The following table shows the extent of child sickness and mortality among the whites in India:—
| STRENGTH, SICKNESS, AND MORTALITY OF CHILDREN IN THE ARMY OF INDIA. | ||||
| Year. | Average Strength. |
Admission-rate per 1000. |
Constantly Sick- rate per 1000. |
Death-rate per 1000. |
| 1881–90 | 6286 | 633·5 | 23·4 | 50·22 |
| 1882–91 | 6220 | 609·4 | 22·2 | 50·63 |
| 1891 | 5886 | 509·0 | 19·2 | 49·27 |
| 1892 | 5762 | 564·6 | 22·0 | 48·59 |
It is not necessary to pursue this subject any farther. I take it that the facts are indisputable. No one doubts that races which dwell within the area infested by any prevalent and death-dealing disease are more resistant to it than races from beyond the area; the only possible question is as to how this difference in resisting power arose. It is commonly said to be due to "acclimatization," a word which, when applied to races, even by the ignorant, is practically a synonym for evolution, though this is not generally understood; a race that has undergone acclimatization is of course one that has undergone evolution. But this acclimatization, this evolution, is popularly supposed to result from the accumulation of acquired traits. I trust I have sufficiently proved that such is not the case, but that it results solely from the accumulation of inborn variations.
