mean population of the 

 seven years, will be as 1 to 124, instead of 1 to 

 156, and the rate of increase will be such as would 

 double the population in about 86 years, instead 

 of 108, showing the probability of considerable 

 omissions in the returns of births and deaths in 

 the 6 years ending with 1822. If, indeed, the 

 two enumerations can be considered as equally 

 near the truth, as there is no reason for supposing 

 that any great difference in the proportion of 

 births could have occurred in the three years 

 preceding 1817, it follows that the French regis- 

 ters require the same kind of correction, though 

 not to the same extent, as our own. In a subse- 

 quent chapter I have supposed that the returns of 

 the births for England and Wales are deficient 

 i, and of the burials T J T . This correction applied 

 to the French returns would exceed what is ne- 

 cessary to account for the increase between 1813 



