WCP3970

[1]

Parkstone, Dorset.

Sept.[ember] 24th. 1890

My dear Miss De Morgan¹

No apology was needed for your interesting letter. The facts you give illustrate the extreme complexity & difficulty of all statistical enquiries, & the apparently opposite conclusions to be drawn from figures. Your figures are no doubt correct, but the fact remains that throughout the period you take 15 to 45 women and far in excess of men — to the amount of 369,062. There must therefore be a limitation of women's choice, and the reason why, notwithstanding their excess of numbers there are [2] between these ages, more single men than women is due to the fact that the average age of husbands is considerably greater than that of wives. The wives between 15 & 20 usually have husbands between 20 — & 30 or even older, and very large numbers of men above 45 marry women under 45. The comparison you give therefore only proves that ^the average ages of marriage of men & women are different, & to make a fair comparison the [3] single women between 15 and 45 should be compared with the single men of another set of ages 20 & 50 or perhaps over 20 and 55.

Another cause of the difference is, that there is in England a large floating foreign population very largely males & unmarried. I think therefore that my method of comparison of the ^actual numbers of the sexes at corresponding ages ^is the best, while even if the facts you give exhibited the true state [4] of women as regards marriage it would not affect my argument at all, for however much choice women have now, they would certainly have much more if — 1st. male mortality by accident &c. were diminished, — and 2nd — if the mere causes that now prevent so many men from marrying — insufficient women — were altogether removed. Your own figures show that the total single women are far greater in number than the total single men.

Believe me | Yours very faithfully | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

Please give my kind remembrances to your Mother². A.R.W. [signature]

Thanks also for the "Washminster"[?] with your interesting paper.³