The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-24 00:00:00

AN ENEMY'S ARMY.

Every year Dr W. Farr presents to the Regis■
trareGeneral a statement on the causes of death. in
England. The memoir for 1862 has just been
issued. We learn from
it that the continued
fevers (typhus, typhia, and typhinia)
18,721 of the people in the year. The records of
the Fever Hospital supply materials for an animate
of the proportion of the mortality to the number
attacked, and upon this authority it may ;be taken
that in the great battle with fever more than
destroyed
17,000 of the people of England were
every year in the ten years-1848-1857_and
above 135,000 were severely wounded, but re.
covered. The wh01e135,000 probably averaged about
a month's sickness, so that the average fever po_.
pnlation was about 12,700. They would fill 127
hospitals with 100 beds each, and requi re
in every year about 4,600,000 days' rah.
sistence. Typhus and relapsing fever (typhirela),
like the pythogenic fever (typhia), are lit up by
a specific zymotic matter which is generated N shen
human beings are badly fed and crowded tog ether
in an inadequate supply of fresh air. The see ds of
the disease can only be got rid of by a vigilant sani-
tary police, and by the effectual destruction of ty.
phine, its existing leaven. Scarlatina was fatal in
the year to 14,834 persons, which is nearly the ave-
rage. Malignant sore throat (cynanche maligna) is
allied to scarlatina in some respects, as it attacks
the throat; and for the same reason diptheria, which
was not at first recognised as a novel form of disease,
in England, was confounded with sore throat. Th e
deaths by diphtheria were 9,587 in 1859, whifne
was the centre of the epidemic, but had declined
to 4,903 in 1862. Together these diseases--scar.
latina, sore throat, and diphtheria—destroneed
above 19,000 lives annually in the eight years
1855.62. The deaths from smallpox were 6,46 oin
1858, and fell progressively to 1,628 in 1e862 ;
12,272 persons died from whooping-cough in 1862--
its mortality is never low. Influenza has subsided,
but it is undoubtedly often confounded with bron.
chitis or pneumonia, which are its frequent sequels
or complications; 11,112 died of diarrhoea, which.
is often the result of a zymotic poison allied to those
of cholera and dysentery. Thanks to the progress
of cultivation and drainage, our deaths from ague
and remittent fevers are few, only 21 in a million
living in 1862. Rheumatism is allied to these
affections, and remains after they have disappe rad,
proving fatal generally by fixing on the m em-
branes of important organs. Seventy-three people
died of privation (starvation), 471 of delirium
tremens, and 246 of intemperance in other forms.
Parasitic diseases diminish with the progress of
cleanliness. Oae hundred and fifty-six persone,
chitty children, died of worms. Worms enter the
body through water generally,en d sometimes through.,
diseased mea% Should arrangements ba made t a
dispo,:e of the sewage of towns, and to supply
houses with pure water, we may hope to see the
deaths by worms diminish. There was only crag
death from hydrophobia in the year. But zymertie
poisons as dangerous us mad dogs are still &flowed
to be kept in close rooms, in cesspools, and in sew( rs,
from which they prowl in the light of day and in the
darkness of the night with impunity to destroy
mankind. In 1862 zymotic diseases carried off
4.551 in every thousand of the population. The
second great class of diseases—donetitutional dis-
eases—were not far behind. Allowing for the in.
crease of population, the proportion of deaths
by cancer has steadily increased, while dropsy
and mortification have declined ; but this is
partly due to improvement in medical diag-
nosis. Deaths which would have been returned
under the head of dropsy are now traced
to organic changes of the heart and kidneys. A.
common sequence is rheumatic fever, heart mem-
, braues injured, circulation obstructed, dropsy. But
in the constitutional class of diseases phthisis (con-
sumption) is the chief. The mortality by phthisia
has fallen from 2.311 a year per thousand living in
1850-54, to 2.586 in 1858-62; but the deaths by
bronchitis, with which in the chronic state phthisis
iu liable to be confounded, have increased more than
the deaths by phthisis fell. Bronchitis comes under
the third class of diseases—namely, local diseases,
which comprise four-tenths of the total deaths in
the country, arising chiefly from affections of the
vitals organs of the head and chest. 'Uniting the
respiratory diseases with phthisis to get rid
of any ambiguities of nomenclature, the
mortality from the two groups of chest
disease is found increasing from 5'580 in
a thousand of the population per annum in
1850-54 to 5.895 per annum in 1858.62, more than
a quarter of all the deaths in England. It is a
question of great interest, what has led to this re-
cent increase of mortality from inflammation of the
air passages and air cells of the lungs. Of the
55,692 deaths in 1862 by diseases of the nervous
system—brain, spinal marrow, nerves-25,286 were
from the convulsion of infancy, in which the synape
toms of disease are obscure. Bright's disease has
increased greatly in the last ten years, but perhaps
only in appearance, arising from a change due to
the diffusion of pathological knowledge. Fatal stone
eases have decreased, but diseases arising from in-
flammation or irritation of the mucus membranes
involved have grown more fatal ; these are the evils
to be obviated in using crushing instruments. A bold
operation isnow practised for ovarian dropsy,and Mr
Spencer Wells considers that 185 of the women who
died in the year might have been saved by surgery.
six deaths in 1862 wore ascribed to fright, seven to
grief, one to rage, and 44 to melancholy. We have
now reached the fourth class of diseases—the de-
velopmental—the diseases incident to the birth, de•
velopment, nutrition, and decay of man. In this
class are 68,842 deaths. The great majority of them.
are from debility and old age, but of all the 429,000
deaths in 1862. the causes of which are specified,
only 26,780 were from old age. The deaths of
women in becoming mothers (including metric)
were 3,077 in 1862. In a series of these deaths from
1847 to 1862 the numbers commence with 60 deaths
of mothers to 10,000 children born alive, and end
with only 43. About a thousand mothers
survived in 1862 who would have perished had
the mortality remained the same as it was in
1847. The improved registration of births accounts
for only a portion of this apparent rate of dee:nee.
Last come the violent deaths of the year, 14,914
in number, 7.43 in every 10,000 persona. About
one death in every 29 is by violence. But the bulk
of them are the result of accident or negligence.
The deaths by burns and scalds fell to 2 767, but
by due precaution the number of these' fearful
deaths might be still further reduced. The acci-
dental deaths by poison have fallen to 262. The
suicides were 1,317, 611 a ttwin by tlee rope; 17
Tois statement of the mortality
per,ioos were executed. 12 were killed by lightning.
of the year suggests
several questions of interest ; some of them will be
`discussed in a supplemental volume which yen in
preparation iat the lteeieter,ofEce, showing the re..
sults of the registration of the ten years lying
tween the two ilia censuses.

" SON AND HEIR." A novel. 3 smck
and Heir' is a story of no ordinary merit. It cannot fail
to attract the novel reading public. The principal scenes
are remarkable for their intense passion and vivid reality.
We know not whether the author of this novel intended to
aim at popularity by means of drawing marked contrasts of
character, but, if such were the aim, success has been most
positively attained,"—Xc!eenger.

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 1564.

It is very inconsistent that so much should be
said concerning the perfect neutrality preserved
by our Government in reference to the American
question, when we are continually meeting with
decisive proofs that the cne-sided course adopted
by authorities, and persisted is by Earl RUSSELL
in spite of warning, entreaty, and
,reproach, has
worked many great and serious evils. It was only
the other dcy that the attention of the House of
Commons was very properly called to the fact that
the Irish were being enticed away in great numbers,
and led forth to misery and misfortune. A great
deal was said, but apparently little heed was paid
to the assertions by the Government. We were told
that it was exaggerated, and that it was extremely
difficult to find out the exact particulars concerning
the matter. Such laxity of purpose and instability
of conduct are certain to lead to serious coase-
quencrs ; and a case that recently occurred tends to
show that the deceitful and insidious agents of the
corrupt and unEerapulcu3 Federals are now epread
ing their snares in this country, and that they are
proceeding from bad to worse. At the Woolwich
Police Court a man was brought up, charged with
enticing English soldiers to desert for she American
army. This case, strange as it may doubtless sound
to many readers, was, as far as it went, proved
against the prisoner. The whole circumstances of
the affair were very suspicious. In the first
place the prisoner had got into the bare
racks in a very surreptitious manner, and
must have had secret motives to induce him to
incur the risk of being found there. The conversa-
tions that be held with the soldiers also show that
his deep design was to secure the services of these
men for the ranks of the army. Such a barefaced
proceeding appears perfectly astounding, and the
mere we consider the case the greater seems the
necessity of adopting some very decisive measures
to put a stop to the unwarrantable encroachments
of the Americans. We all heard plenty of Yankee
assurance, and cceisionally saw sufficient of it, bat
the way in which this undesirable characteristic has
displayed itself during the period of the protracted
war really passes understanding. Still more incom-
prehensible is it to find our Ministers so blind, deaf,
and obtuse in concerns that are of vital interest to
the community, and very closely effect the welfare'
of the people of this country. We have come to
something if we are to submit to these insults with
impunity. Surely they might rest content *with
their enticement of civilians, but it is too much to
enter the reeks of our army to choose their recruits.
It was said that some one asked Mr DAVIS when
the struggle would be over, and he had stated it
would endure until a young child then present
would be an old man.' It is certainly going the way
to fulfil the prophecy if we allow, over and over
again, this suction of recruits from our slime. A
more decided mode of procedure adopted at
the outset would assuredly have put a stop
to these scandalous proceedings. It is high
time that something of a final nature should be
done, or we shall drift on from bad to worse; until
the voice of public opinion will be too loudly exe
pressed to allow of further tampering. Inconsis-
tency is always fatal to the success cf any under-
taking ; and therefore there is not much to be sur-
prieed at in the fact that this American question
has been such a failure. Earl RUSSELL has been
most fearfully inconsistent from the beginning of
the war, and we are now reaping the consequences
of hie imprudence in a very unsatisfactory form.
Perhaps even at the eleventh hour the Government
may acknowledge the error of their ways by
issuing strict orders that no such tampering be
be permitted ;anti by
bringing the offenders under
the cognisance of the law they will be deicg the
state a service, end really rendering a banafit to the
beings who are simple or deludedinfatuateda enough
to make tiaenaselves the victims of cupidity.

it is very interesting to those who really concern
themgelves with the happiness and well-being of
their fellow-crcatuns to watch the Progress of the
various benevolent efforts that are now being made
to improve the condition of the dwellings of the
poor. Thoughtful philanthropists have felt for
some time the futility of preachingreligion,morality,
and the due observance of the social and domestic
virtues to those whose mode of daily life is totally
incompatible with any one of those obligations, un-
less,at the sawe time, they could be given the choice
of batter things. So long as trio, three, and even
four families could be huddled in one room, what

use was there in Sunday schools and day schools,
in mother's meetings, evening classes, or any of the
kindly efforts which had for their aim the mental
and moral elevation of the poor ? But while rents
are so high and the smallness of the incomings made
the necessaries of life the first object with the la-
bourer and his family, it was difficult to devise a
cure. All parties, indeed, readily admitted the
existing evils even as they now promptly join in
any denunciation of the state of our agricultural
cottages, but the evil in both cases remains un-
touched by words. It needs acts to produce an
actual and substantial change for the better, such a
change as has now been inaugurated, and, we may
trust by the blessing of Providence, will be pro.
ductive of lasting benefits. The extortionate rents
which labourirg men and their families
are forced to pay in London is not the worst part
of the matter, although half a crown or three shil-
lings a room deducted from twelve or fifteen shil-
lings a week is serious enough when there is a
family to feed. All that goes on the rent is taken
of the food, and, naturally enough, is begrudged ;
so, to lessen the burden, in many instances one
family, already overcrowded in one or two rooms,
takes in another to share their little tenement, and
so the worst forma of overcrowding result from the
avarice of landlords. But when these extortionate
rents are paid, the accommodation is in many ins
stances altogether deficient. Drainage and venti-
lation are bad, there are no conveniences for wash-
ing clothes or persons, and dirt and squalor pervade
the establishments, where repairs are never thought
of. The stairs are ricketty and sometimes dangerous.
There was a case some time back of a woman being
killed by falling down a dark, steep flight in one of
such houses, and the whole aspect of the place tends
to demoralise and degrade its residents. It breaks
down the self-respect and independence which are
so great a safeguard to the labouring class, and en-
courages the weary, disheartened, and thriftless
mood which comes only too readily to poor
hard-pressed toilers. This question of a
due provision for the wants of our artizans
of various grades has always been of con.
eiderable importance. But it is now becoming daily
more conspicuous from the disturbance created by
the numerous railway schemes which are being
carried on in London. Railway lines, stations, and
termini are revolutionising numerous quarters of
the City and dislodging their inhabitants, while
the various public improvements now being set on
foot, however beneficial in the long run, must ne-
cessarily have the same tendency. Land is rising
to an amount which is surprising, oven for London;
and if the old fable of London streets being paved
with gold has not been realised virtually, it has
certainly been so figuratively, when we hear of
ground near the Mansion-house being bought at
£1,800,000 the statute acre. A small freehold,
which cost £7,000 some thirty years back, has now
been valued at £35,000; and it is said that the
owners of a little chapel in the Poultry have been
offered £40,C00 for its site. At this rate of cal.
culation there is certainly not much room for works
ing men's abodes, however profitable the letting off
houses maybe elsewhere. Lord DEBBY'S kindly
foresight secured the introduction of a clause ensur-
ing the running of a working man's train night
and morning, but the railways must be constructed
before that will give relief, and in the meantime,
where are the labouring classes to go? There
will, besides, be always a gcod many to whom
it is very important to live close to their work,
and who, therefore, cannot afford to move far
away, however unwholesome or inconvenient the
locality may be. Under these circumstances, then,
it is highly satisfactory to find benevolent under_
takings set on foot in an earnest, business-like,
practical spirit, which argues well for the ultimate
success of the movement. It must not be a matter
of charity, but of trade and profit, if the work is to
be carried out on a scale commensurate with the ne-
ceesitits:of the people. Capitalists and speculators
must be shown that the erection of proper dwelling
places for the labouring classes may be made a pro-
fitable investment if we are ever to see our courts
and alleys, our rookeries and their miserable tene-
ments replaced by clean and wholesome habitations.
Of course, those who set about the business from
purely benevolent motives will always give their
tenants some advantages and indulgences which
the mere agent or speculator will not grant, but the
great principles of good ventilation and drainage,
properly built and substantial houses, good water
supply, and reasonable rent, may all become the
rule, and not the exception. Mr. PEABODY'S noble
gift must be fresh in the recollection of all, and the
trustees could not have applied it better than in
ministering Lo this great want. They have erected
a substantial block of houses in the heart of Spital-
fields at an outlay of £20,000, and are now building
others on a larger scale in the Lower-road, Islington.
The names of Lord STANLEY and Ald. WATERLOW
are familiar as workers in this cause, and the noble
lord, who is one of Mr PEABOD'Z'S trustees, is also
chairman of the company established by the worthy
alderman, which has raised £30,000 for a similar
objsct. Alderman WATERLOW has at his private
expense made several experiments in model build.
ings, most of them being situated in the densely
populated districts of Finsbury, where they are
greatly wanted. The City of London has voted
£120,000 for the erection of houses for working men
and their families, and has given also a piece of
ground in Clerkenwell, which, as times go, is a yet
more costly present. Miss BURDETT COUTTS,
always foremost in practical good works, has ex-
pended £50,000 on a bock of buildirgs in Colum-
bia-square, Bethnal-green, which aro at present
inhabited by 705 persons, being 417 adults and 288
children. These buildingS are constructed in the
form of a square, with a large playground in the
centre, and every accommodation necessary for
health and comfort. The PEABODY block in Spital-
fields is built on the same plan, and in both instances
there have been hundreds of applicants for future
vacancies. So that one great end has been attained ;
and even in these miserable localities the poorer
classes have been taught to appreciate comfort and
cleanliness. It only remains to convince landlords
that such investments can be made at a profit ; and
as even Miss COUTTS' elaborate construction is esti-
mated
to return £l,BOO per annum, it is to be hoped
that the task of conviction will soon be accomplished.

Many will hear with regret that it is the inten-
tion of Colonel AliMniaso to retire from the post of
Inspector-Gencral of Volunteers. He has faithfully
d'scharged his duties during the period-he has held
and his services have been of the
the appointment,
greatest value to all concerned. lie has thus confer-
red a benefit upon his country, for the Institu-
tion of the Volunteers would be of no
avail if they were not efficiently drilled and well
instructed, and we have to thank Colonel WAlunno
for his zeal and ability in performing his arduous
task. It is not easy to exaggerate these services,
for the difficulties that had to be encountered in
training and fitting the Volunteers for service
were very great, and the peculiar nature of
the case prevented the adoption of those summary
measures by which regular discipline is maintained,
and order resolved out of chaos in ordinary affairs,
where incompetency is speedily transformed into
capability. It has been said that the moment of
success is the moment to leave off, and truly the

gallant Colonel has adopted this maxim as his
guide, for he could not have chosen a better time
for his retirement, and therefore his friends and
admirers have nothing to regret, but doubtless
his able and efficient inspection will long be missed
by those who were 7ortunate enough to be under
his command. At the review at Liverpool the
other day, the Colonel addressed the Volunteers,
and announced his intention of retiring; at
the same time, he expressed his satisfaction at
the state in which he left them. They had im-
proved greatly during the last five years, both in
numbers and efficiency. "119 was convinced that
the existence of this force had saved England from
many insults, and perhaps from positive attack."
No one can question the truth of this remark ; but
at one time there was much scepticism afloat touch-
ing the use and practicability of the formation of
these corps. The Volunteers had to lead a
very forlorn hope for some time ; but suc-
cess has at last crowned their efforts, and all
praise is due to their exertions, their constancy,
and self-denial. They must not forget to ackno7,_
ledge the debt they owe to him who has so greatly
assisted them in gaining their present standard of
efficiency, and it will be a fitting tribute to Colonel
111‘MURDO'S eminent services ;.1 they present him
with some testimonials. tie has certainly deserved
much at their hands, cif which they should not be
unmindful.

LITERATURE.

RECENT TRAVELS.

Explorations in Australia. The Journals of John
M.Douall Stuart, edited by W. Hardman, M.A.,
F.R.G.S., with maps and engravings. One Vol.
Fp. 510. Saunders, Otley, and Co.
This very interesting and valuable work contains
the original journals kept by Mr M'Douall Stuart
during his several persevering and adventurous ex-
plorations in Australia between the years 1858 and
1862, containing a particular account of that last
triumphant expedition when he fixed the centre
of the continent, having traversed it from sea to
sea. " Other explorers," says the editor, " had
merely seen the rise and fall of the tide in rivers,
boggy pound and swamps intervening and cutting
all chance of ever seeing the sea. But Stuart
actually stood upon its shore and washed his hands
in its waters !" A pleasure dearly earned by perils
and privations of great severity—so great, indeed
that for some time after the safe arrival of the party
at Adelaide thelife of the gallant leader was despaired
of. With the dangers and difficulties of an explorer's
life Mr. Stuart had been for many years familiar,
having gained his first experience under the guid
'once of that distinguished explorer, Cipt. Sturt,
whose expeditions he accompanied in the capacity
of draughtsman. As a specimen of the trials which
await the inquiring traveller in the Australian in-
terior, we read the following in reference to that
early expedition of Capt. Sturt :
Leaving Lake Torrens on the left, Captain Sturt and his
party passed up the Murray and the Darling, until finding
that the latter would carry him too far from the northern
course, which was the one he had marked out for himself,
he turned up a small tributary known to the natives as the
Williorara. The water of this stream failing him, he pushed
on over a barren tract, until he suddenly came upon a fruit-
ful and well-watered slot, which he named the Rocky Glen.
In this picturesque Glen they were detained for six months,
during which time no rain fell, The heat of the sun was
so intense that every screw in their boxes was drawn, and
all horn handles and combs split into fine laminae. The
lead dropped from their pencils, their finger-nails became
as brittle as glass, and their hair, and the wool on their
sheep, ceased to grow. Scurvy attacked them all, and Mr
Poole, the second in commando:lied. In order to avoid
the scorching rays of the sun, they had evacuated an
underground chamber, to which they retired during the
heat of the day.

When the long-expected rain fell, they pushed on for fifty
miles to another suitable halting-place, which was ;ailed
Park Depot. From this depot Captain Start -.nade two
attempts to reach the centre of the continent. lie started,
accompanied by four of his party, advanr:mag over a country
which resembled an ocean whose in4.ghty billows, fifty or
sixty feet high, had become sud".,enly hardened into long
parallel ridges of sulid sane, The abrupt termination of
this was succeeded at two hundred miles cf what is now so
well known es Stur'j's Stony Desert, to which frequent
allusion is made 'dy Mr Stuart in his journals. After thirty
miles more, ',llia stony desert ceased with equal abruptness
and was followed by a vast plain of ploughed mud, which
Capt"..in Start describes as a boundless ploughed field, on
Wl:doh floods had settled and subsided." After advancing
two hundred miles beyond the Stony Desert, and to within
one hundred and fifty miles of the centre of the continent,
they were compelled to return to Park Depot, where they
arrived in a most exhausted condition.

That "centre," which then appeared hopeless of
attainment by the heroic expedition under Capt.
Start, was, some eighteen years later, successfully
arrived at by one of the members of that earlier
expedition, John M'Douall Stuart. We tran-
scribe..
from Mr. St tart's journal the simply written
graphic account of his triumphant arrival on the
swore :