The Sun.
London, England, 1867-07-27 00:00:00

VI7AL STATIS7ICS OF SCOTLAND.

The Registrar-General has now completed ten
years' detailed reports of births, marriages, and
deaths in Scotland—a period generally regarded as
sufficient for obtaining a fair average ; and we have
now, therefore, the means of ascertaining the vital
statistics of the country more accurately than at any
time since Scotland has been a nation. The annual
birth-rate in the ten years 1855-61 has averaged
3.447 per cent.; the marriage rate, 0.689 per cent.;
the death rate, 2.135 per cent. The death rate in
England in thesame period was 2.216 pert ent. The
lower mortality in Scotland is due, paly, at all
events, to its smaller proporti m of large towns.
The annual death rate in Glasgow in the ten
years averaged 3.01 per cent. In every quin-
quennial period of, life the rate of mortality
is heaviest among males with one exception.
Between 10 and 15 the female death rate in Scotland
in the ten years slightly preponderated over that of
males. 9.1 per cent. of all the children born were
illegitimate. In the same period the registers show
only 6.4 per cent. illegitimate in England, but a
considerable number of births escape registration in
England (nearly 37,000 a year) according to the
Census report), and as a majority of these probably
belong to the illegitimate class, it may be assumed
that the proportion of illegitimate children at birth
is nearly the same in both countries. Owing to the
Scotch law of legitimisation by subsequent marriage
of the parents, fewer persons in the population are
illegitimate in Scotland than in England. The ten
years' returns show some progress of education in
Scotland. In the five years 1855-59 88.2 per cent. of
the men who married and 76.5 per cent. of the women
were able to sign their names iu the parish register ;
in the five years 1860-64, 89.3 per cent. of the men
and 78.1 per cent. of the women. These numbers
are much above those of England. Arraying mor-
tal diseases in the order of their fatality in Scotland,
we must place first consumption, which in the ten
years upon an average destroyed 2.595 per 1,000 of
population every year. It looks well that old age
comes next, 2.119 per 1,000 dying annually from
this cause, without marked signs of disease. Then
comes bronchitis, taking off its F 525 per 1,000 per
annum ; typhus or continued fever, 1.018 ; prema-
ture debility, 0.985 ; scarlatina, 0.920 ; heart dis-
ease, 0.789 ; pneumonia, 0.730 ; whooping-cough,
0.725 ; hydrocephalus, 0.626. These are the ten
most usual modes of exit from life from Scotland.
Next in order, according to the returns for the last
two years of the series, would come diphtheria,
which until 1857 did not appear in the Scottish bills
of mortality at all.

Foreign Mail Packet List.

MAILS DUE.
Australis and New Zealand. via Southampton..... Aug. 24
Ditto, via Marseilles . ... ...Aug. 18
Ditto, via Panama ........ .. ..•
Brazil, Buenos Ayres, and Monte Video Aug 5.
Ditto, by Freud' packet .......... .. July 7
Cape Verde. by Brazil paolcot Aug. 5.
Cape of Good Hope. AsJension. and St ilete
n
s.
.
27.
China. Penang. and Slug ipore. via Sou
•hampton—Aug, 8
Ditto, via Marseilles ........... .. ....... . Aug. 2.
retkland Islands ...... .
iiibraltar, via Southamiipti,n ........ • . Aug. S.
Aug. 8.
India, via Soattrampton .....
Ditto, vi., 3larseil es ...................... July 3).
Aug. 2.
Malta, rlgypt, .5:5. .. ......... ....••• .
Aug 2.
Ditto, Ramifies
Mauritius, Cape of Good hope, and Natal, via
Southampton Aug. 21.
Ditto, via Mareei les Aug. is.
Sewfoundland
Portugal
Aug. 5.
Ditto, by private ship to Oporto ...
Ditto ditto to Lisbon
United States, Canada, California, dio., by British
packet July 31.
Ditto, by United States packet
Ditto ditto (New York,
Ditto ditto (New York)
Ditto ditto (Baltimore)
Ditto, by Canadian packet .,.... Aug. 2.
West Coast of Africa, Madeira, and Teneriffe...... ikuo• 3
Wert Indies and Pacifte (except Mexico and Balsa- '.
mas)
Cubs and SI exico ....July N.
Bahamas, via New York Aug. i. 2.
Bermuda, via ditto

PRESENTS AT PARKINS AND Gorro's.—Photo-
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e,ests, &a.; cigar-arcs, card-baskets. pocket-books, eleetro
gilt and elegantly-mounted articles. Bibles, l'rayer-books,
and Church Services, in every type. Parkins and Gott 25,
Oxford-street. The public supplied at wholesale prices from
the 1 ,rgest stock in London.
POACHING AFFRAY.--A few nights since a des-
perate poaching affray took place in the preserves at
Middleton Lodge, between. Wakefield and. Leeds, the
residence of Mr. Maude. A gang
entered the grounds, and there was a collision between
of eight poachers
them and the keeper, two watchers, and a polieeconstabla
who happened to be passing ou his beat. The poachers
got off, sfter beating the keeper dreadfully. One man
has sinco been apprehended as being one of the gang. •
THE SUEZ CANAL.—We learn from Alexandria
bysx:ratte he r to
for Suez,
Cochin and
China- there
that in the middle of June 5,000 packages of Government
stores landed at Pont Said from the French frigate El-
pDuotraodnobo,
wore
Pe Frenchassed through
frigate
in the period of seven days, as the first experiment on a
large settle, and which having thus succeeded the com-
munication may be said to be osta
blished between the
Mediterranean and the R. Semi

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