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204 
years trade has on the whole improved. There have been 
higher wages paid, and a portion of these will have been 
spent merely in dietetic drinking, but it is certain that there 
has been a large increase in the numbers of those who drink 
to intoxication. “In 1860 the apprehensions for drunken- 
ness were only 88,000, in 1875 they were 203,000.” (W. 
Hoyle.) 
This increased intemperance must have shortened many 
lives — to repeat here Mr. Neison’s table — a temperate person’s 
chance of living as against that of an intemperate person — 
is at the age of 20 years, 44*2 years to 15’ 6 years; at 30, 
36’5 years to 13’8 years; at 40, 28’8 years to 11'6 years; 
at 50, 21*25 years to 10*8 years; at 60, 14*28 years to 8*9 
years. In intemperate persons, the mortality at 21 to 30 
years of age is 5 times that of the temperate ; from 30 to 40 
it is 4 times as great. 
Since alcohol affects chiefly the liver, kidneys and heart, 
we may with much probability, assign the great increase in 
diseases of these organs, pointed out by Mr. Baxendell, 
mainly to this cause, and not to defective sanitary admini- 
stration. 
It is of course impossible to say how much of the mor- 
tality of the country is due to this cause; but I will 
mention one instance in which it would appear that some 
approximation may be made. My friend Dr. W. Roberts 
informs me that about 30 years ago a very powerful tem- 
perance movement affected large districts of Wales to such 
an extent that in Anglesey most of the public houses were 
closed and a large proportion of the people became total 
abstainers from alcohol. 
This movement had to a great extent died out by the 
year 1850. 
