e
ten years last past, would have been 5,578,333, or 426,515 less than it
has been, without including the increase consequent upon additions of
territory.

The aggregate increase of population, from all sources, shows a relative
advance greater than that of any other decennial term, except that from
the second to the third census, during which time the country received an
accession of inhabitants by the purchase of Louisiana, considerably
greater than one per cent. of the whole number.

The decennial increase of the most favored portions of Europe is less than
one and a half per cent. per annum, while with the United States it is at
the rate of three and a half per cent. According to our past progress,
viewed in connection with that of European nations, the population of the
United States in forty years will exceed that of England, France, Spain,
Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland combined.

In 1845, Mr. William Darby, the Geographer, who has paid much attention to
the subject of population, and the progress of the country; having found
that the increase of population in the United States for a series of
years, had exceeded three per cent. per annum, adopted that ratio as a
basis for calculation for future increase. He estimated the population of
1850 at 23,138,004, which it will be observed is considerably exceeded by
the actual result. The following are Mr. Darby's calculations of the
probable population of the Union for each five years up to 1885:

1850 23,138,004 1870 40,617,708
1855 26,823,385 1875 47,087,052
1860 31,095,535 1880 54,686,795
1865 35,035,231 1885 63,291,353

If the ratio of increase be taken at three per cent. per annum, the
population duplicates, in about twenty-four years. Therefore, if no
serious disturbing influence should interfere with the natural order of
things, the aggregate population of the United States at the close of this
century must be over one hundred millions.

The relative progress of the white and colored population in past years,
is shown by the following tabular statement, giving the increase per cent.
of each class of inhabitants in the United States for sixty years.

Classes. 1790 to 1800 to 1810 to 1820 to 1830 to 1840 to
1800 1810 1820 1830 1840 1850
Whites 35.7 36.2 34.19 33.95 34.7 3