ILLE-ET-VILAINE

ille-et-vilaine, a maritime department of north-western france, formed in 1790 out of the eastern part of the old province of brittany. pop. (1906) 611,805. area 2699 sq. m. it is bounded n. by the english channel, the bay of st michel and the department of manche; e. by mayenne; s. by loire-inferieure; and w. by morbihan and cotes-du-nord. the territory of ille-et-vilaine constitutes a depression bordered by hills which reach their maximum altitudes (over 800 ft.) in the n.e. and w. of the department. the centre of this depression, which separates the hills of brittany from those of normandy, is occupied by rennes, capital of the department and an important junction of roads, rivers and railways. the department takes its name from its two principal rivers, the ille and the vilaine. the former joins the vilaine at rennes after a course of 18 m. through the centre of the department; and the latter, which rises in mayenne, flows westwards as far as rennes, where it turns abruptly south. the stream is tidal up to the port of redon, and is navigable for barges as far as rennes. the vilaine receives the meu and the seiche, which are both navigable. there are two other navigable streams, the airon and the rance, the long estuary of which falls almost entirely within the department. the ille-et-rance canal connects the town of rennes with those of dinan and st malo. the greater portion of the shore of the bay of st michel is covered by the marsh of dol, valuable agricultural land, which is protected from the inroads of the sea by dykes. towards the open channel the coast is rocky. small lakes are frequent in the interior of the department. the climate is temperate, humid and free from sudden changes. the south-west winds, while they keep the temperature mild, also bring frequent showers, and in spring and autumn thick fogs prevail. the soil is thin and not very fertile, but has been improved by the use of artificial manure. cereals of all kinds are grown, but the principal are wheat, buckwheat, oats and barley. potatoes, early vegetables, flax and hemp are also largely grown, and tobacco is cultivated in the arrondissement of st malo. apples and pears are the principal fruit, and the cider of the canton of dol has a high reputation. cheese is made in considerable quantities, and the butter of rennes is amongst the best in france. large numbers of horses and cattle are raised. mines of iron, lead and zinc (pont-pean) and quarries of slate, granite, &c., are worked. there are flour and saw-mills, brick works, boat-building yards, iron and copper foundries and forges, dyeworks, and a widespread tanning industry. sail-cloth, rope, pottery, boots and shoes (fougeres), edge-tools, nails, farming implements, paper and furniture are also among the products of the department. the chief ports are st malo and st servan. fishing is very active on the coast, and st malo, st servan and cancale equip fleets for the newfoundland cod-banks. there are also important oyster-fisheries in the bay of st michel, especially at cancale. the little town of dinard is well known as a fashionable bathing-resort. exports include agricultural products, butter, mine-posts and dried fish; imports, live-stock, coal, timber, building materials and american wheat. the department is served by the western railway, and has over 130 m. of navigable waterway. the population is of less distinctively celtic origin than the bretons of western brittany, between whom and the normans and angevins it forms a transitional group. ille-et-vilaine is divided into the arrondissements of fougeres, st malo, montfort-sur-meu, redon, rennes and vitre, with 43 cantons and 360 communes. the chief town is rennes, which is the seat of an archbishop and of a court of appeal, headquarters of the x. army corps, and the centre of an academie (educational division). in addition to the capital, fougeres, st malo, st servan, redon, vitre, dol, dinard and cancale are the towns of chief importance and are separately noticed. at combourg there is a picturesque chateau of the 14th and 15th centuries where chateaubriand passed a portion of his early life. st aubin-du-cormier has the ruins of an important feudal fortress of the 13th century built by the dukes of brittany for the protection of their eastern frontier. montfort-sur-meu has a cylindrical keep of the 15th century which is a survival of its old ramparts. illegitimacy (from "illegitimate," lat. _illegitimus_, not in accordance with law, hence born out of lawful wedlock), the state of being of illegitimate birth. the law dealing with the legitimation of children born out of wedlock will be found under legitimacy and legitimation. how far the prevalence of illegitimacy in any community can be taken as a guide to the morality of that community is a much disputed question. the phenomenon itself varies so much in different localities, even in localities where the same factors seem to prevail, that affirmative conclusions are for the most part impossible to draw. in the united kingdom, where the figures differ considerably for the three countries--england, scotland, ireland--the reasons that might be assigned for the differences are negatived if applied on the same lines, as they might well be, to certain other countries. then again, racial, climatic and social differences must be allowed for, and the influence of legislation is to be taken into account. the fact that in some countries marriage is forbidden until a man has completed his military service, in another, that consent of parents is requisite, in another, that "once a bastard always a bastard" is the rule, while in yet another that the merest of subsequent formalities will legitimize the offspring, must account in some degree for variations in figures. table i.--_illegitimate births per 1000 births (excluding still-born)._ +------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ | |1876-|1881-|1886-|1891-|1896-|1901-| | |1880.|1885.|1890.|1895.|1900.|1905.| +------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ | england and wales| 48 | 48 | 46 | 42 | 41 | 40 | | scotland | 85 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 68 | 64 | | ireland | 24 | 27 | 28 | 36 | 36 | 26 | | denmark | 101 | 100 | 95 | 94 | 96 | 101 | | norway | 84 | 81 | 75 | 71 | 74 | .. | | sweden | 100 | 102 | 103 | 105 | 113 | .. | | finland | 73 | 70 | 65 | 65 | 66 | .. | | russia | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | .. | | austria | 138 | 145 | 147 | 146 | 141 | .. | | hungary | 73 | 79 | 82 | 85 | 90 | 94 | | switzerland | 47 | 48 | 47 | 46 | 45 | .. | | germany | 87 | 92 | 92 | 91 | 90 | 84 | | netherlands | 31 | 30 | 32 | 31 | 27 | 23 | | belgium | 74 | 82 | 87 | 88 | 80 | 68 | | france | 72 | 78 | 83 | 87 | 88 | 88 | | portugal | .. | .. | 123 | 122 | 121 | .. | | spain | .. | .. | .. | .. | 49 | 44 | | italy | 72 | 76 | 74 | 69 | 62 | 56 | | new south wales | 42 | 44 | 49 | 60 | 69 | 70 | | victoria | 43 | 46 | 49 | 60 | 69 | 70 | | queensland | 39 | 41 | 44 | 48 | 59 | 65 | | south australia | .. | 22 | 25 | 30 | 38 | 41 | | west australia | .. | .. | .. | 48 | 51 | 42 | | tasmania | .. | 44 | 38 | 46 | 57 | .. | | new zealand | 23 | 29 | 32 | 38 | 44 | 45 | +------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ table i. gives the number of illegitimate births per 1000 births in various countries of the world for quinquennial periods. it is to be noted that still-born births are excluded, as in the united kingdom (contrary to the practice prevailing in most european countries) registration of such births is not compulsory. the united states is omitted, as there is no national system of registration of births. this method of measuring illegitimacy by ascertaining the proportion of illegitimate births in every thousand births is a fairly accurate one, but there is another valuable one which is often applied, that of comparing the number of illegitimate births with each thousand unmarried females at the child-bearing age the "corrected" rate as opposed to the "crude," as it is usually termed. this is given for certain countries in table ii. table ii.--_illegitimate births to 1000 unmarried and widowed females, aged 15-49 years._ +------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+----------+ | country. |1846-55.|1856-65.|1866-75.|1876-85.|1886-95.|1896-1905.| +------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+----------+ | england and wales| 17 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 8 | | scotland | .. | 22 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 13 | | ireland | .. | .. | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | | denmark | .. | 28 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 23 | | sweden | 20 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 22 | .. | | germany | .. | .. | .. | 28 | 27 | 26 | | netherlands | .. | .. | 10 | 9 | 9 | 6 | | belgium | 16 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 17 | | france | 15 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 18 | | italy | .. | .. | .. | 24 | 24 | 19 | +------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+----------+ the generally accepted idea that the inhabitants of the warmer countries of the south of europe are more ardent in temperament has at least no support as shown in the figures in table i., where we find a higher rate of illegitimacy in sweden and denmark than in spain or italy. religion, however, must be taken into account as having a strong influence in preventing unchastity, though it cannot be concluded that any particular creed is more powerful in this direction than another; for example, the figures for austria and ireland are very different. it cannot be said, either, that figures bear out the statement that where there is a high rate of illegitimacy there is little prostitution. it is more probable that in a country where the standard of living is low, and early marriages are the rule, the illegitimate birth-rate will be low. as regards england and wales, the illegitimate birth-rate has been steadily declining for many years, not only in actual numbers, but also in proportion to the population. table iii.--_england and wales._ +------+--------------+-------------+--------------+ | | illegitimate | proportion | illegitimate | | year.| births. | to 1000 of | births in | | | | population. | 1000 births. | +------+--------------+-------------+--------------+ | 1860 | 43,693 | 2.2 | 64 | | 1865 | 46,585 | 2.2 | 62 | | 1870 | 44,737 | 2.0 | 56 | | 1875 | 40,813 | 1.7 | 48 | | 1880 | 42,542 | 1.6 | 48 | | 1885 | 42,793 | 1.6 | 48 | | 1890 | 38,412 | 1.3 | 44 | | 1895 | 38,836 | 1.3 | 42 | | 1900 | 36,814 | 1.1 | 40 | | 1905 | 37,515 | 1.1 | 40 | | 1907 | 36,189 | 1.0 | 39 | +------+--------------+-------------+--------------+ the corrected rate bears out the result shown in table iii as follows: table iv.--_england and wales. illegitimate birth-rate calculated on the unmarried and widowed female population, aged 15-45 years._ +-----------+----------------+--------------------+ | | | compared with | | | rate per 1000. | rate in 1876-1880, | | | | taken as 100. | +-----------+----------------+--------------------+ | 1876-1880 | 14.4 | 100.0 | | 1881-1885 | 13.5 | 93.8 | | 1886-1890 | 11.8 | 81.9 | | 1891-1895 | 10.1 | 70.1 | | 1896-1900 | 9.2 | 63.9 | | 1901-1905 | 8.4 | 58.3 | | 1906 | 8.1 | 56.3 | | 1907 | 7.8 | 54.2 | +-----------+----------------+--------------------+ table v.--_england and wales. illegitimate births to 1000 births._ +----------------+------------+-------+ | | ten years | 1907. | | | 1897-1906. | | +----------------+------------+-------+ | bedford | 49 | 53 | | berks | 47 | 48 | | bucks | 40 | 44 | | cambridge | 48 | 53 | | chester | 41 | 39 | | cornwall | 50 | 48 | | cumberland | 61 | 58 | | derby | 41 | 41 | | devon | 39 | 39 | | dorset | 40 | 37 | | durham | 34 | 37 | | essex | 28 | 27 | | gloucester | 36 | 36 | | hants | 40 | 36 | | hereford | 66 | 66 | | hertford | 40 | 42 | | huntingdon | 49 | 46 | | kent | 40 | 41 | | lancashire | 38 | 37 | | leicestershire | 40 | 39 | | lincolnshire | 55 | 54 | | london | 37 | 38 | | middlesex | 30 | 28 | | monmouth | 29 | 27 | | norfolk | 62 | 65 | | northampton | 41 | 42 | | northumberland | 39 | 38 | | nottingham | 50 | 49 | | oxford | 53 | 56 | | rutland | 46 | 70 | | shropshire | 64 | 61 | | somerset | 37 | 35 | | stafford | 40 | 38 | | suffolk | 56 | 62 | | surrey | 38 | 37 | | sussex | 52 | 52 | | warwick | 32 | 30 | | westmorland | 61 | 62 | | wilts | 41 | 42 | | worcester | 37 | 38 | | yorks-- | | | | e. riding | 52 | 49 | | n. " | 53 | 45 | | w. " | 43 | 41 | | | | | | anglesey | 81 | 75 | | brecon | 44 | 40 | | cardigan | 64 | 61 | | carmarthen | 37 | 41 | | carnarvon | 60 | 72 | | denbigh | 49 | 47 | | flint | 42 | 42 | | glamorgan | 26 | 26 | | merioneth | 71 | 77 | | montgomery | 76 | 73 | | pembroke | 52 | 47 | | radnor | 66 | 67 | +----------------+------------+-------+ table vi.--_annual illegitimate birth-rates in each registration county of england and wales, 1970-1907._ +---------------+-----------------------------------------+--------------+ | | illegitimate births to 1000 unmarried | decrease per | | | and widowed females aged 15-45 years. | cent in each | | registration +-----------------------------+-----------+ county | | counties. | three-year periods. | years. | between | | +-----------------------------+-----------+ the period | | |1870-|1880-|1890-|1900-|1903-|1906.|1907.| 1870-1872 | | |1872.|1882.|1892.|1902.|1905.| | | and 1907. | +---------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+--------------+ | england | | | | | | | | | | and wales |17.0 |14.1 |10.5 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 54.1 | | london |10.3 | 9.8 | 8.1 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 6.8 | 6.4 | 37.9 | | bedford |21.1 |18.0 |11.2 | 8.4 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.7 | 58.8 | | berks |16.8 |13.4 |10.3 | 8.7 | 8.6 | 8.1 | 8.4 | 50.0 | | bucks |19.0 |16.5 |12.6 | 9.1 | 8.9 | 7.3 | 8.8 | 53.7 | | cambridge |19.3 |15.6 |12.4 | 9.6 |10.1 | 9.7 |10.4 | 46.1 | | chester |17.5 |14.2 |10.3 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 7.2 | 6.9 | 60.6 | | cornwall |16.5 |14.8 |11.2 | 8.6 | 8.1 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 54.5 | | cumberland |29.2 |23.9 |18.6 |12.3 |12.3 |12.3 |11.0 | 62.3 | | derby |22.5 |17.7 |12.8 |10.0 |10.0 |10.0 | 9.4 | 58.2 | | devon |14.0 |10.6 | 8.1 | 6.7 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 6.1 | 56.4 | | dorset |14.2 |13.1 | 9.6 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 8.1 | 6.4 | 54.9 | | durham |24.0 |18.0 |13.8 |11.1 |11.1 |10.8 |11.6 | 51.7 | | essex |16.2 |12.7 | 9.1 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 6.7 | 6.4 | 60.5 | | gloucester |12.9 |11.6 | 8.2 | 6.3 | 6.1 | 6.8 | 5.8 | 55.0 | | hants |13.6 |11.8 | 8.5 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 6.9 | 6.4 | 52.9 | | hereford |21.4 |19.0 |13.4 |11.2 |11.5 |10.3 |11.0 | 48.6 | | hertford |18.4 |15.3 |10.4 | 7.0 | 7.2 | 6.6 | 7.5 | 59.2 | | huntingdon |19.8 |14.0 |12.9 |10.9 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 51.0 | | kent |14.7 |12.1 | 9.3 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 7.2 | 51.0 | | lancashire |16.2 |13.6 |10.2 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.5 | 7.2 | 55.6 | | leicestershire|19.9 |16.1 |11.4 | 8.6 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 7.3 | 63.3 | | lincolnshire |22.3 |18.5 |14.2 |12.2 |12.1 |12.7 |11.9 | 46.6 | | middlesex | 9.4 | 9.4 | 6.5 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 6.1 | 5.7 | 39.4 | | monmouth |18.6 |15.9 |11.3 |10.2 | 9.1 | 9.6 | 9.3 | 50.0 | | norfolk |27.3 |22.6 |16.7 |13.4 |13.4 |12.5 |12.8 | 53.1 | | northampton |18.7 |15.9 |11.7 | 9.1 | 8.8 | 9.0 | 7.7 | 58.8 | | northumberland|21.1 |17.9 |12.4 |10.2 |10.0 |10.4 | 9.3 | 55.9 | | nottingham |24.5 |21.7 |15.4 |13.7 |12.6 |12.0 |11.9 | 51.4 | | oxford |19.0 |15.4 |10.4 | 9.0 | 9.1 | 9.3 | 9.2 | 51.6 | | rutland |18.1 |12.7 | 7.9 | 7.2 | 6.8 | 9.0 |11.4 | 37.0 | | salop |28.2 |21.8 |16.6 |12.8 |13.4 |13.0 |11.8 | 58.2 | | somerset |13.3 |11.3 | 7.4 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 5.4 | 5.5 | 58.6 | | stafford |24.6 |19.4 |14.5 |11.2 |11.4 |10.9 |10.1 | 58.9 | | suffolk |22.0 |17.8 |14.0 |12.0 |11.7 |12.4 |12.5 | 43.2 | | surrey | 9.5 | 8.5 | 6.6 | 5.9 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 5.7 | 40.0 | | sussex |13.7 |11.5 | 8.7 | 7.2 | 7.0 | 6.5 | 6.4 | 53.3 | | warwick |14.9 |13.2 | 9.7 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 6.6 | 6.8 | 54.4 | | westmorland |21.9 |17.9 |13.1 | 8.6 | 9.1 | 8.5 | 7.8 | 64.4 | | wilts |17.1 |14.7 |10.3 | 9.2 | 8.7 | 8.6 | 9.3 | 45.6 | | worcester |16.3 |13.7 | 9.2 | 7.2 | 6.8 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 59.5 | | yorks-- | | | | | | | | | | e. riding |23.0 |18.2 |14.3 |12.2 |11.7 |12.2 |10.6 | 53.9 | | n. riding |27.7 |20.2 |15.4 |12.1 |11.6 |11.9 |10.2 | 63.2 | | w. riding |20.4 |16.1 |11.4 | 9.4 | 9.2 | 8.8 | 8.1 | 60.3 | | anglesey |19.7 |16.7 |15.7 |16.1 |14.9 |13.3 |12.9 | 34.5 | | brecon |19.9 |18.0 |12.5 |10.1 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 8.3 | 58.3 | | cardigan |16.0 |14.8 |11.8 | 8.9 | 7.8 | 6.3 | 7.3 | 54.4 | | carmarthen |18.2 |13.9 | 9.4 | 7.7 | 8.2 | 7.7 | 8.9 | 51.1 | | carnarvon |18.3 |13.9 |12.7 |10.3 | 9.6 | 9.4 |10.5 | 42.6 | | denbigh |21.1 |17.6 |13.4 |12.3 |11.6 |13.5 |10.3 | 51.2 | | flint |18.7 |18.4 |13.1 | 9.7 |11.2 |11.9 |11.0 | 41.2 | | glamorgan |17.7 |13.5 |10.3 | 8.5 | 9.1 | 8.9 | 8.4 | 52.5 | | merioneth |24.4 |19.5 |16.4 |13.5 |13.4 |13.2 |12.7 | 48.0 | | montgomery |29.5 |24.3 |16.7 |13.1 |13.4 |12.6 |11.7 | 60.3 | | pembroke |21.6 |15.9 |12.4 | 8.9 |10.2 |10.7 | 8.4 | 61.1 | | radnor |41.8 |33.2 |20.1 |14.4 |13.4 | 8.3 |11.3 | 73.0 | +---------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+--------------+ table vii.--_rate of illegitimacy per 1000 births._ belfast 31 | liverpool 54 birmingham 35 | manchester 28 bradford 40 | middlesboro' 25 bristol 31 | newcastle 36 cork 18 | nottingham 60 dublin 28 | portsmouth 33 edinburgh 69 | salford 28 glasgow 63 | sunderland 30 leeds 54 | table viii.--_scotland 1906._ +-------+-----------+-------------+------------+---------------+ | total |legitimate.|illegitimate.| births per | percentage of | |births.| | |1000 of pop.|illegitimate to| | | | | | total births. | +-------+-----------+-------------+------------+---------------+ |132,005| 122,699 | 9306 | 27.93 | 7.05 | +-------+--+--------+-------------+---+--------+---------------+ | | | percentage of | | | illegitimate | illegitimate | | | births. | to total | | | | births. | +----------+--------------------------+------------------------+ | 1860 | 9,736 | 9.22 | | 1865 | 11,262 | 9.96 | | 1870 | 11,108 | 9.63 | | 1875 | 10,786 | 8.73 | | 1880 | 10,589 | 8.50 | | 1885 | 10,680 | 8.47 | | 1890 | 9,241 | 7.60 | | 1895 | 9,204 | 7.28 | | 1900 | 8,534 | 6.49 | | 1901 | 8,359 | 6.32 | | 1902 | 8,300 | 6.28 | | 1903 | 8,295 | 6.21 | | 1904 | 9,010 | 6.79 | | 1905 | 9,082 | 6.91 | | 1906 | 9,306 | 7.05 | +----------+--------------------------+------------------------+ table ix.--_scotland 1906._ +------------------+-----------------+-----------------------+ | | illegitimate | illegitimate births | | | births. | per 1000 of unmarried | | +------+----------+ women and | | | no. | per 1000 | widows between | | | | of pop. | 15 and 45. | +------------------+------+----------+-----------------------+ | districts: | | | | | principal town | 4318 | 7.14 | | | large town | 1029 | 5.58 | | | small town | 1724 | 6.23 | | | mainland-rural | 2099 | 9.08 | | | insular-rural | 136 | 5.88 | | +------------------+------+----------+-----------------------+ | shetland | 31 | 5.30 | 7.0 | | orkney | 29 | 5.99 | 7.7 | | caithness | 84 | 9.96 | 19.4 | | sutherland | 28 | 6.81 | 10.1 | | ross and cromarty| 74 | 4.40 | 6.9 | | inverness | 145 | 8.02 | 11.5 | | nairn | 18 | 10.29 | 13.2 | | elgin (or moray) | 169 | 15.66 | 26.3 | | banff | 202 | 12.93 | 25.4 | | aberdeen | 1083 | 12.38 | 24.2 | | kincardine | 93 | 8.15 | 17.0 | | forfar | 676 | 9.43 | 14.2 | | perth | 215 | 7.93 | 10.8 | | fife | 308 | 4.56 | 9.7 | | kinross | 20 | 9.95 | 22.2 | | clackmannan | 53 | 6.69 | 10.9 | | stirling | 235 | 4.91 | 13.2 | | dumbarton | 163 | 4.14 | 9.7 | | argyll | 148 | 10.07 | 12.7 | | bute | 30 | 8.36 | 9.2 | | renfrew | 410 | 4.46 | 8.5 | | ayr | 499 | 6.23 | 14.3 | | lanark | 2872 | 6.28 | 15.9 | | linlithgow | 99 | 3.88 | 15.4 | | edinburgh | 930 | 7.23 | 11.0 | | haddington | 66 | 5.92 | 11.8 | | berwick | 60 | 9.63 | 12.7 | | peebles | 21 | 6.18 | 7.9 | | selkirk | 46 | 9.13 | 11.5 | | roxburgh | 83 | 8.67 | 9.8 | | dumfries | 218 | 12.51 | 19.9 | | kirkcudbright | 92 | 10.71 | 15.7 | | wigtoun | 106 | 12.79 | 22.5 | +------------------+------+----------+-----------------------+ | scotland | 9306 | 7.05 | 14.1 | +------------------+------+----------+-----------------------+ table v. gives the illegitimate births to 1000 births in england and wales for the ten years 1897-1906 and for the year 1907. table vi. gives the "corrected" rate for certain three-year periods. in connexion with these tables the following extract from the registrar-general's _report_ for 1907 (p. xxx.) is important. "it is difficult to explain the variations in the rates of illegitimacy in the several counties. it may be stated generally that the proportion of illegitimate children cannot alone serve as a standard of morality. broadly speaking, however, the single and widowed women in london, in the counties south of the thames, and in the south-western counties have comparatively few illegitimate children; on the other hand, the number of illegitimate children is comparatively high in shropshire, in herefordshire, in staffordshire, in nottinghamshire, in cumberland, in north wales, and also in nearly all the counties on the eastern seaboard, viz. suffolk, norfolk, lincolnshire, the east and north ridings of yorkshire, and durham. in the registrar-general's report for the year 1851 it was assumed that there was an indirect connexion between female illiteracy and illegitimacy. this may have been the case in the middle of the last century, but there is no conclusive evidence that such is the case at the present day. the proportions of illegitimacy and the proportions of married women who signed the marriage register by mark are relatively high in staffordshire, in north wales, in durham and in the north riding of yorkshire; on the other hand, in norfolk, in suffolk and in lincolnshire there is a comparatively high proportion of illegitimacy and a low proportion of illiteracy." table x.--_ireland. proportion per cent of illegitimate births._ +------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ | |1903.|1904.|1905.|1906.|1907.| +------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ | ireland | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.5 | | +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ | leinster | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | | munster | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 | | ulster | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.3 | | connaught | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.6 | +------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ table xi.--_ireland 1907._ +----------------------------------+------------+-------------+ | | no. of | per cent of | | county. |illegitimate|total births.| | | births. | | +----------------------------------+------------+-------------+ | leinster-- | | | | carlow | 27 | 3.56 | | dublin | 34 | 1.15 | | dublin co. borough | 314 | 3.29 | | kildare | 22 | 1.46 | | kilkenny | 54 | 3.29 | | king's | 24 | 2.07 | | longford | 11 | 1.23 | | louth | 27 | 2.01 | | meath | 30 | 2.27 | | queen's | 18 | 1.70 | | westmeath | 19 | 1.57 | | wexford | 89 | 4.11 | | wicklow | 37 | 2.91 | | munster-- | | | | clare | 23 | 1.04 | | cork co. and co. borough | 151 | 1.69 | | kerry | 51 | 1.34 | | limerick co. and co. borough | 107 | 3.14 | | tipperary n.r. | 19 | 1.49 | | tipperary s.r. | 66 | 3.32 | | waterford co. and co. borough | 68 | 3.69 | | ulster-- | | | | antrim | 230 | 5.08 | | armagh | 99 | 3.49 | | belfast co. borough | 355 | 3.13 | | cavan | 27 | 1.54 | | donegal | 54 | 1.36 | | fermanagh | 41 | 3.15 | | londonderry co. and borough | 145 | 4.35 | | monaghan | 24 | 1.55 | | tyrone | 116 | 3.80 | | connaught-- | | | | galway | 32 | .80 | | leitrim | 10 | .77 | | mayo | 21 | .45 | | roscommon | 9 | .50 | | sligo | 9 | .52 | +----------------------------------+------------+-------------+ | leinster | 716 | 2.67 | | munster | 495 | 2.11 | | ulster | 1272 | 3.32 | | connaught | 81 | .60 | | +------------+ | | | 2564 | | +----------------------------------+------------+-------------+ this latter conclusion may be carried further by saying that in those european countries where elementary education is most common, the rate of illegitimacy is high, and that it is low in the more illiterate parts, e.g. ireland and brittany. it has been said that one of the contributory causes of illegitimacy is the contamination of great cities; statistics, however, disprove this, there being more illegitimacy in the rural districts. table vii. gives the rate of illegitimacy in some of the principal towns of the united kingdom. that poverty is a determining factor in causing illegitimacy the following figures, giving the rate of illegitimacy in the poorest parts of london and in certain well-to-do parts, clearly disprove:-- _rate of illegitimacy per 1000 births._ +--------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+ | london. | 1901. | 1903. | 1905. | 1907. | +--------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+ | stepney | 12 | 9 | 18 | 10 | | bethnal green | 13 | 15 | 13 | 11 | | mile end old town | 15 | 13 | 16 | 15 | | whitechapel | 22 | 24 | 19 | 19 | | +-------+-------+-------+-------+ | st george's, hanover sq. | 40 | 45 | 45 | 45 | | kensington | 48 | 44 | 49 | 54 | | fulham | 43 | 42 | 45 | 40 | | marylebone | 182 | 186 | 198 | 182 | +--------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+ tables viii. and ix. give the rate of illegitimacy for the various counties of scotland, and table x. the rate for ireland. bibliography.--the annual _reports_ of the registrars-general for england, scotland and ireland; statistical returns of foreign countries; a. leffingwell, _illegitimacy and the influence of the seasons upon conduct_ (1892). (t. a. i.)