The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-28 00:00:00

The Sanitary Condition of the City.

According to a report of Dr. Letheby, just presented to the
corporation of London, fur the past year, there were 2,962
births, 2,870 deaths, and 1,701 marriages registered in the
city of London within the year. Each of these numbers is
below the average for the last 10 years, the births having
declined from an annual proportion of 3,350 to 2,952, the
deaths from 2,969 to 2,870, and the marriages from
1,702 to 1,701. The falling off has been chiefly in the sentral
division of the city, where the deaths have been reduced to
the extent of 4 per cent of the annual proportion, and the
births to nearly 15 per cent. It is remarkable, however,
that the marriages in that division had been more numerous
than usual. The mean birth rate for the whole city has
been 2.6 per cent of the population, as compared with about
3.4 per cent of the population in the rest of London, and
nearly 3i per cent in the whole of England. For the entire
city there has been a general death rate of 25.1 in 1,000 of the
population. The average death rate in the city during the
last ton years is 24.3 per 1,000 of the inhabitants, as com-
pared with 24.4, the death rate of the chief towns and
town districts of England—that of the whole of England
being 22.2, and of the country districts 19'8. In the
western union of the city, however, the death rate has been
very high—viz , 29.3 in 1,000 of the population. Moreover,
the mortality of males has been much greater than that of
females, for the former have died at the rate of 27 per 1,000,
and the latter at only 24; the averages throughout the
country being 23 and 21'6. About 39 per cent of all the
deaths were among children of less than five years of age.
This, at first sight, does not appear a large infant mortality,
for the proportion in the rest of London is about 44 per cent,
and in England it is nearly 40; but when it is considered
that the number of young children in the city is compara-
tively small, that the births are far below the average, and
that there is a constant importation of adult life, it will be
evident, says Dr. Letheby, that the infant mortality is ex-
cessive. In fact, if the death rate be estimated by the pro-
portion to the living, instead of to the dead, it will be seen
that nearly 89 in 1,000 of all the children under five years
of age have died in the year. In all England the proportion
is only 68 in 1,000, and in France 69. There are places in
the city where one child in every five dies before it is a year
oid, and there are others where the mortality is only one in
seven. Out of 1,000 deaths of children under 15 years of
age 415 occur in the first year, 460 at from one to five years
of age, and 125 at from five to fifteen years. Throughout
all England the numbers are 467, 372, and 161 respeotHely;
the most fatal period of childhood in the city is, therefore,
between the ages of one and five. But after this, and for the
next 30 years of life with men, and nearly 50 years with
women, the circumstances of a city life are not generally
unfavourable. At from 15 to 35 years of age the death rate
of men is only about 8 in 1,000, and of women 6.6 ; that of
England being 81 and 9.1. From 35 to 65 years of age the
mortality of 'men is 29.6 in 1000, and of women 20.2, the
English death rate at those periods being 18.1 for men, and
161 for women; and lastly, from 65 and upwards, the men
in the city die at the rate of 129.3 in 1,000, and the women
at the rate of 1151, the mortality in the whole of England
being 93 7 and 85.8. It would seem, therefore, that the chief
strain on a city life is during childhood, from one to five
years, and in manhood after the meridian of life has been
passed. It also appears that in the latter case the strain
comes from occupation and from habits, rather than from
any local circumstances about the homes of the people, for
not only is the mortality greater among men than women,
but there is a large difference in the death rate of different
classes. The general indications are, that while the morta-
lity of the better classes is not much higher than the ave-
rage death rate for the whole country, that of the labour is
excessive. Again, the results of tie last ten years show that
of every 1,000 deaths in the city 145 occur in workhouses,
and about half of all the workhouse deaths are among five
classes of persons—labourers, servants and charwomen, por-
ters and messengers, shoemakers, tailors, and needlewomen.
The facts brought to light by examining in detail the mean
age at death of the different classds in the city are not with-
out interest, for, although they do not give very accurate
information of the probable lifetime of a citizen, yet they in-
I dicate sufficiently well the marked difference in the dura-