The Daily Times. The oldest Manawatu journal: Established 1875. TUESDAY, NOV. 6, 1883. POPULATION AND VITAL STATISTICS.

Manawatu Times, Volume IX, Issue 402, 6 November 1883, Page 2

The Daily Times. The oldest Manawatu journal: Established 1875. TUESDAY, NOV. 6, 1883. POPULATION AND VITAL STATISTICS.

The printing of the volume of statistics of the colony for the year 1882 has at last been completed, aud we have to acknowledge receipt of a copy from the Government Printer. A general summary of the results may prove interesting to our readers. From the volume before us we learn the estimated population on the 31st December 1882 (exclusive of Maoris) wan 517,707, being an increase during the year of 16,797. The birtiis exceeded the deaths by 18,308,' and the excess of immigration over emigration wns 8,489 l The living births registered numbered 19,009, an increase of 277 over the births m 1881 but lets than the number m 1880 by 832. The proportion of births per 1000 of the population waß 87.32, the lowest on record m the colony during the last 20 years. The Registrar-general m reference to this points out that the higheit on record m England, for the 43 years ending 1880, waß 86 3 m 1876. The continuous falling-ofE m the rate since then was deemed to be m natural accordance with the decline m the marriage-rate. In New Zealand the marriage-rate has almost continuously declined since 1875, but the birth-rate increased until 1878, when it was 41.96 ; aftei that there was a decline. Of the children born alive, 9,712 were males and 9297 females, or at the rate of 104 4 maleß to 100 females. The illegitimate birtha amounted to 546, equal to 2.87 per cent of the total births. In this direction there has been a continuous increase sinoe 1879 wh«n the percentage was 2.80, In 1880 it was 2.43 and m 1881. 2.85. The number of marriages m 1882 wap 3,600, an increase cf 323 on thi* previous year. The rate iiwu^a iii^Ujf thm. the xates m {

1881 and 1880, is still much lower than the average rates for the years preceding 1881, aud it is not only lower than the mean, rate m Eug* land for the 43 yearß ending 1880, but is lower than the lowest rate during thnse years. The Registrar has compiled a table m connection with this subject and pointß out that there has been a large and progressive de* crease m the proportion of marriages to the number of marriageable males and females respectively. This is the more striking from the fact of the presence of a large excess of male population at marriageable ages, and the progressive increase m the pro* portion of marriageable females. The deaths during 1882 numbered 5,701, equivalent to ITI9 for every 1000 of tbe mean population. In 1881 tbe similar proportion was 1113, and m 1880 11-46. Of the total deaths, 8*355 were of males and 2343 fe> males. We shall refer m future issues to some other features of the volume.