Ch. viii. in England. 415 



o 



proportion of births to the whole population of 

 England and Wales has been assumed to be as 1 

 to 30 ; but this is a smaller proportion of births 

 than has appeared in the course of this review to 

 take place in any other country except Norway 

 and Switzerland ; and it has been hitherto usual 

 with political calculators, to consider a great pro- 

 portion of births as the surest sign of a vigorous 

 and flourishing state. It is to be hoped, however, 

 that this prejudice will not last long. In countries 

 circumstanced like America or Russia, or in other 

 countries after any great mortality, a large pro- 

 portion of births is a favourable symptom ; but 

 in the average state of a well-peopled territory 

 there cannot well be a worse sign than a large 

 proportion of births, nor can there well be a better 

 sign than a small proportion. 



Sir Francis d'lvernois very justly observes, that, 

 " if the various states of Europe kept and pub- 

 " lished annually an exact account of their popu- 

 " lation, noting carefully in a second column the 

 " exact age at which the children die, this second 

 " column would shew the relative merit of the 

 " governments, and the comparative happiness of 

 " their subjects. A simple arithmetical statement 

 " would then perhaps be more conclusive than all 

 " the arguments that could be adduced."* In 

 the importance of the inferences to be drawn from 

 such tables, I fully agree with him ; and to make 



* Tableau ties Pertes, &c. c. ii. p. 16. 



