The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-02-09 00:00:00

Tht! LIVERPOOL STANDAR&

HEALTH AND MORTALITY OF ENGLAND.

The Register General's quarterly return of the health
and mortality of England, for the quarter ending the 31st
of December, has just been published ; and as it must be
a question of considerable interest at the present season
of scarcity to know the effect of the deficiency of food, and
the badness of its quality, on which the greater portion of
our working people have been recently fed, we subjoin a
condensation of the document, in so far as it relates to
our own Districts. These quarterly returns are obtained
from 115 districts in the Kingdom, which are sub-divided
into 576 sub-districts. Thirty-four of the districts are in
the Metropolis, and the remaining 81 comprise, with some
agricultural districts, the principal Towns and Cities in
England. And these are made from an area of ground
which, according to the census of 1841, contained 6,579,693
souls. The return commences by stating, that in the first
quarter of 1846, in consequence of the mildness of the
weather, the rate of mortality was lower than it had
been in any of the corresponding quarters of the pre-
vious 8 years. To this pleasing fact, however, the
districts of Sunderland, Newcastle-on-Tyne, and Carlisle
were striking exceptions. In the second quarter, (ending
the 30th of June,) the mortality was a little above the
average : and diseases began to be prevalent in June,
which raised the mortality in the third quarter to the ex-
traordinary amount of 9655 above the average of that sea-
son. During this time, as can well be remembered, there
was an epidemic of Diarrhoea, and what is called English
Cholera. From that time the average number of deaths
has been increasing. Although the abstract returns
for the whole of England have not yet been made
out, yet from the present returns it may be calculated that
there were 106,-000 deaths in the September quarter
which, after correction for increase of population, is 20.000
above the average. In the December quarter there were
110,000, which is 15,000 above the average. The whole
deaths registered in England and Wales during the fol-
lowing years were :

-in 1838
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
And from the returns given in the quarterly table, it may
be adduced that the deaths in

1845 were about .
And in 1846 406,000
thus showing an increase in the year 1846 over 1845 of
54,000 deaths; and nearly the whole of this increase took
place during the last two quarters of the year. The in-
creased mortality in London gives but a faint idea of the
number of deaths which have occurred in the other large
towns in the kingdom. Thus the deaths in the London
district during the December quarter of 1845 and 1846
respectively, were 11,695 and 13,033 ; whilst in Liverpool
and West Derby the increase between these correspond-
ing quarters of the different years was 1,191. The num-
bers for the December quarter, 1845, being, 2,655, whilst
for the same quarter in 1846, there were 3,846. In Black-
burn the mortality has nearly doubled in the latter quar-
ter. The proportions stand thus :—ln the December
quarter of 1845 there were 435 deaths, and in that of 1846
they amounted to 853. In Preston deaths have occurred
in about the same proportion, the numbers being 552, and
968. In Bury tlie numbers were 437 and 717. In Wigan
the increase hag not been so great, the numbers being
402,675. In Prescot, 290 and 510. In Manchester, Sal-
ford, and Charlton, the increase bears the same propor-
tion, the numbers being 2,555 and 4,029.
In accounting for this increase,- the return states that
though the cold in the December quarter of 1846 must
have been fatal to many lives, still it was not the chief
cause. The mean temperature of the quarter at Green-
wich was 44° 2. which is 1° 9 below the temperature of
the corresponding in 1845, and 1° 3 below the average of
the quarter f0r.25 years, but 10 8 above the temperature
of the last quarter of 1844. The Registrar of Saint
George, Manchester, after stating that the great number
of deaths in his district (406) may be partly accounted for
by the prevalence of measels and typhus, says :—" The
population of the district is to a great extent composed of
the lower order of Irish, who live and lodge together in
the same house. In one part of the district, called An-
gel Meadow,' it is not uncommon to find 20 or 30 Persons
living in one house, where there is not accommodation
for one-third of that number, especially if health is to be
the least considered. During the last two or three
months, large numbers of the poor from Ireland have
crowded themselves into the district, droves of them ram-
bling about the streets seeking lodgings, and no doubt
being exposed to the severe and inclement weather.
Many of the poor creatures have died from cold, producing
fevers and other diseases. Owing to the great increase of
. mortality during the last few weeks, I instituted inquiries
as to the length of time deceased had been in England,
and found in very many cases they .had been only a few
weeks. The poverty and destitution of the district at
present is very great. The houses are badly ventilated,
and the odour arising from so many persons huddled to-
gether in a confined apartment must have a very injuri-
ous effect. It cannot be surprising that while such a
state of things exists the mortality should be great."
The same thing has been noticed in Liverpool. The
Registrar of St. Thomas says :—" A considerable portion
of the increase (of deaths) arisesfrom the great influx of
the poor from Ireland, most of whom are quite desti;
tute when they arrive. Some have been only a few
weeks, and others a few days in the town previous to their
death." The " high price of provisions," " Depression
in trade," and'" Distress," are referred to by the Regis-
trars of Stockport and Little Bolton, as causes of the
high mortality in December last. The. failure of the
potato crop and the dearness of provisions left the poor
very- ill able to provide the additional clothing and firing
required by the severity of the weather and their suffer-
ings,must have been aggravated while their earnings were
at the same time diminished. However, no mention is
made of the potato disease having per se had any direct
connection.with the mortality. No doubt large quantities
of the potato in a partially diseased state were consumed
by the poor, but still it does not appear that its use even
in this state has been productive of any spe6ific disease ;
nor does it appear to have any appreciable connection with
the disorders of the 'bowels and fever which grew preva-
lent about the time that the last crops came into use.
The return next directs attention to the difference in
the mortality in different places in the same years, and
says that the population of Manchester, Salford, and
Chorlton, in 1841, was 356,372. The deaths in the De-
cember quarter of 1845 were 2555, and in the same
quarter of 1846 they increased to 4029 ; whilst in 1841
the population of Anglesea was 38,105 ; the deaths being,
in 1845, no more than 163, and in 1846 they were 206—
thus, after allowing for increase of population, the inha-
bitants of Manchester, &c., were probably 10 times as
numerous as the inhabitants of Anglesea ; the mortality
was 15 times as great in 1845, and 20 times as great in
1846. The same may be said of all -the manufacturing
districts as compared with the agricultural. It is found
from the returns of the seven years, 1838 to 1844, that
the mortality of Liverpool and Manchester, and the worst
part of other towns, has nearly doubled the mortality of
tolerably salubrious districts ; and it is here seen that
while the mortality of the latter districts was raised 50 or
70per cent., the ordinary but unnatural and frightful mor-
tality of the dense districts was raised from 70 to 100 per
cent. in 1846 over whatit was in 1845. Opinions differ as to
what fraction of :the suffering and death in the manufac-
turing districts is to be attributed to the want of water or
of sewerage—crowded lodgings, narrow and ill cleansed
streets, badly ventilated workshops—the destitution of
skilful medical advice—the neglect of children, doses of
opium and overflowings of quackery—the nuisance of
slaughter-houses and rank churchyards ; but a large
amount of the misery may be fairly set down to the want
of proper sanatory regulations. Liverpool we hope, how-
ever, to see soon exempted from this disgrace. As the
following notes on the nature of the disease prevalent in
the several districts of Liverpool may not be uninteresting
to our readers, we twill-close this condensation with giving
a few extracts :

St. Martin's.—Typhus, diarrhoea, and dysentery have
been the prevailing diseases. Deaths for the quarter, b 92.
Great Howard-street.--Bronchitis and dysentery pre-
valent. Deaths, 382—much above the average.
Thomas.—Deaths, 340. Died of bronchitis, 76 ;
George.—Diarrhoea,
Luee.sa_es, aD;ta.d—r
r2hPlht
at; spo i
nsjue
unannrindaotiiiidcyaAsesanynitedurym. have been
diarrhoea, 71 ; phthisis, 25 ; fever, 17.
themoMss ;M:prevalent and fatal. Deaths, 483—including 186 at
phthisis have
been most prevalent. Deaths, 169.
/thogton.—Phthisis, pneumonia, bronchitis, and diarr-
hoea. Deaths, 372.
In West Derby, Lithertand, Crosby, and Toxteth
Park, the same class of diseases have been prevalent. In
West Derby alone a return has been made for decline, of
which 40 persons have died in that district.

PROPORTION OF IMPORTED IRISH CRIME

IN LIVERPOOL.

In estimating the cost to this town of the present dis-
organised state of Ireland, its ignorance, and the absence
of a proper provision for its poor, we must not look
merely at the amount of temporary relief administered.
In many other ways Irish misery presses upon the re-
sources of the'British people. An examination of the re-
port of Mr. R. E. Highton, Governor of the Liverpool
Borough Prison, showing the state of crime during the
last year, affords ,e startling proof of the extent to which
we are burthened by the offences of our invnigrant Irish
population,
In 1846, Mr Highton finds a decrease of 20 of the felons
born in Liverpool, and an increase of 148 of those born
elsewhere, on a total number of 577 committed 'in the
years 1842-3. Of this increase 17 persons were born in
Lancashire ; 27 came from other English counties ; 13
came from Scotland, and 83, or fifty-six per cent. of the
whole,, were from Ireland. Of the increase of the total
committals for all offences, which was last year 1303 over
the number in 1842-3-185 were born in Liverpool; 143
in other parts of Lancashire ; 268 in othey English coun-
ties, and 654, or 431 per cent., in Ireland. We have no
doubt the statistics of crime in other ports accessible from
Ireland, and in our manufacturing towns, would exhibit
similar results ; thus spewing the origin of a very serious
charge, imposed upon us in the shape of cost of prosecu-
tions and of prison maintenance.

SERIOUS CHARGE AGAINST A .STOCKBROKER.-Mr.
Henry Lanauze, the eminent stockbroker of College-
green, Dublin, was charged at College-street police-office
by Mr. R. B. Clayton, for having fraudulently obtained a
transfer of £9,000, which was invested in Government
stock, and for having drawn that sum out of the funds,
aed applied the same to his own use. It ,appeared that
Mr. Clayton's father died in 1845, leaving this sum, toge
ther with large estates, for certain uses mentioned in his
will. Mr. Lanauze was his broker, and he informed Mr.
Clayton that the stock should be transferred in his*(La-
nauze's) name, and by these means succeeded in getting
the money into his own hand, The Pagistrates decided
All beading the case for trial.