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 | +-----------+----------------+--------------------+