MAGAZINE OF SCIENCE AND ART. 
38 
id, doubtless, exposed to danger, but not to the same ex¬ 
tent as largo towns which are left without any ade¬ 
quate _ regulations for the health and security of their 
inhabitants. 
Rut wc will turn from these general observations to 
bring under notice a few facts and figures which appear 
most prominent in the mortality returns, and which will 
be found set forth in detail in the tables which 1 now 
place before you, 
It appears then from these abstracts, compiled from 
the records of the central office, and, mind, I am con¬ 
fining my observations to the City of Sydney, that be¬ 
tween the 1st March, 185G, and the 1st March, 1857, no 
less than 1310 deaths were registered in the central 
office; this is equal to 251 (say two and a half) per 
cent.—or 1 in 40 of the total population. 
Now I find on reference to the tables of the Registrar- 
General of England for the year 1837 to 1833, being the 
result of the first year’s registration, that the mortality 
was 2.84 per cent., or 1 in §5 on the total population of 
London % but this was in a year when a very fatal influ¬ 
enza epidemic was raging. * 
Taking the mean annual mortality of London for the 
7 years from 1838 to 1815, I find it to be as near as pos¬ 
sible that of London, during the past year, viz., 2,526 
per cent., or I in 40. 
The adoption of sanitary precautions since 1845 has, 
however, largely reduced the mortality of London. 
The Health Officer of the city, in his last annual 
report, says that “ the death rate of the city has been 
reduced from a general average of 24 per 1000 of the 
inhabitants to 22. “ How much of misery and deso¬ 
lation are represented by the difference in these num¬ 
bers is more than can be expressed, but you can easily 
imagine,” he continues, “ that an improvement to the 
extent of 11 per cent, in the health and vitality of a 
population is a matter of no mean importance, and I 
lav stress upon it because I know that it is due in a 
very large degree to the operations of those sanitary 
measures which were put into action by my prede¬ 
cessor.” 
I quote this passage from Hr. Letheby’s report, to 
showthe effect produced upon the health of London 
by attention to cleanliness, to proper sewerage, 
plentiful supplies of water, and free circulation of 
air through the courts and Janes of the pity, so that 
we may learn the importance of attending to these 
necessary means of ameliorating the condition of our 
own population. 
The later tables of the Registrar-General of England 
confirm Hr. Lgtheby’s report 1 find in his 17th 
annual report, accompanying the abstracts of 1854, that 
the annual rate of mortality for the whole of England 
in that year was 2 352 per cent.; in round numbers 24 
in 1000, or 1 in 43 of the people. “ This,” the Regis¬ 
trar-General savs, “ is greatly in excess of the average 
rate, which in the last seventeen years was 2.245 per 
cent; that is, nearly 22 in 1000, or 1 in43 of the popu¬ 
lation.” 
The excess of the mortality in this year was produced 
by an epidemic of cholera, which cut off upwards of 
26,000 of the people in London alone. 
Thus, we see that the rate of mortality in Sydney 
in 1856 to 1857 exceeds that of London in a year of 
cholera, and the mean deaths of the whole of England 
for the last seventeen years by 0.266 or 4 per cent. 
Now, it is generally' admitted that the amelioration 
which has been .shown to have taken place in the vital 
condition of the people of England in the last ten years 
has been in a great measure the result of the applica¬ 
tion of hygienic science to .the exciting causes of diseases 
directed by the numerical facts brought to light by 
means of a general system of registration, and tfiafc the 
sameyesult may attend die operation of tho system 
here, is to be devoutly wished for. The facts above 
stated show how great room there is for improvement. 
Our attention, to secure this object, must be directed 
,to the suppression of the vice of intemperance, to the 
.cleanliness of our streets, to proper drainage, to a plen- 
I 
tiful supply o {pure water, to the periodical purification 
of the courts and alleys of the city, and to the general 
social amelioration of the people. 
The direct bearing of drunkenness upon tho mortality 
of last year I find to be 2 per cent, on the total deaths 
—but this refers only to sudden death, overtaking its 
victims in the midst of their debaucheries, — and refer¬ 
able by no possibility to any other cause. Unfortunately' 
I am not informed as to those deaths which indirectly 
result from indulgence in this vice ; but I have been 
favoured by the Inspector-General of Police with a re¬ 
turn which shows that out of eighty' inquests held by 
bjui during a period of only three months, no less than 
sixty-two deaths had their origin in, and were directly 
referable to, drunkenness; and the experience of tho 
present coroner confirms this statement. When we find 
that the cases of drunkenness brought before the magis¬ 
trates at the Central Police Office average nearly 20 per 
day, we cannot close our eyes to the effect such a stato 
of things must produce upon tho public health,—as well 
as upon the public morals. That this low state of mo¬ 
rality has an important bearing upon the infantile mor¬ 
tality' no one can doubt—the vice of drunkenness is not 
confined to the jiialo sex,—but to what extent it contri¬ 
butes to swell up the number of deaths which occur 
amongst children under 5 years of ago I have no direct 
means of ascertaining. 
On comparing the infantine mortality' of Sydney 
with that of London, I find that the mean annual mor¬ 
tality of children under 5 years of age in London, 
during the 7 years from 1838 to 1844, was 8 653 per¬ 
cent. on the children living under that age ; whilst the 
deaths in Sydney of the same age were 6 724 per cent.; 
that is, nearly 2 per cent, lass ; — but on referring to 
the latter tables of the Registrar-General of England, 
we find evidence of a very improved stato of things, for 
the year 1845. The following figures represent the 
deaths under 5 years compared with the total mortality 
of London, viz.;— 
Loxnox, 1845. 
Total deaths registered ... 24,525 
Ditto, under 5 years ... 10,483—42,74 per cent. 
Ditto, under 2 years ... 9,215—-87-90 „ 
SrDysr, 1856—1857. 
Total deaths registered ... P340 
Ditto, under 5 years ... 582—43433 „ 
Ditto, under 2 years ... 525—90 206 „ 
It appears then ’by these figures that the mortality in 
Svdney' of children under 5 years is nearly 1 per cent, 
higher than it was in I/ondon in the year 1845; and of 
those under 2 years of age, over 2 per cent, higher. 
By the later returns of the Registrar-General of 
England, I find that the mean annual mortality of 
children under five years, has undergone a reduction 
of between 4 and 5 per cent, on tho total deaths, and if 
we bring down the comparison to the latest date, the 
resnlt will be found still more unfavourable to our¬ 
selves. In the report already quoted, Dr. Letheby 
states, 14 that out of tho total annual mortality of 
2,910 in the City of London, as many as 1,119 perished 
before they' had reached the fifth year of their age.” 
Tins is at the rate of 38 per cent of all the deaths, “In 
all England the mortality of children under five years 
of age, is reduced as nearly' as possible to 39 per cent, 
of all the deaths.” Whilst we thus see how favourable 
an influence has been exercised upon the infantine 
health of London, by tho application of remedial 
measures since the year 1845, we bring to light tho 
lamentable fact, that the deaths of children under five 
years of age in the City' of Sydney', are over 8 per 
cent, in excess of the City of London, and over 4 per 
cent, of the deaths of all England. 
If, as Dr. Simon says, and is, I believe, generally 
admitted, the infantine mortality is a certain test of 
the general health, I fear the Sydney tables tried by 
this test will afford very' unsatisfactory evidence of the 
health of our population during the past year. 
Now, how are we. to account for this excessive-in; 
fantine mortality? In London it might naturally b? 
