Given the purchasing power of a people, Malthus would have estimated,
according to his laws, the marriage-rate, and, given the marriage-rate,
he would have estimated the birth-rate.

But anticipations in this direction, based on Malthus's laws, have not
been realised. The purchasing power of the people we know has enormously
increased; the marriage-rate has not increased, it has, in fact,
slightly decreased; but the birth-rate per marriage, or the fecundity of
marriage, has decreased in a remarkable degree.

In "Industrial Democracy," by Sydney and Beatrice Webb (p. 637), the
following occurs:--"The Hearts of Oak Friendly Society is the largest
centralised Benefit Society in this country, having now over two hundred
thousand adult male members. No one is admitted who is not of good
character, and in receipt of wages of twenty-four shillings a week or
upwards. The membership consists, therefore, of the artisan and skilled
operative class, with some intermixture of the small shopkeeper, to the
exclusion of the mere labourer. Among its provisions, is the "Lying-in
Benefit," a payment of thirty shillings for each confinement of a
member's wife."

From 1866 to 1880 the proportion of lying-in claims to membership slowly
rose from 21.76 to 24.78 per 100. From 1880 to the present time it has
continuously declined, until now it is only between 14 and 15 per 100.

The following table (from the annual reports of the Committee of
Management of the Hearts of Oak Friendly Society, and those of the
Registrar-General) shows, for each year from 1866 to 1895 inclusive, the
number of members in the Hearts of Oak Friendly Society at the
beginning of the year, the number of those who received Lying-in Benefit