510 



ILLINOIS. 



scorbutics in vast quantities where they were 

 needed, and by its ministrations to the sick 

 and wounded, and its stores of cordials, medi- 

 cines, delicacies, and clothing, has powerfully 

 aided in restoring the disabled to service. The 

 assistance thus rendered to the medical de- 

 partment of the Government, with which the 

 Commission has ever acted in perfect harmony, 

 has saved many thousands of lives, and ren- 

 dered the army far more effective, than it oth- 

 erwise could have been. 



A brief comparison of the medical statistics 

 of the British army in the Peninsular war, in 

 the war with Russia, and in times of peace, 

 with those of the army of the United States 

 during the present war, will show conclusive- 

 ly the beneficial results of the strict attention 

 paid to hygiene in the latter. 



The average annual mortality in the British 

 army during the Peninsular war was 165 men 

 out of every thousand. Of these 113 died by 

 disease or accident, and 52 by wounds received 

 in action. From 1803 to 1812 the average an- 

 nual death rate of the entire British army 

 abroad, was 80 per 1,000 ; 71 by disease or ac- 

 cident, and 9 by wounds in action. This, it 

 should be remembered, was in a veteran army 

 composed, not of raw recruits, but of men 

 hardened to exposure by years of service, a 

 class of men far less liable to illness than raw 

 recruits, just from the farm, the store, or the 

 workshop. In July, August, and September, 

 1854, the British army in the Crimea lost at 

 the rate of 293 men per thousand, per annum. 

 During the next three months, October, No- 

 vember, and December, the loss was at the an- 

 nual rate of 511 to every thousand, 443 of 

 which was by disease. In January, 1855, the 

 mortality was at the rate of 1,174 to every 1,000 

 equal to the entire destruction of the army 

 in ten months, and 1,143, or 97 per cent, of this 

 loss was by disease. During the first three 

 months of that year the death rate was 912 

 out of every thousand, and 98 per cent, of it 

 from disease. 



During the entire campaign of 2} years, 

 April, 1854, to June, 1856, the annual death 

 rate was 232 per 1,000, of whom 202 were from 

 disease, and only 30 from wounds received in 

 action. In other words, during the campaign 



of 2 years, 682 of every thousand men died 

 from" disease or wounds and 505 of every thou- 

 sand from disease. 



According to the Eegister General's report 

 for the year 1861, the mortality among the 

 home troops of Great Britain in that year was 

 91.24 in every thousand, in a time of peace, 

 and among the troops abroad, the mortality 

 from sickness averaged 100 in every thousand. 



In the armies of the United States from 

 April 15th, 1861, to May 18th, 1862, the entire 

 death rate was 53 per 1,000, per annum, of 

 which only forty-four per cent, or less than 

 one-half was from disease or accident. Dur- 

 ing the year and eight months which have 

 since ensued, the loss from wounds in battle 

 has been very large, and during a portion of 

 the time there has been a large percentage of 

 sickness from typhoid fever, diarrhea, dysen- 

 tery, small pox, &c., but the death rate has 

 not reached the ratio of the first year. On 

 the 30th of June, 1863, there were in the gen- 

 eral hospitals 91 men for each 1,000 of the ar- 

 my, and in field hospitals, 44 out of every 

 thousand, making in all 135 of each 1,000 sick 

 or wounded, of whom 110 were cases of sick- 

 ness, and 25 of wounds or casualties. This 

 far surpasses the British army even in time of 

 peace. In 1861, the British troops in China 

 had, in southern China, 283 out of every 1,000 

 constantly sick, and in northern China 205 out 

 of 1,000. Among the Home troops, the admis- 

 sions into hospital were 1,025 of 1,000 mean 

 strength, and 545 of every 1,000 were constant- 

 ly sick. The careful weeding out of incompe- 

 tent surgeons and inefficient nurses, the mate- 

 rial improvement in the ambulance service, 

 and the admirable construction of the new 

 hospitals, in respect to temperature and venti- 

 lation, have during the past year exerted a 

 powerful influence, notwithstanding the terri- 

 bly destructive battles of the year, in dimin- 

 ishing the mortality, and promoting the recov- 

 ery of the sick in the army, and though the 

 recurrence of great battles must necessarily in- 

 crease the death rate, there is reason to believe, 

 that with the resources of medical art, and of 

 a boundless philanthropy, it will continue to be 

 smaller than in any great war of ancient or 

 modem times. 





ILLINOIS. A short session of the Legisla- 

 ture of Illinois was held during the year, which 

 attracted some attention by tho manner in 

 which it was brought to a close. A resolution 

 for fixing a day for final adjournment passed 

 the Senate, and was sent to the House for con- 

 currence. In tho House it was amended by the 

 insertion of another day. In this amendment 

 the Senate refused to concur. Under this state 

 of facts, Gov. Yates sent the following mes- 

 sage to the Lower House : 



STATE or ILLINOIS, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

 To the General Assembly of the titate of Illinois ; 



Whereas, on the 8th day of June, 1863, the Sen- 

 ate adopted a joint resolution to adjourn, sine die, 

 on said day, at 6 o'clock p. M., which resolution, upon 

 being submitted to the House of Representatives on 

 the same day, was by them amended by substituting 

 the 22d day of June, and the hour of 10 o'clock A.M., 

 which amendment the Senate thereupon refused to con- 

 cur in; 



Whereas, the Constitution of the State contains the 

 following provision, to wit: 

 SEC. 13. Art. 4. In case of disagreement between the 



