ile land still remained to be parcelled out, the
towns began to absorb more and more of the population. The following
diagram will show this movement to have been continuous, and with a
gathering momentum as the century moved on:--

[Illustration: GROWTH OF CITY POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES.]

What holds of the United States holds also of the newly settled
countries with small populations, as New South Wales, Victoria,
Canada, and even Manitoba,[273] Argentina, and Uruguay. Nearly
one-third of the whole population of New South Wales is resident in
Sydney, and a fourth of the population of Queensland in Brisbane.
Victoria presents the most striking case. In 1881 its four largest
towns contained more than two-fifths of the whole population,
Melbourne alone holding one-third.

In Canada there is the same diminution of rural and growth of town
population. New Brunswick contains 14 counties; in the decade 1871-81
only one of these showed a slight diminution, but not less than 7 in
the decade 1881-91. The 18 counties of Nova Scotia all showed an
increase in 1871-81, 8 showed a decrease in 1881-91. Quebec contains
61 counties, 10 of which showed a decrease in 1871-81, 26 in 1881-91.
Ontario has 48 counties, only 4 of which showed slight decrease in
1871-81; 20 showed a much more rapid decrease in 1881-91.

The following table shows that the accelerating decrease of the rural
parts is accompanied by a correspondingly accelerating increase of the
chief towns:--

----------------+----------+----------+----------
| 1871. | 1881. | 1891.
----------------+----------+----------+----------
Kingston[274] | 12,407 | 14,091 | 19,264
London | 15,826 | 26,266 | 31,977
Ottawa | 21,545 | 31,307 | 44,154
Hamilton | 26,717 | 35,961 | 48,980
Toronto | 56,092 | 96,196 | 181,220
----------------+----------+----------+----------
| 132,586 | 203,821 | 325,595
----------------+----------+----------+----------

The portentously rapid growth of the largest cities is of course not
wholly attributable to economic causes. To form the capital cities of
the New World, political and social influences have co-operated with
industrial. Nor can these causes be ignored in explaining the rapid
growth of certain European capitals, especially Berlin, Paris,
London, and Vienna. But the effective operation of these forces is
larg