The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-24 00:00:00

THE MILITIA.

Colonel Talbot, having received at Dover on Tuesday
(last week) an order from the Secretary of State for the
War Department to assemble the Ist King's Own Stafford-
shire Regiment, and inform the officers, non-commissioned
officers, and men that the Queenhad been pleased to select
them for foreign service in the Mediterranean, the regi-
ment was mustered on the following day, when the colonel,
after addressing to them a few sentences expressive of the
honour which had been conferred upon them by their
being among the first—if not the first—to render their
services to her Majesty's Government in the present exi-
gencies of the country, and of his confidence that, from
their conduct en former similar occasions, they would, as
Englishmen and as soldiers, respond to the call of their
Queen, he read a letter from the Duke of Newcastle, re-
ferring to the provisions of the Militia Bill, and requesting
the commanding officers and men disposed to serve out
of the kingdom. Colonel Talbot then, in calling upon the
wen to respond to the invitation of the letter, said,—" I
unhesitatingly declare to you, whatever the inconvenience
nay be to myself, that, wherever the Queen and duty call
me, there I go. (This announcement was received
with loud and prolonged cheering from the whole
of the regiment.) I now call on the officers who volun-
teer, to step forward. (On this the whole of the
officers simultaneously moved to the side of the square
on which the colonel was standing.) I now ask the
non-commissioned officers to step forward. (The whole
of the staff sergeants, with one exception, came to the
front, and all the rest of the non-commissioned officers
followed their example.) My men," continued the colonel,
"you now see exactly which of your officers and non-com-
missioned officers are about to tender their services to the
Queen, and I have only to add, that I trust you will follow
the noble example which they have set you, and, by so
doing, keep up the well-known and generally expresied
high character of the regiment." (Loud and enthusiastic
cheering.) The volunteering then commenced, and pro-
ceeded with vigour. Up to Thursday evening the number
had reached 536, and, had the oaths been administered,
and the first part of the bounty, namely, two sovereigns,
been paid down to each man, it is probable that the whole
number required would by that time have placed their
names on the rolls for foreign service.

HEALTH OF LONDON DURING THE
WEEK.

(Front the Registrar-General's Return.) i
The coldness of the weather has very much affected
the public health—a fact which, though it is generally
known by the prevalence of colds and influenza in fami-
lies, is remarkably confirmed by the returns of moita:
lity. The deaths were 1,404 and 1,466 In the first two
weeks of this month ; in the week that ended last S-
aturday they rose to 1549, of which 763 were death; of
males and 786 of females. The births last week vfere
1,514, leaving an excess on the part of deaths, which is
not usual, except in seasons of epidemics.
In the ten corresponding weeks of the years 1845-54
the average number of deaths was 1158, which, if cor-
rected for increase of population up to last week; be-
comes 1274. The present return exhibits an excess of
275 deaths on the estimated a.ineuat. Last week 'was
the third in the year. Taking the average temperature
in 79 years it has been found that the third week is the
coldest of the fifty-two. And it will be seen that the
mean temperature of last week, as recorded in the
Greenwich table of observatione, was 28.9 deg.—less by
7.3 deg. than the average of the same week in 33 years ;
and it was also less than in any of the corresponding
weeks of the ten years 1845-54. In the week that
ended the 6th of January the mean temperature was
45.5 deg. ; in the subsequent week, 39.3 deg. ; and last
week it declined to a point lower by 10.4 deg.
The annual mortality of London, except in periods of
great epidemics, is at the rate of 31. in 1000 among the
children and young persons under 28 years of age ; 10
in 1000 among men and women of the second age (20-
40) ; /3 in 1000 among persons of the third age (40--
60) ; 72 in 1000 among persons of the fourth age (60-
80) ; and 224 in 1000 among persons of the age of 8Q and
upwards. .At these rates the deaths at the, five periods
of life in London would be 621, 179, 197, 201, and 42 ;
and the numbers as returned last week wera 720, 234,
224, 295, and 75. These results discover an excess in
the deaths as now returned in each of the five periods of
lie, but to the greatest extent in the more advanced
periods. That part of the population which is now
living in the third stage of existence (viz., between 40
and 60 years), suffered least of all from the rigour of
winter; and it deserves to be remarked that in com-
paring the numbers of the last two weeks the deaths at
that period have remained almost the same, while at
all other ages, but especially amongst the very old,
they have increased. The deaths between 40 and 60
years in the last two weeks were respectively 226 and
224.

This return gives 386 deaths as caused by diseases of
the organs of respiration, whilst the corrected average
of the same week in ten years is only 273. In addition
to these there were 177 front phthisis, 69 from hooping-
cough, and 22 from influenza. Of the 386 there are
217 referred ,to bronchitis, 125 to pneumonia, the
rest to asthnta and other less fatal diseases. In the
epidemic class, which numbers 361, small-pox was fatal
in 24 cases, 8 of which occurred in the sub-district of
Islington West, where the Small-pox Hospital is situ-
ated, and 3 in the sub-district of Greenwich East ; measles
was fatal in 81, scarlatina in 80 cases. Six of the deaths
from this last disease occurred in Islington East, where
it is stated to prevail "in its worst form," and where the
registrar mentions one family in which 5 children are ill.
Last week the births of 779 boys and 735 girls, in all
1,514 children, were registered in London. In the ten
corresponding weeks of the years 1845-54 the average
number was 1,476.

At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean height
of the barometer in the week was 30.011 in. The mean
daily reading was above 30 in. on Sunday, Monday, and
Wednesday. The highest reading occurred at the be-
ginning of the week, and was 30.33 in. The mean tem-
perature of the week was 28.9 deg., which is 7.3 deg.
below the average of the same week in 38 years. The
mean daily temperature was below the average on every
day of the week, and on Friday the amount of depression
was so great as 15.4 deg. ; on Wednesday, 9.9 deg. ; on
Thursday, 8.3 deg. The highest temperature of the
week was 40.2 deg., on Tuesday ; the highest tempera-
ture on Friday, the coldest day, was only 28.2 deg. ;
and the lowest temperature of the week occurred on
that day, and was 16.2 deg. The mean dew-point tem-
perature was 25.9 deg., and the difference between this
and the mean temperature of the air was 3.0 de;. The
temperature of the Thames was 41.7 deg. The wind
blew generally from the north-east. The amount of rain
was 0.19 in., most of which fell on Tuesday.

MORTALITY IN THE METROPOLIS.
NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES REGISTERED
IN THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, JAN. 20
Zymotic Diseases
Diseases of Uncertain Seat
Tubercular Diseases
Diseases of the Brain, Nerves and Senses
Diseases of the Heart and Biood-vessels 53
Diseases of the Lungs and other Organs of
Respiration 386
Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs
of Digestion
Diseases of the Kidneys, &c.
Childbirth, Diseases of the Uterus' &c.
Diseases of the Joints, Bones, and Muscles
Diseases of the Skin, &c.
th and Debility
PM:
et 1 fmoartmu
1.1
et i Malformations
Atrophy
Old Age ..................................................... 78
Sudden
Violence, Privation, Cold, and Intemperance l5
Causes not specified

36

DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES
Population Deaths In corro- Deaths
Euumcrated. sponding week In the
1851. of 1853. Week.
West Districts
North Districts 490,396
Central Districts 393,256
East Districts.. 485,522
South Districts

Totals

1,195

1,549

Males
Females

763
786