The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-01-06 00:00:00

MORTALITY OF LONDON.

To those who arc curious in ascertaining the extent of
longevity in the metropolis, when compared with that of
nth( r large towns. the following facts may be instructive.
It is no uncommon thing to hear complaints of the un-
healthiness of London ; of its fogs, damps, dews, smoke,
smells, narrow streets. unwholesome provisions, and a long
list of other ills, which arc SUppOied to shorten human life
in the capital, and from which the King's subjects are said
to he exempt in other places. But, with great submission
to those persons, who so incessantly present to us the gloomy
side of the picture, we think it will be made to appear that
the inhabitants of London have allotted them as long a
lease of existence, as is granted those who, it is thought,
have the advantage of purer air, clearer water, cheaper
Net, wider streets, and a less dense population.
Next to the capital, Glasgow is the most populous city
in the island ; and it is therefore the fittest to be compared
with London, >4s respects the health and longevity of its
inhabitants. The difference of temperature between the
two cities, at all seasons, is considerable, as is best demon-
strated by the fart, that we can ripen grapes on our walls
in the suburbs of London, while no such culture is at-
tempted on the hanks of the Clyde. The winter is inva-
riably more severe there, and the weather more changeable
than we experience it; but to balance this, the labouring
classes of the north, if they are not generally more comfort-
ably clothed, their dwelling-houses and workshops are at
the least, front the thickness of their stone walls, and the
moderate price of coals, wanner and drier than those of our
mechanics and labourers:

It'ith these+, rrciproeal advantages and disadvantages, let
us see how the case stands with regard to the average du-
ration of human life in the two plaes. By the Bills of
Mortality just published, it appears, that W 0,237 persons,
of all aps, in London, and 4,670 in Glasgow, have died in
1824. Of every thousandth of these—that is to say, of
every tla.uxerad deaths so reported, there are—
IN LONDON. IN GLASGOW.
320 under two year. 397 Under two years.
1113 tram two to fine. 93 front two to five.

77 front live to twenty. 127 front five to twenty.
194 from twenty to flirty. 115 from twenty to forty.
175 from forty to sixty. 121 from forty to sixty.
ISt from sixty to eighty. 111 frion sixty to eighty.
29 from eighty to ninety. 29 from eighty to ninety.
4 above ninety. 4 above ninety.
What must first strike the reader, in glancing o+cr these
proportions, is the great mortality of children in Glasgow,
when compared With that of London. Strange as it tray
appear, and ahnost incredible as it may be deemed, yet it
is true, that the infant population of London is healthier
than that of Glasgow. In the former city, exactly car-
/my', or 500-1000ths of the deaths are of IN:is:sons under
twenty years of age ; while in the latter there are more
than Wye -fifths or 617-1000thi, under tact age. At an
earlier perioll,and especially under five years, the proportion
is much greater. How this ditMarity is occasioned it is im-
possible to say ; for there does not appear to have been any
extraordinary epidemic among children its Glasgow, as the
returns show a regular increase in marriages, births, and
deaths, for several years.
But as soon as we reach the age of twenty the case is
reversed ; for it will be perceived that the northern youths r
who survive this term begin to wear well, and they continue
to do so much more durably than the youngsters Of the eapi-
tal : and this too in sjiite of harefeet, mists, cranrruch, and
mountain-dew. In short, all the way up to sixty—to the
afternoon of life as it were—death makes the greatest havoc
among the cockneys. The numbers who die in the bloom
of their days—between twenty and forty—are truly lament-
able. The main cause of this we take tfie liberty to place
to the credit of late hours, theatres, saloons, oyster-rooms,
cigars and blue ruin, Vauxhall, 'rack punch, and now and
then a shivering fit, and a dose in a hackney-coach. By
the way, we consider an hour's ride in this last-named
vehicle, on a cold night, to be nearly on a par with a sit in
a Scotch country parish kirk for toter hours in the dead of
winter—no fire being within a mile of the sanctuary.
The mortality is also greater here from forty to sixty.
At this last-mentioned period life seems to be a stmt mo-
nopoly. The favoured few who weather threescore are
widely scattered, it is true; but there is a proportionable
sprinkling of them everywhere ; and it will he found, too,
that they hold so hardily and tenaciously together, as to
appear a respectable corps, till we reach the grand climac-
teric of eighty. Then tie' spark is in the embers. Beyond
this period the remnant who grace our lists are relies whose
numbers arc nearly precisely the same in both places—
with this exception, however, that the London returns ex,
hibit a veteran of the age of a hundred and seven, while
the oldest in Glasgow is u .dry a hundred and three.
It would be some value to know the exact proportion
which the deaths bear to the births in the respective citits.
As regards Glasgow, perhaps, this can be ascertained with
some approximation to accuracy • but as for London, we
can place as little reliance on the births as on the population
returns. The baptisms here are reported to amount to
25,738, and the deaths, as we lev:e already stated, to
20,237 ; while in Glasgow the former are said to be 3,4752,
and the latter, 4,670. If the returns be correct, the in-
crease of births is evidently in favour of Glasgow. But
this is not likely to he the case, when we consider how
many children are born here, whose existence is not re-
corded in these bills.

While upon this subject, it will not be amiss to call
the attention of the framers of these annual returns to a
circumstance, of the importance of which they do not seem
to be aware. We here allude to the classification of still-
born children. In the Glasgow returns these go to swell
the amount of burials, without also being placed to the
amount of births. In the London bills no mention is made
of them ; but they are doubtli sit engrossed with the num-
ber of deaths. Properly speaking, they should stand by
themselves ; and it they are not permitted to be added to
the births, most unquestionably they should not be allowed
to swell the number of deaths. This distinction, however,
is not attended to, and we accordingly see the aggregate of
mortality augmented, and even balanced with the amount
of births, although it is obvious that a good deal of that
mortality receives no credit for having been born. For
instance, the Glasgow butial3 are stated to be 4,670, and
the births 5,472. Were this error corrected, these last
would stand 3,788 ! The London bills, without being so
explicit, are compiled in the same erroneous way.

There arc unpleasant rumours afloat respecting the new
Custom-house ; the foundation is said to have given way
in rather an alarming manner at the eastern wing of the
building.
Notwithstanding all the fuss and parade of lighting
up, ikc. the Fishmongers' Pantlemoniutn is raid to have
been as yet but thinly attended this season.—Ereniag
Paper.
An affray took place a short time since at Nlettlehl, in
this county, which has been the subject of • great deal of
conversation. It is stated that the Rev. Mr. Gooch, son of
Sir Thomas Gooch, and brother to the county Member, in
following a pack of hounds. persisted in riding over a field
of new-sown wheat, in dehance of the warning of Mr.
Kent, the owner of the crop, brandished his whip, and
threatened violence if Mr. Kent should dare to stop him
(in which we suppose he is justified by that most righteous
law which makes the breaking down of a rail an offence at
law, but the spoiling of acres of corn none)—that violence
followed, in which we do not pretend to determine who
was the assailant, that Mr. Kent was apprehended, de-
tained all night in custody, carriesl before the Justices at
Yoxfonl, when Mr. Gooch the Member, retired as he en-
tered the room ; anti that he was liberated on his own re-
cognisance fur his appearance at Beceles Sessions, to answer
any charge that may be preferred against him. It would
lie improper to say more of this Calk: till the Sessions are
over.—Biay Push
On Wednesday night two fellows entered • spirit shop
is Wallacetown, and called for a bottle of spirits. When
the bottle was made up, on some frivolous pretext they de-
dined taking it, anti apparently left the bottle got from
the shopman on the counter. On examination, however,
it appeared than they had taken away the bottle of spirits
and left a bottle of water, having, by a dexterous nick,
substituted the one for the other before the eyes of the shop-
mart.—(aesgew Paper.
A youth in the employ of a tradesman at Bridgwater,
attempted to destroy himself on Sunday seunight: a
slighted attachment which he had formed towards a,young
lady occasioned the desperate act.