CONJUGAL CONDITION AND OCCUPATIONS OF THE PEOPLE.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume III, Issue 280, 12 June 1875, Page 2

CONJUGAL CONDITION AND OCCUPATIONS OF THE PEOPLE.

A bulky census paper, under the above heading, has come to us from Wellington. It is quite certain that Mr. Brown, the new Registrar-General, has succeeded in compiling statistical information concerning the colony on every conceivable and inconceivable head. CONJUGAL CONDITION. Now, as concerning the conjugal condition of our population, the returns for the whole colony develop the somewhat startling fact that there are 45,334 husbands to only 44,624 wives, so that there is an excess of 720 husbands somewhere, or an average of 102 husbands for every 100 wives. This reminds one of the remark of the old gentleman who had observed that more ladies than gentlemen were married during a specified year. In order that the ladies may not rest under the suspicion of encouraging more than one husband, we may suggest that the explanation is no doubt to be fouud in the fact of married men coming to the colony as pioneers for their families. Auckland seems to be one of the best regulated of the provinces in this respect, for we find a discrepancy of only 48 or 10,708 husbands and 10,660 wives and inthecity the preponderance is actually the other way, namely 2,147 wives to 2,015 husbands ; this being no doubt accounted for by the number engaged in seafaring pursuits, whose famlies are resident here. Then, with reference to the ages of this important section of the population we are informed by the paper under review that one precocious young lady has set up housekeeping at an early age of fourteen, but no youth has exhibited equal temerity, and only 19 have ventured on the step between the ages of 15 and 20; although 866 young ladies have done so. It is, perhaps, worthy of being recorded that the enterprising young lady of 14 resides in New Plymouth. The preponderance of bachelors over spinsters in the colony is something alarming, equal to 238 unmarried men over 28 years of age to every 100 spinsters over 15 years. In the province of Auckland the totals are 8,296 bachelors over 20 years, and only 4,672 spinsters over 15 years. In special districts the proportions are of course widely different. For instance in Parnell we have between the ages of 15 and 30 years, 396 spinsters and 330 bachelors; in Newton, the proportion of the sexes between the ages mentioned is very evenly balanced, 350 to 352. In both districts the number of unprotected married ladies is large, the excess of wives over husbands in Parnell being 58, and in Newton 52. On the other hand in the district of Eden the wives seem to have left husbands to keep bachelorhall, for we find there 663 married men to 645 married women. The most common age for men to marry is between 25 and 35; the age for women between 20 and 25, although 2,993 are classed in the colony as having married between the ages of 25 and 30. A few ladies acknowledge to marrying over that age. The general results brought out regarding the social condition of the province of Auckland are as follows :—Children under 15 years of age, 28,357; unmarried people over that age, 11,088 males, and 4,672 females unmarried ladies may therefore con-

sider that they stand at a decided premium ; married, 10,709 husbands, and 10,660 wives; widows, 763; widowers, 1,138 ; unspecified, 63 males and 1 female. — Auckland Evening Star.