Compulsory Marriage. 
261 
women between twenty and forty years of age, twenty-three per 
cent, in Scotland, and nine per cent, in Ireland. The latest 
published statistics place the excess of women in.Sweden at 
6.3 per cent.; Norway, 4.2 ; German Confederation, 2.3 ; Hol¬ 
land, 1.8; Spain, 1.5 ; France, 1.5 ; Denmark, 0.8 ; Prussia, 
0.7. The census of i860 gives an excess of about 5 per cent, 
in the United State?. In England and Wales there are 513,000 
more women than men. 
A writer in the North British Review not long ago asserted 
that there were then 1,537,000 unmarried women in these two 
countries. “ England,” he added, “ has always been the coun¬ 
try of old maids—it is becoming so more and more.” This is 
due to the increased luxury of the age. While four or five per 
cent, of Eng l ish wome n ma y prefer celib acy from taste or tem- 
&lso 
0 our divergence from a thoroughly natural, sound, 
social condition/' 
Inc women are to blame, but men are incomparably more 
so; for it is they who do qr might give the tone on all social 
matters. Thousands of women would prefer love to splendor— 
a bare competence, or even struggling poverty with marriage to 
the most luxurious life without—if men had the courage to offer 
them the choice.. The latter, however, prefer a vicious and 
heartless youth, and a joyless and loveless old age, because 
they have no nerve to jyork, and no fortitude to forego. This 
is strong language, but we fear it is warranted by the facts not 
only in England, but perhaps the United States. 
We have not yet learned the fate of the Tennessee bill, im¬ 
posing a tax upon bachelors. Its enactment into a law cer¬ 
tainly could produce no harm, and might, result in considerable 
good were the tax levied increased ten or twenty fold. If every 
marriageable man was compelled to annually pay into the 
general fund a sufficient sum to maintain a marriageable woman, 
there would very soon be less talk about the American stock 
running out. We merely make the suggestion for the benefit 
of our State Legislators, 
Missouri Botanical Garden 
George Engelmann Papers 
