1841 .] 
of Tasmania . 
149 
inales to 102 females. We find that these proportions 
are more than borne out by the actual number of births 
registered during the years 1839, 1840, and 1841 ; viz.— 
684 males and 707 females, or 100 males to 103 females. 
In Great Britain the number of male births registered is 
to those of females as 100 to 95. In New South Wales 
the number of male births registered for the three years 
ending with 1840, to that of female births, is 100 to 97. 
The districts of Launceston and Hamilton differ, how¬ 
ever, in this respect from all the other districts ; as in 
them the male births registered greatly exceed those of 
female births. 
The number of marriages in 1839 was 423; in 1840, 
when every thing was seemingly prosperous, 457 ; but 
in the following year of depression it was only 407. This 
fact alone wonld be a sufficient standard by which to 
measure the flood and ebb of our Colonial prosperity. 
Of these 1287 marriages, 1095 were solemnized according 
to the rites of the Church of England, 72 according to 
the rites of the Church of Scotland, 60 according; to 
those of other Protestant denominations, 52 according 
to those of the Church of Rome, 6 by the Jews, and 2 
only in the Register Office, both of which were solem¬ 
nized in 1839. 
No accurate proportions can be come to by comparing 
the number of births and deaths registered, as the latter 
embraces those only of free individuals ; but it will afford 
gratification to observe the decreasing number of persons 
whose deaths have been occasioned either directly or 
indirectly from drunkenness. The numbers for the three 
years were 40, 34, and 29, respectively; and it is fer¬ 
vently to be hoped that this diminution will still 
continue. 
The deaths by fever in 1840, in proportion to the number 
of cases treated, were 9$ per cent.; whereas in the 
