It will be nothing new if we remark that marriage seems to be on the decrease in every populous city, and especially in Hamburg, as we had occasion to notice before.
In 1825 and 1826, among 208 marriages one can count no less than 108 women accouched three or four months after marriage.
We subjoin a table of illegitimate births in proportion to legitimate marriages:—
| Years. | Legitimate Children. | Natural Children. |
|---|---|---|
| 1701—1715 | 16 | 81 |
| 1780—1790 | 11 | 1 |
| 1790—1800 | 9 | 1 |
| 1800—1811 | 7 | 1 |
| and from 1836—1846 | one in five. | |
There are many foreign women in Hamburg, for among 512 women inscribed at the prefecture in 1846, 101 only were born in the city. Many girls are, in point of fact, known prostitutes, though not positively known as such to the authorities, for they must have the consent of their parents before they can be inscribed, which gives a larger number of strangers, who are fettered by no such restrictions.
Holstein, Prussia, and above all Brunswick and Hanover, contribute more than any other countries. Austria and France are unrepresented.
At Hamburg a woman who is in want of money may make more by a single act of indiscretion than by an entire week of labour.
It may be interesting to state the ages of the women inscribed in 1844 at the office of police:—
| 16 | women | were less | than 20 | |
| 401 | „ | „ from | 20 to 30 | |
| 74 | „ | „ | 30 to 40 | |
| 11 | „ | „ | 40 to 50 | |
| Total | 502 |
The police regulations to prevent young girls not yet twenty from abandoning themselves are, as these statistics prove, totally insufficient.