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Show j The Birth-Rate in France. j In the Economiste Francais M. Paul Leroy ! Beaulieu. dealing with the question of the small-I small-I ness of the birth-rate in France, proves from sta- tisties that a decrease of births is not taking place ! in all the departments. For instance, in the de-i de-i partments of Brittany and La Vendee, which pos-i pos-i sess a population of 3.iG3,Gt?0, ihe excess of the j births over deaths is 24,943. As the ex-! ex-! cess in all France is only 83,944, these departments i give over a fourth of the whole. They are departments de-partments in Which the Catholic religion is largely observed. Again, let us take Finisterre, which made a brave defense of the teaching orders and religious instruction. If the excess of births over deaths throughout the whole of France, with a population of 3S.9G3 ,045, were in accordance with I what it is there, there would be an increase for ! the year of 45G.000, and had the increase been kept up at that rate since 3ST3 France would now have a population which would enable her to put as many men into the field as the German empire. It is not surprising, then, to find the accusation made against the government that in its efforts to banish religion it is carrying on a crusade, which is not only unjust but highly unpatriotic. |
