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THE UTILITY OF COMMON STATISTICS 9
ttempt to realize what we should do without such
looks, we shall not fail to see that statistics have many
Insuspected uses, and not least are they useful for
he knowledge they insensibly diffuse throughout the
~orld.

I shall deal more especially with the most common
igures of a11, viz., those of population. The utility of
.he ~st general notion which we derive from statistics
)f the distribution of the earth's surface among dif-
'erent races and nations is palpable. We can see at
)nce that a small corner like Europe is closely peopled
)y the European family of nations, whilst the northern
peoples of that family also possess a large new field of
territory in North America, Australia, and Northern
Asia, and the more southern peoples a large new field
Df territory in Central and South America. The Euro-
pean family is thus de facto in possession of a large
tract of the earth's surface for its own habitation, per-
haps a half or more of the area available for producing
the food of civilized races. Further consideration
would show what races in particular, among the nations
of Europe, have this inheritance; but the point is, the
predominance of the European race in mere extent of
territory, coupled with the peculiarity that the bulk of
this population is still living on a comparatively narrow
tract in Europe. The rest of the world-China, India
and Africa-is possessed by races of greatly differing
type, on whose territory Europeans do not press as
colonists, though they may settle in small numbers.as
governors, or traders,. or both. Granting, on the
average, a difference in point of material strength per
unit of population between these European and all
other races, it is easy to understand at once the idea
that the future of civilization belongs to the European
group, and that the problem of how the other races
are to live in harmony with the European group with-
out being jostled, and in what way they are to be
affected by the European civilization, is one of the