

SOCIAL STATISTICS. 



population of England of the ages 20 to 45. Thus 

 fewest suicides occur in the British army, in which 

 there is no conscription or forced service, and 

 forced withdrawal of men for a time from the 

 general occupations of life. Most suicides occur 

 between the ages of 20 and 35, and are connected 

 with temporary or permanent mental derange- 

 ment. 



Variation of the Mortality Rate with Density 

 of Population, Locality, and Climate. Under 

 present imperfect sanitation, mortality increases 

 in all countries with the crowding of the people 

 together ; but a more insalubrious or damper 

 site, more overcrowding, a virulent or passing 

 epidemic, or a strike, may produce a higher death- 

 rate in a smaller than in a much larger town. In 

 England and Wales, in the rural and small town 

 districts, containing nearly 10,000,000 inhabitants, 

 the death-rate in 1871 was 19-5 in 1000 living; 

 and in the urban or great town districts, contain- 

 ing nearly 13,000,000 inhabitants, 25-0 ; the yearly 

 average for all England and Wales being 22-6. 

 In England, in the country, there is i person to 

 above 4 acres, and in the towns above 24 persons 

 to 4 acres. In Scotland, 1855-70, in 1000 living 

 there died annually 25-7 to 30-7 in the chief towns, 

 22-3 to 26-3 in the large towns, 19-6 to 23-7 in the 

 small towns, and 15-0 to 18-3 in the rural districts. 

 As to the mortality of children, England is inter- 

 mediate between Norway, in the cold north, where 

 it is lowest, and Italy, in the warm south, where it 

 is highest. The deaths of children are 40 or 50 

 per cent, of all the deaths in towns. 



In the healthiest parts of England, only 17 in 

 loco living die annually, hence any higher death- 

 rate is as unnatural as if the persons were pur- 

 posely killed by their fellows, and is preventable by 

 proper sanitation. In London, in the i6th century, 

 the mean duration of life was only 20 years (now 

 37), and 50 in 1000 living died annually (now 24-4). 

 For one preventable death, there are 30 or more 

 preventable cases of sickness or disease of varying 

 duration, and probably half the poor-rates go to 

 relieve preventable illness. In England, above 

 140,000 die yearly from preventable causes, and 

 twice the number are constantly suffering from 

 diseases absent from healthy localities. Life is 

 long and healthier the better the food, the less the 

 indoor confinement, the more commodious and 

 cleanly the houses, and the more provident and 

 virtuous the habits. 



Mortality in Large Towns. The death-rate at 

 all ages is much greater in towns than in the 

 country. The mean death-rate in 1000 persons 

 living in 1871, was 27 in 20 of the largest towns, 

 including London, in the United Kingdom, and 

 containing above 7,000,000 people ; 26 in 1000 in 

 17 of the largest English towns, and 50 other 

 large town districts containing above 8,700,000 

 people ; and 21 in the rest of England and Wales. 

 Of the deaths, 6-5 in 1000 arose from the seven chief 

 zymotic diseases in the largest towns, 5-3 in the 50 

 other large towns, and only 3-4 in the rest of 

 England and Wales. 



The death-rate, in 1871, in 1000 persons living 

 in large towns, was 19 in Portsmouth ; 20 in Dover, 

 Chatham, Cheltenham ; 23 in Hull, Bristol ; 24-6 in 

 London ; 26 in Dublin ; 27 in Edinburgh ; 31 in 

 Manchester ; 32 in Newcastle ; 33 in Glasgow ; 35 

 in Liverpool ; and 37 in Sunderland. The last three 

 were the highest death-rates in large towns. In the 



17 largest English towns, in 1871, of thetotal deaths, 

 26-2 per cent, were of infants under one year old, and 

 18-2 percent, of persons 6i,&c. years old ; 5-8 per 

 cent, of the deaths involved inquests ; and 3-2 per 

 cent, were from violence. The constant influx of 

 healthy adults into towns from the country, especi- 

 ally females, many of whom live in health and com- 

 fort as domestic servants, keeps down the mortality 

 of the citizens of the ages 15-35. In London, the 

 annual mortality of women of this age is only 6 in 

 1000 ; but in the counties around, 7 to 8 ; among 

 men in London of like ages, it is 8. 



London covers 122 square miles, and is the largest 

 city in the world. The population increased from 

 2,362,236, in 1851, to 3,254,360, in 1871 ; but that 

 of the City proper, I square mile 48 acres, decreased 

 from 127,869 to 74,897 ; while above 729,000 per- 

 sons, including above 170,000 mercantile, com- 

 mercial, and professional men, enter this part of 

 London daily on business, and leave it before 

 night. London has on an average 7-8 persons to a 

 house, and 41 to an acre ; and they live at a mean 

 height of 39 feet above high-tide, and from 1 1 feet 

 below to 429 above it. London is healthier than 

 the average of the other large English towns. Its 

 yearly death-rate has fallen from 50 in 1000 living 

 in 1750, to a mean of 24-31 in 1840-70. This 

 is under the mean, 26, of the other large English 

 towns, and above the mean, 22-4, of England and 

 Wales. The death-rate is above the mean in the 

 eastern, central, and southern parts of London, 

 which are also the poorest, densest, and dirtiest ; 

 and below the mean in the northern and western 

 parts, or the richest, least dense, and cleanest: 

 In 1871, it was 25-1 in 1000 living in the former, 

 and 22-8 in the latter, the mean for all London 

 being 24-7. The birth-rate is also highest, 36 in 

 1000 living, in the unhealthiest districts, and lowest, 

 30, in the healthiest. Drainage in the southern 

 districts has in the three decades, 1840-70, reduced 

 the death-rate there from 26-2 to 24-4, to 23-2 in 

 looo living. Of the total deaths in London, 1856, 

 40 per cent, were of infants, and in 1871 only 23 

 per cent. In an average healthy year, in 100 

 deaths of all ages in London, 25 are under I year 

 of age ; 29 under 5 ; 25, 1-15 ; 25, 15-55 ; and 25 

 above 55. The high mean health of London is 

 due to the few deaths of ages 10 to 35 ; below and 

 above these ages the death-rate is much above the 

 average of the rest of England. The chance of 

 death in London and other large cities is 40 per 

 cent, above that of some English counties. In 

 the 1 7th century, most deaths occurred in London 

 in July, August, and September, from diseases of 

 hot weather, as the plague and dysentery ; now 

 fewest occur in these months, and most in Decem- 

 ber, January, and February. Epidemics are fre- 

 quent in the lower parts of London, but rare in 

 the higher. London, 1840-70, had ten smallpox 

 epidemics, which killed 25,061 persons. Scrofula, 

 tabes, and hydrocephalus cause 95 in looo deaths 

 of infants in London, but only 36 in the rest of 

 England. 



In the eight chief Scottish towns, 1860-69, the 

 mean annual death-rate in 1000 living was 31-39 

 in Greenock; 30-67 in Glasgow; 28-78 in Dundee; 

 28-00 in Paisley; 25-85 in Edinburgh; 25-23 in 

 Perth ; 24-94 in Aberdeen ; and 23-95 m Leith. 



Glasgow is one of our unhealthiest towns. The 

 death-rate in 1000 living was 25 in 1821, 33 in 

 1831, 23 in 1838, 28 in 1856, and 29-9 in 1873. In 



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