452 



METEOROLOGICAL REPORT, 1871, BY THE 



North Shields. — A shock, which is said to have been an earth- 

 quake, was noticed about 11-10 p.m. on the 17th. We were 

 moving about at the time, and thus did not notice the oscillation, 

 but the windows rattled very clearly. My sister, living in New- 

 castle, was roused from sleep by the shaking of the bed. A 

 friend, living in Gateshead, was awakened by all his bells ring- 

 ing ; a small glass ornament was thrown down and broken in 

 one of his rooms. — R. Spence. 



Gainford. — An earthquake occurred on the 17th a little after 

 11 o'clock p.m. " I was awakened by my daughter coming to 

 enquire the cause of the shaking of the house and the noise on 

 the rOof. The shock was felt in different parts of the village by 

 seven persons, all of whom agreed as to the time and the fact." — 

 A. Atkinson. 



The estimated population of the largest towns in Durham and 

 Northumberland, and the death-rate in the first quarter of 1871 

 were as follows : — 





Estimated 

 Population. 



Persons to 

 an Acre. 



Deaths. 



Annual 



Rate to 



1000 living. 



Newcastle 



136,293 



103,037 



71,178 



45,933 



41,205 



25-5 

 31-2 



899 

 685 

 671 

 284 

 246 



26-5 

 26-7 

 37-4 

 24-7 

 23-9 





So. Shields (Municipal boundary) 

 Gateshead ditto 

 Tynemouth ditto 



The Registrar General reports that four hundred and sixty- 

 three deaths from smallpox took place in the Northern Counties, 

 two hundred and thirty-eight in South Shields, seventy-eight 

 in Stockton, thirty-seven in Hartlepool, seventeen in Durham, 

 fifteen in Auckland, thirteen in Gateshead, twenty-five in New- 

 castle-on-Tyne, and twenty-three in the Borough of Tynemouth. 

 He states that the epidemic was almost confined to four great 

 centres of infection — London, Liverpool, and the mining districts 

 of Durham and South Wales. All the smaller outbreaks may be 

 more or less directly traced to one of these centres. There is 

 distinct evidence in many cases of the introduction of the disease 



