result in growth of the population—­we are not here concerned with the enormous difference in well being and happiness—­as the extremely high rate of 40 which sends our marionettes leaping to the sky with joy.  In war-time England, in 1917, the birth-rate sank to 17.8, yet the death-rate was at 14 and the increase of the population continued.  The more the human race commits this kind of suicide, one is tempted to exclaim, the faster it grows!

It is, however, in the New World—­as in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—­that we find the most impressive evidence of the real criteria of the growth in population set up for judgment on the racial suicide cranks.  Canadian statistics bring out many points instructive even in their variation.  Here we see not only unusual curves of rise and fall, but also pronounced differences, due to the special peculiarities of the French population, most clearly in the Province of Quebec but also in some parts of the Province of Ontario.  In Quebec the birth-rate some years ago was 35, and the death-rate 21, both rates high, and the survival-rate high at 14; recently the birth-rate has risen to 37 and the death-rate fallen to 17, with the result that the survival-rate of 20 is the highest in the world, though it must be noted that the high birth-rate is not likely to last long, since in Quebec, as elsewhere in the world, increasing urbanisation causes a decreasing birth-rate.  In mainly English-speaking Ontario the birth-rate is much lower, about 24, but the death-rate is also lower, about 14, so that the fairly considerable survival-rate of 10 is obtained.  But we note the highly significant fact that some thirty years or more ago the birth-rate was much lower, about 19, and yet the survival-rate was almost 9, nearly as high as to-day!  The death-rate was then at 10, and nothing could be more instructive as to the real relationship that holds in this matter.  There has been a great rise in the birth-rate and the only result, as someone has remarked, is a great increase in the population of the grave-yards.  Equally instructive is it to compare various cities in this same Province, living under the same laws, and fairly similar social conditions.  In the report of the Registrar-General of Ontario for 1916 I find that highest in birth-rate of cities in the Province stands Ottawa with a very considerable French population.  But first also stands the same city for infant mortality, which is three times greater than in some other cities in the Province with a low birth-rate.  Sault Ste. Marie, again with an enormous birth-rate, stands third for infant mortality.  Canada shows us that, even if we regard the crude desire for a large growth of population as reasonable—­and that is a considerable assumption—­a high birth-rate is an uncertain prop to rest on.