MARRIAGE V. CELIBACY.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, 29 September 1880, Page 2

MARRIAGE V. CELIBACY.

_ <•, A Paris contemporary — Le Globe — with an appreciation suitabio to the subject, glorifies marriage as a condition of life for which every man and woman should devoutly pray. By statistics drawn from France and otber countries it is proved tbat marriage supplies the best guarantee against death, sickness, crime, ancl suicide. Tbese statistics, as we are told by tbe English namesake of Le Globe, go to show tbat the life of a single man of twenty-five is no belter than that of a married man of forty-five and a widower of from twenty-five to thirty is not likely to live longer than a m.arried man of from forty-five to sixty. In fact, celibacy ages a man by at least twenty years', "-nd the state of a. widower is still more deplorable. ?!" .1* » women and widowers, are, it appears, similarly ft- a disadvantage, except in the case of early marriages, whicb Le Globe states is a fruitful cause of death in women wlu-n it is contracted before the age of twentyfive. Widowers, according to these statistics, are much more likely to be sbort-l'ved .than widows; in fact, below tbo age of iwenty-five. the chances of death are threo to four tiroes tbat of married men. This danger, however, diminishes nf'ei* the age of from forty to fifty. Widow* also are, as a rub?, much shorterlived than married women up to forty. Wi'h regard to crime, taking 150 criminals, tr.king 150 criminals, the proportion of single to married is 'about two to one. Tn a population which fu-'nishe? 100 male married criminals, there are 170 single mm, arid in one wiih 100 females i]\e unmarried of fhe same sox reach the high figure of 240. The number of suicides among single persons including widows and widowers, is also out of all proportion to that of married men and women, the relative rate boing five to one. Tbe sane set of figures point to single life as most prejudicial to health. Consumption is a disease which affects single persons much more than those who are married. M. J; 1 use in. of Bru^els, has given bis 1 opinion that it is twice as fatal in the easr of widows and widowers than with mar.- J ricd people, aud it is* far mora deadly J with single persons frcm tho age of j twenty-Gvc to forty. Le Globe sums un >n vievr nil these facts that a married lifV is 'he most (o be desired, and appeals to its ryi nlryiuen to follow "ithe example, of other ■iations, and not put of tbaHinppy M»l .! (00 :•"*/?.