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20
THE RECIPROCITY CRAZE.
England and Wales.
| Year. | Population. | No. of Paupers January 1. |
|||
| 1850 | ... | 17,773,324 | ... | 920,543 | |
| 1860 | ... | 19,902,713 | ... | 851,020 | |
| 1870 | ... | 22,457,366 | ... | 1,079,391 | |
| 1877 | ... | 24,547,309 | ... | 728,350 | |
| 1878 | ... | 24,854,397 | ... | 742,703 | |
| 1879 | ... | 25,165,336 | ... | 800,426 | |
| 1880 | ... | 25,480,161 | ... | 837,940 | |
| 1881 | ... | 25,798,922 | ... | 803,126 |
These tables also tell their own tale, we see:—
i. That while agriculture remains depressed, trade is reviving, the figures for 1880 and 1881 for England and Wales bringing the fact into strong relief; 2, that as while in 1870 this part of the kingdom had a million of paupers to support, in 1881 it has only 800,000, although the population has in the meantime increased 3,340,000, a marvellous proof of progress; 3, that we appear to be once more embarked on the rising wave of prosperity as a trading and manufacturing nation.
Let us now turn to our criminal statistics.
3.—Crime.
United Kingdom.
| Year. | Population. | Convictions. | ||
| 1840 | ... | 26,487,026 | ... | 34,030 |
| 1850 | ... | 27,523,694 | ... | 41,008 |
| 1860 | ... | 28,778,411 | ... | 17,461 |
| 1870 | ... | 31,205,444 | ... | 18,401 |
| 1879 | ... | 34,155,126 | ... | 16,823 |
| 1880 | ... | 34,468,552 | ... | 15,643 |
Do these figures require a word of comment?
Let us now turn to the matter of education.
4.—Education.
United Kingdom.
| Year. | Schools Inspected. |
Accommodation. | Average Attendance. | |||
| 1863 | ... | 7,739 | ... | 1,512,782 | ... | 1,008,925 |
| 1869 | ... | 10,337 | ... | 2,076,344 | ... | 1,332,786 |
| 1874 | ... | 15,671 | ... | 3,344,071 | ... | 1,985,394 |
| 1879 | ... | 20,169 | ... | 4,727,853 | ... | 2,980,104 |
| 1880 | ... | 20,670 | ... | 4,842,807 | ... | 3,155,534 |
