The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-23 00:00:00

The Public Health.

The following is the weekly return of the Regis-
trar-General of births and deaths in London and in
12 other large towns of the United Kingdom
In the week that ended Saturday, Jan. 19, the
births registered in London and 12 other large towns
of the United Kingdom was 4,364 ; the deaths re-
gistered, 3,668. The annual rate of mortality was
31 per 1,000 persons living.
In London the births of 1,131 boys and 1,058
girls, in all 2,189 children, were registered in the
week. In the corresponding weeks of ten years
1857-66 the average number, corrected for increase
of population, was 2,148.
The deaths registered in London during the week
were 1,714. It was the third week of the year, and
the average number of deaths for that week is, with
a correction for increase of population, 1,690. The
deaths in the present return exceed the estimated
number by 24.
The severe weather of the first week of the year
was followed by rain, and two or three warm days ;
the snow melted ; then on the 11th and 12th days
of the month the cold wave began to blow again
over London, so thatlast week the temperature sank
10 deg. below the average temperature of the season.
The full effect of the frost on life is not yet on re-
cord ; but while the deaths registered in London in
the two weeks ending Jan. 5 were 2,873, the deaths
in the last two weeks ending Jan. 19 were 3,605.
The excess of 732 deaths is fairly referable to the
cold ; and the numbers are thus distributed over the
five ages of life-50 at ages under 20 years, 85 at
the age 20-40, 186 at the age 40-60, 333 at the age
GO-80, and 78 at the age 80 and upwards. Thus the
power to resist cold diminishes as age advances, in
conformity with a well-established law.
The deaths by drowning in Regent's-park have
not yet been returned by the coroner.
Three hundred and twelve deaths from zymotic
diseases, 308 from bronchitis, 100 from pneurnonia,7B
from disease of the heart, and 189 from phthisis
were registered during the week.

The deaths of 13 nonagenarians and one cente-
narian were recorded in the week.

The annual rate of mortality last week was 29
per 1,000 in London, 31 in Edinburgh, and 31 in
Dublin; 38 in Liverpool, 38 in Manchester, 29 in
Salford, 29 in Bristol, 42 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
28 in Hull, and 35 in Glasgow. The rate in Vienna
was 33 per 1,000 during the week ending the 12th
inst., when the temperature was 10.9 deg. Fahren-
heit lower than in the same week in London, where
the rate was 32 per 100.
At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean
height of the barometer in the week was 29.586 in.
The barometrical reading decreased from 29.79 in.
on Monday, to 29.32 on Thursday. The mean
temperature of the air in the week was 26 deg.,
which is 10.5 deg. below the average of the same
week in 50 years (as determined by Mr. Glaisher).
The highest day temperature was 34.9 deg., on
Wednesday. The lowest night temperature was
13.9 deg., on Monday. The entire range of tem-
perature in the week was, therefore, 21 deg. The
.mean of the highest temperatures of the water of the
Thames was 32.7 dug. ; that of the lowest was 31.2
deg. The difference between the mean dew-point
temperature and air temperature was G• 1 deg. The
mean degree of humidity of the air was 76, complete
saturation being represented by 100. The direction
of the wind was variable. Snow fell on Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. According to a
return furnished by the engineer of the Metropoli-
tan Board of Works, the average daily quantity of
sewage pumped into the river Thames at the south-
ern outfall works, Crossness, in the week ending
Jan. 19, was 48,950,585 gallons, or 222,405 cubic
metres, weighing about as many tons. In the
week ending Jan. 12, 293,759 cubic metres were
pumped daily.