The Sun.
London, England, 1804-12-28 00:00:00

P ;PULArroV OF LONDON,

Tuesday'S Paper we gave a General Rill of the
Christenings and Burials in the Metropolis for the
last year. It must be very aatisfaCtory to observe,
that; if these accounts he correct, so considerable a
decrease as 2544 has taken place this year in the
burials, and that the chriitenings have exceeded the
burials by 4505. That in a city so large as Lon.
don there should he no actual decrease of population,
affords a satisfattory proof that the m►de of livit.g,
and every circumstance tending to the preservation
of health, have been brought to a very high degree.
of perfedion.' „But, by this statement, there is
even a very considerable increase in the population
of London arising from it, own internal resources
no less an. addition, in twelve months, than 4500
wok." If to this we add the number of new mem-
bers which London is constantly deriving from all
parts of the United Kingdom, as well as from all
parts of the world, the annual increase of its popu.
lation must be much more considerable than it is
generally believed.
.Frorn the list before mentioned it would appear,
that the parisheicontinue to retain their original acct.
dental organization, and that no m-aanres, at least no
adequate nmisures, have been taken fur dividing them
upon some fair and equal princiote. The christen.
ings, for instance, in the 97 parishes within the
walls, amount only to 1119, whereas the christen.
ings in the s7' parishes without the walls amount to
mote than three times that number, and those in thc
'24. nut-parishea in Middlesex and Surrey are more
than double of these, being. t 0,241. This immense
difference, it is obvious, can only arise from the
difference of population. It "consequently follows,
that if the officers, and all incidental expences, are
on the same scale in the small as in the large pa-
rishes, there must be either too great a burthen upon
the former, or too small a one upon the latter. But
the probability is, we think, that the small parishes
are excessively burthened ; and that many persons
are thus permitted to subsist by the public, who
ought to live by the fruits of their own labour. It
is kaubjeft whieh certainly stens to require an in.
ves.tigation. The inequality which,' from the pre.
sent organiiatian, has already so much increased,
will, while the causes continue to exist, also con. ,
tinue to increase, until the evil must at length be.
some intolerable. The 'height to which the griev.
once has already arrived seems indeed to demand
the utmost attention' of the Government and thell
Public.

Of the z 7,000 deaths which have taken place in
London during the last twelve months, 14.z0 were
aged pertons, and 4881 haveldied under two years
of age, of which 6ot were abortive, or still.born,
'being more than a third of the whole number. It
is certainly a great satisfatlion, on the one hand,
that so considerable a proportion of the members
of which our community has been deprived, should
have consisted of persons whO had not yet attained,
or had already survived, their utility. But, on the
other hand, we are a good deal surprised to find the
number of deaths by measles stated at 619, and of
those by inflammations at 603,• certainly a very cx.
traordinary proportion, considering that the sub."
jets who are apt to be thus' cut otT, are generally
among those who are approaching, or have alreittly
attained, that period at• which they are useful to
society, and even of these the Most robust are those
who sufrer., It cannot but 'be 'very desirable that
the causes of this extraordinary mortality among
that description of pertain should be investigated
and ascettained ; and we cannot'help apprehending
that it may arise from a general cause, which, we
understand, most alWays operate more perceptibly
in acute than in chronic diseases, namely, the treat- .
ment of them according to falie theories, whether
ancient or modern. No subjea, as we learn from
medical Men, has' given rite to more medical con.
troversiea than the &thine, of inflammation ; and
it _would appear from the fate' before us, that. they
are not yet. ,by any means, generally wall under.:
stood, or at least that their application to praCtice
has not, during the last year, been attended with
the raw( desirable success, This would not be tilk
propar place, .if we had even the power, to enter
into any discussion of medical duCtrinec; our objed
is merely to point nut a general inference, which
must be obvious to every attentive Reader ; but, we
shoultl.be very happy to see the inquiry instituted
by some able hand, as all Sucli investigations, be.
sides their great general utility, must tend to the
atneli..;ration of health, and the increase of poptah.
flog, in.this greatMetrOpolio, the first City in the
universe.

adios p•••••••••••....... 4

TlipEliOelllty.of procuring mahogany, and other
• ptecioued,woods, and the consequent exorbitant
prices.demanded for the onlinarY articles of family
tonVeniepee,, has occasioned the aft of the Chemist
to be, applied ttia. subjeft peculiarly calculated', to
pro Mote Annuaire, embellishment at a-trifling ex.
plince. It has been contrived to, rcotter ally
.gl7e.
cies of wood of a close grain, so nearly resemble,
mahogany in the texture, density, and,polish, that
'the mast accurate judges,-are incapable of distill.
guishing',between this happy imitation and the
native produce. 'the first operation, as now pm:-
. tised in, France, is to plane the suffice, so as to
render, it petfectivi smooti),r; tho wood is then
to he 'rubbed with . a SelgtiOn nitrous acid;
which prepares it. for themeptsriala subsequently
to be apptied. Afterwards, one ounce and a half
of Dragon's blood dissolied'ln.a pirit of
.spirit Of
wine, and one.third of that quantity of carbonate
of soda, aro to he mixediogether, and filtered; and
the. liquid in this thin state is ro be -robbed, or
,rather laid upon,the wood, tivitli a soft bosh: 't:hiS.
'process is repeated with very' little alteration,_ acid
in a short interval afteelrfila the wood possesses
the external ippearancc we lave deseribed. When
-this application has been properly made, the Sur-
face wilt resemble,an art,lficial mirror,; but if the
polish become leis brilliant, by the use of a,little
cold drawn linseed ail, the wood wiil be restorifi
to its former brilliancy: It is singular that the
mahogany-tree, although
,so profitable an article of
commercei has received very lifrle attention from
European naturalists. We say profitable, becaUse
we know an instance of a Consignment uf single

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