72 
of mortality from difierent diseases during the ten years 
1854-63, with those for the succeeding ten years 1864-73, 
the year ] 873 being the last for which an annual report 
has been published by the Registrar General. 
The mean population ol England and Wales for the first 
period was 19,592,113, and for the second 22,099,664, the 
ratio of these numbers being as 1 ; 1T280. 
The following table shows the number of deaths in each 
period from each of eight infectious diseases; the corre- 
sponding ratios ; the difterences between these ratios and 
that of the increase of population; and the percentages of 
increase or decrease of the death-rates : 
Differences 
Percen- 
Total Deaths. 
from 
tages of 
Ratio of 
Increase or 
Ratios. 
Increase of 
Decrease of 
10 Years, 
10 Years, 
Popula- 
Death- 
1854—63. 
1861-73. 
tion. 
rate. 
Scarlet Fever and | 
Diphtheria ) 
Fever, Typhus, Typ-"^ 
hoid, and simple > 
continued Fever... 3 
218,248 
227,849 
1-0439 
— -0841 
-7-4 
169,511 
180,467 
1-0646 
— -0644 
— 5'6 
Whooping Cough 
104,353 
110,722 
1-0610 
—•0670 
-5-9 
Measles, 
88,254 
89,121 
1-0098 
— -1182 
—10-4 
Croun . 
52,160 
33,515 
18,510 
13,667 
47,562 
70,458 
19,320 
5,174 
0-9118 
—•2162 
—19-1 
Smallpox 
2-1023 
-p-9743 
—•0891 
-1-86-3 
—7-9 
Ervsipelas 
1-0389 
Influenza 
0-3859 
—•7495 
—66-4 
It appears therefore that of these eight infectious diseases 
the mortality from seven has diminished very sensibly, 
while that from the eighth, small-pox, shows an extra- 
ordinary increase. But this disease is the only one for 
which we have a special preventive, and yet although this 
preventive has been almost universally applied under the 
powers of Acts of Parliament, and all the other infectious 
diseases appear to have yielded in various degrees to the 
influence of ordinary sanitary improvements, this disease 
has increased at a rate greatly exceeding that at which any 
other infectious disease has decreased, and even, as I shall 
presently show, greatly exceeding that at which any other 
