The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-23 00:00:00

THE SANITARY CONDITION OF THE

CITY.

Yesterday Dr. Lethehy, the Medical Officer of
Health, presented his report to the Commissioners
of Seers on the sanitary state of the city of Lon-
don, for the summer quarter of the present year,
ending the 28th of September. Of this document
the material portions are subjoined ;
" The number of births registered in the city
during the quarter is 839, and of deaths 640. Both of
these present a marked improvement in comparison
with the average of the last six years; for the for-
mer has advanced from 820 to 839 in the quarter,
and the latter has declined from 683 to 640. The
chief increase in the proportion of births has been
in the Western district, where the number has been
raised from an average of 186 to 218. In the three
districts of the city the annual birth-rate has been
29.6 per 1,000 of the entire population. In all
England the annual birth-rate for the summer
quarter is 32.8 per 1,000. Of the 640 deaths in the
quarter 264 occurred in the Eastern Union, 163 in
the Western, and 213 in the Central or City Union.
These numbers are in the annual proportion of 25.9
per 1,000 of the inhabitants of the first-named dis-
trict, 24 0 per 1,000 of the second, and 18.7 of the
third, the death-rate of the whole city being 22.5
per 1,000. In all England the death-rate in the
summer quarter is 20.4 per 1,000, and in the dis-
tricts of the chief towns of England it is 23.8.
While, therefore, the average proportion of deaths
in the whole of the city has not been unusually
large, that of the Eastern division of it has been
axcessively so; and in the Crippiegate sub-division
it has amounted to 29.8 per 1,000 of the inhabi-
tants. The density of the population in this district
is enormous ; it amounts to 290 persons upon an
acre ; whereas in the whole of the city there are
but 156 persons to an acre, and in all London but
3G. This accounts for the excessive mortality of
the Eastern division of the city, and shows, in con-
nexion with the poverty of the districts, the diffi-
culties which have to be surmounted in improving
its sanitary condition. Of every 100 deaths
45 have occurred among children of less than
five years of age ; nine among young per-
sons at from 5 to 20 years of age ; 10 at from
20 to 40 ; 16 at from 40 to 60 ; and 20 at 60 and
upwards. The mortality among infants is rather
large, for the rest of England it is only about 41 per
cent. of the total deaths. Contrasted with the
averages of the last six years, there has been a fall-
ing off in the proportion of deaths from several im-
portant diseases, as continued fever, scarlet fever,
small-pox and measles, These have declined from a
total average of 81 in the quarter to 39. Continued
fever has fallen from 29 to 18, scarlet fever from 25
to 18, smallpox from 10 to 1, and measles from 17 to
2. Some other forms of disease, however, have ad-
vanced; thus, whooping-cough, croup, and dipthe-
ria have been increased from 28 to 43, and infiam-
matory affections of the banes from 54 to 63. Alto-
gether the number of deaths from zymotic affections
has been reduced from an avenge of 179 in the
quarter to 155, while that from tubercular diseases
has increased from 154 to 163. Diptheria and croup
have been rather severe, but there have been no spe-
cialities in the origin and development of those
diseases to lead to any conclusion in respect of the
laws of their progress or of the means for their
abatement. The laws which govern these manifes-
tations of disease have yet to be discovered, and this
is one of the aims of sanitary investigation. At pre-
sent Fe merely recognise the fact that these mala-
dies are affected by local circumstances, and are, as
it were, intensified by filth and overcrowding, and
such like unwholesome agencies; but we have yet
to ascertain what are the real inffuencies concerned
i in their propagation, as well as the particular
agencies which originate them and determine their
speciality. The meteorology has been deduced,
as usual, from the observations at Guildhall,
under the superintendence of Mr. Haywood. The
mean temperature of the quarter has been
60 deg., which is the exact mean of the correspond-
ing period of the last 43 years. The highest point
which the thermometer reached was 85 deg., and
the lowest 45.8 deg. The former was attained on
the 12th of August, when at Greenwich the ther-
mometer stood at 89.3 deg., and the latter was on
the 27th of September, when at Greenwich it was
37.7 deg. These, as well as other observations,
show that the temperature in the city is more uni-
form than it is at Greenwich. The greatest daily
range of temperature has been 23.4 deg., and the
average of the ranges 19.3 deg. The diminished
rainfall has influenced the condition of the river;
for the proportion of solid matter has risen from an
average of 33.8 grains per gallon (that of the pre-
ceding quarter) to 128.7 grains ; of this nearly nine
grains were organic matter, and 93 were seasalt.
The condition of the water has been rather offen-
sive, and it has shown a tendency to active decom-
position, notwithstanding that the temperature of
it has not exceeded 67.5 deg. In the autumn quar-
ter of 1859 there was nearly the same state of the
water, as regards its appearance, its odour, and its
chemical composition. At that time the rainfall
amounted to only 5.5 inches, and the temperature
to 71.3—conditions which are very nearly similar
to those of the past quarter.
" Touching the sanitary work of the quarter, 1,404
houses have been inspected and 852 visits made to
the common lodginghouses of the city. These have
resulted in the issuing of 596 orders for sanitary
improvement. Of the visits of inspection 511 were
made in consequence of the existence of diarrhaea
among the inmates of the houses and 46 because
of fever. The markets and slaughter-houses
have also been duly inspected, and the officers have
seized 21,7061 b., or about 94- tons of meat as unfit
for human food. 17,9581 b. were seized in Newgate-
market, 1,5431 b. in Leadenhall, and 2,1051 b. in Ald-
gate. Of these, 5,4391 b. were putrid, 10,8271 b. were
diseased, and 5,4401 b. were from animals that had
died from natural causes. The seizure consisted of
98 sheep, 35 pigs, 1 calf, 150 quarters of beef, and
130 joints; besides which there were seized in
Leadenhall-market, on account of putridity an d
death from natural causes, 184 fowls, 67 rabbits, 256
(lucks, 102 pigeons, 17 hares, and 18 haunches and
quarters of venison. All of it was sent to the boilers,
and destroyed as food. The water from 12 of the
emitoyuspuammpous
amount
tasof beensalin analysedsaline
during the quarter,
and the results, as in the former cases, show an enor-
mous
there have beeaesanen
mined, and in every t3h4oorigtahnei cciimtyppuurinatyp.s
exa-
mined,
with surface drainage. There is
has been fouled
pumps that derives its supply
of the London basin ; ana
Guildhall-buildings,
the deep strata
te.bpump in
Glover's-hall-court and that in excepting
none of them furnish water that is fit for
purposes. At the best of times some of theryeisetlide
efit3tra7 one of these
water which contains from 100 to 133 grains of
saline and organic matter in the gallon, and all of
them are excessively hard from the altered pro- ,
ducts of decomposition. The knowleage of the
composition of the soil through which the water
passes should warn us of the danger that may at
at arise from its use. It may be that it
laical often been drunk with impunity, and that it
+; n • but it cannot be that the pro-
shown any
.immediate manifestation of
ihtassraroarrbeliyfic
ac... 0 ,
i into the human body
1 ducts of corruption canwibthe9uctondst3a4telry
oafdrni:g