The Sun.
London, England, 1860-05-03 00:00:00

disease. I believe there is scarcely a case remain-
ing
in this district."
Vaccination in this case was performed while the
small-pox matter was developing itself in the sys-
tem ; hence it was not a case of smallpox after pro-
tection by vaccination had been effected. Such
cases are ignorantly cited as instanct s of smallpox
after vaccination. Vaccination is much neglected
and smallpox has been fatal in Plymouth. Small-
pox, whoopingcough, and measles have raised the

deaths in Bideford 16 above the average. A great

number of illegitimate children are sometimes born

in a small sub-district at the same time ; thus, in

Lyme 6 of 27 children were born out of wedlock in

the last quarter.
Disease is propagated in parts of Cornwall by de-
fective sanitary arrangements. Thus diphtheria has
been fatal in Kea. The Registrar of Callingdon

makes the following observation :
"This district is at this time rather unhealthy.
During the quarter I have registered 8 deaths from
typhus (probably typhia), 2 of which, those of
mother and child, were in one house, and now the
father and three other children are ill. The medi-

cal officer, in his report to the board of guardians,
dated the 28th of March, says that 'these children
absolutely require removal from the wretched hot-
bed of fever in which they now lie ; they require
careful and constant nursing, cleanliness, ventila-
tion, beef tea ad libitum, port wine, and: various
other articles.' "
Again, at Camborne 6 deaths occurred from scar-
latina, 2 from diphtheria, 8 from fever ; the latter
occurring in parts of the town where drainage and
sewerage are neglected.
In the West Midland counties the marriages and
births were above, the deaths below, the average
numbers. 12,602 persons married ; 23,833 chil-
dren were born; 14,913 persons died. The health
of the large towns of this division is evidently im-
proving; the fatality of disease is less than it
was in Bristol and Clifton, where the deaths during
the last three winters were 1,194, 976, 876 ; in Bir-
mingham and Aston 2,046, 1,925, 1,741. If the mu-
nicipal authorities succeed in supplying all the
towns with pure water, and removing all the disin-
fected nightsoil and refuse to the fields, they will
witness still further diminutions in the heavy death
rate which is now levied on the inhabitants.
South Staffordshire contains a great number of
enterprising men, who are doing much valuable
work; they extract coal or iron and manufacture
hardware, but their attention has not hitherto been
seriously directed to the preservation of the health
of the people, who suffer from all kinds of pestilen-
tial diseases, and are in a deplorable sanitary state.
In the district of Wolverhampton alone, for example,
979 deaths occurred in 91 days ; the mortality was
high before, and, while Birmingham is getting bet-
ter, the health of the district of Wolverhampton is
every year getting worse. Several hundreds of the
inhabitants are every year disabled- by sickness;
funerals are a staple trade ; parents lose their chil-
dren, wives their husbands, and children their fathers
by the poison of the place ; workmen and people in
trade are cut down at all ages in alarming num-
bers. Mechanism and chemical knowledge and ca-
pital abound in the Wolverhampton district ; why
should they not be applied to render the sanitary
arrangements perfeet ? The deaths are below the
average in Wednesbury, and this the Registrar at-
tributes to improvements which the local board of
health has effected in" supplying the town with
pure water, attending to the sewerage, and compel-
ling people, as far as possible, to cultivate habits of
cleanliness." This is satisfactory.
The marriages and births increased ; the deaths
decreased in the North Midland counties, where
6,322 persons married, 11,849 children were born,
and 7,546 deaths were registered. Fever and diph-
theria have proved fatal in some districts. Thus
typhus prevailed in three villages of Oakham ; it
was apparently the work of overcrowded sleeping-
rooms and want of ventilation. Diphtheria, scarla-
tina, and typhus were fatal in several villages of
Spilsby ; diphtheria killed 13 young persons under
26 years of age in North Kelsey. The registrar of
East Retford comments justly onthe severity of the
weather, to which he ascribes the fearful mortality
throughout the whole of his district. The regis-
trar of St. Ann, Nottingham, en the other hand,
records 224 births and only 127 deaths. " The
deaths (he says) are below the average of corre-
sponding quarters ;" adding, " the sanitary arrange-
ments are excellent, and carefully carried out, to
which cause, no doubt, the decrease in mortality
may in some measure be attributed." It is evident
that the severity of the season must have been
felt all over the kingdom ; yet, notwithstanding the
effects of the weather, the mortality decreased
wherever sanitary arrangements were sedulously
worked. Even careful observers sometimes, it may
be remarked, refer the excessive mortality of their
districts to the weather, or to some other causes
over which people have little or no control. They
do not bear in mind that foul air is more fatal than
cold air, and that food and clothing and active em-
ployment keep out the cold.
The marriages as well as births increased ; the
rate of mortality decreased in Lancashire and York-
shire. 13,068 persons married, 23,192 births and
16,038 deaths were registered in Lancashire ; 11,122
persons married, 19,142 births and 12,614 deaths
were registered in Yorkshire. The mortality fell
in Liverpool and Manchester. The decrease of the
mortality is ascribed to the rise of wages, the active
employment of the people in the factories, and to
the sanitary improvements which arc so impera-
tively required in these two great counties.
In the Northern counties 5,206 persons married ;
10,880 births and 6,683 deaths were registered. The
deaths are rather more numerous than they were
last year, but the mortality is lower. Smallpox,
diphtheria, scarlatina, and fever prevailed in some
districts, especially those which are left in a dirty
state.

In Monmouthshire and Wales 6,382 persons
married ; 11,771 births and 8,173 deaths were re-
giatered. The mortality was below the average of
Wales.