The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-02-15 00:00:00

" ASSAULT OF

ARMS" ! ! OF THE ATHENRUM
CLUB.

We entered upon the perusal of a paragraph in the
Manchester Guardian, under the above startling heading,
with no slight wonder what an " Assault of Arms" could-
have to do either with the AthenEeum Club, or with the
pacifically-disposed people of the city of Manchester.
Remembering some little of Mr. Cobden's recent diatribes
as the absence of all necessity for fortifications, arms or
armies to protect our shores, whilst we live under the
millenium of free trade, the idea of getting-up a tourna-
ment, we thought, denoted one of the most singular
changes of public feeling hitherto evinced in this Jim
Crow age. On getting through a few lines of the para-
graph, however, we find that it referred to an- exhibition,
by the pupils, of their skill in fencing and single stick,
to encourage proficiency in which offensive and defensive
sciences some public-spirited and patriotic citizens have
presented the institution with two silver meaals, to be
yearly contested for by the members. This, of course, is
all harmless enough, although rather out of keeping with
the opinions, as to the necessity of being taught either
small sword or broadside practice, generally understood
to be entertained by our neighbours ; and, moreover,
pregnant with some danger of loss of valuable business
time, as tempting the juveniles to convert occasionally
their yard sticks into foils, and take measure of each
otl- for suits is' 'os instead of measuring either

-ner _
ginghams or fustians. We were a little shocked, how-
ever, to notice that " the intervals between the conflicts
were filled up with rounds of boxing." The sports of
Moulsey Hurst, within the same walls, which have echoed
to the refined eloquence of D'lsraeli, Dickens, Lincoln,
and other literati ! This is a sad declension. Bat the
worst has to be told. Our reporter proceeds—" The

meeting, which
being also of ti
their entertain

very numerous, a great many ladies
npany (9 seemed highly pleased with
and, by applause and clapping of

hands, &c., encouraged the combatants in their 51
pointedly marking any clever cut or thrust
doubtless. also, every case of " first blood
down blow," " facer"- or " cross buttock

ggles,
and
or " knock
inflicted by

the amateur pugilists.
WI

merits

A. bull fight, or a

The ladies, too, taking delight in
lat will come next to surprise us?

the next annual fencing and single

stick match, " the intervals between each match being
filled up with a round of"—Bolton purring or genuine
Rochdale up and down_
Fie, ladies, fie r We- had rather see you stitching or

PREVENTIBLE SICKNESS AND MC
IN LANCASHIRE,

)RTALITY

We have received a highly important table, issued by
the Health of Towns Association, on the preventible
excess of sickness and mortality, and the consequent
expense, created in this county. It is founded on the
returns of the Registrar-General for the year 1841. It
gives the population of the several towns in. Lancashire,
the number of deaths and births in each town in the year,
and in proportion to the inhabitants ; also, the number
of deaths of infants under one year, which shows, from
their susceptibility to the influences of the atmosphere,
the high ratio in which the rate of mortality is placed in
many of our towns. The average length of life in Ulver-
stone is 41 years 8 months •, in Ormskirk, 27 years 3
months; in Warrington, 26 years 7 months; in West
Derby, 21 years ; and in Liverpool the average length of
existence is much shorter than in any other town in Lan-
cashire, being only 20 years and 5 months. The deaths
of infants under one year are in Ulverstone 1 in 11 ; in
Ormskirk, 1 in 10 ; in Warrington and West Derby, 1 in
6 ; in Liverpool, lin 4. Thus the proportionate loss of
years of life, preventible in each district, compared with
Ulverstone, is—in Ormskirk, 14 years 5 months ; in
Warrington, 15 years 1 month ; in West Derby, 20 years
8 months ; and in Liverpool, 21 years 3 months. Where
there is premature death, there is of necessity premature
and often lengthened sickness • indeed, for every case of
death in excess, it is calculated. that there is an increase
of at least 28 cases of sickness, and averaging these at £1
per case, the annual cost unnecessarily incurred over that
expended at Ulverstone, from want of sanatory measures,
for sickness alone, is—in Ormskirk, £1,932 ;in Warring-
ton, £5,628 ; in West Derby, £17,752 ; and in Liverpool,
£lOl,lOB. The loss arising from the deficiency of pro-
ductive labour is estimated to average 7s. 6d. per week
each, male and female, and the funerals £5 each,
which will give a total' loss on the year's deaths, in sick-
ness, funerals, and labour, in Liverpool, compared with
Ulverstone, of £834,815 ; in Manchester, so compared,
of £677,533; and in Lancashire, again so compared, of
£4,080,995.

The following will at once shew the urgent necessity
for the strenuous exertions of our Health Committee in
the promotion of sanatory regulations ; for, taking Ulver-
stone to be perfect—and there can be little doubt that
even its condition might be improved—the expense ari-
sing yearly from want of drainage, want of water and
ventilation, would do much to effect the object :—Total
number of adults prematurely dying—in Liverpool, 2106,
or 94 to every 10,000 of the population ; Ulverstone, 128,
or 48 to every 10,000. Number of all classes killed by
epidemic, endemic, and contagious diseases—Liverpool,
1677, or 75 to every 10,000 of the population ; Ulverstone,

,
35, or 13 to every 10,000. Deaths of all classes from dis-
eases of the respiratory organs—Liverpool, 2539, or 114
to every 10,000 of the population ; Ulverstone, 105, or 39
to every 10,000.

Liverpool. Ulverstone.
Proportion of deaths to t 1840 lin 27 lin 56h- {1839 lin 30 lin 60
population of 1841. ... 1841 lin 30 lin 56
Proportion of births to the f 1840 lin 30 lin 31
population of 1841. ... . 1 1841 lin 29 lin 31
Proportion of marriages to j- 1840 lin 69 lin 159
the population of 1841.. 1 1841 lin 67 lin 161
If it be said that a town is necessarily more unhealthy
than the country, may it not reasonably be asked in reply,
can we not remove or at least mitigate, the causes which
pertain to the locality, and which we ourselves have ori-
ginated ? It was well said the other day by the Times.
Man made the city, and man can do much to improve
his own work, and render it not less salubrious—may we
say still more so ?—than the village, the mansion, and
the farm." It was shown in the last return of the Re-
gistrar-General, that a London child of 15 is twice as
likely to die in the course of the next quarter of a year as
a country child of the same age ; and among men the
chance of dying is increased from two in the country to
three in London, and, if so, " the liability to suffer from
epidemics is raised still more." The ravages of the in-
fluenza are described as much worse in the districts where
filth abounded—elsewhere as " mild," " fatal to few ;"
and again, to quote from our contemporary, " these
ravages are mainly in effect the ravages of closeness, filth,
and stench ; the ravages of bad sewerage, bad ventilation,
bad food • of profligacy, and other human plagues. So it
appears 6om the comparison of London with the country,
and so it appears further from a comparison of the several
metropolitan districts one with another. Taking London
altogether, the mortality during the last six weeks of the
year was 80 per cent. above the average. Lewisham, in-
cluding Blackheath, Svdenham, and Elthare, is one of the
healthiest districts of London. Here the increase was
only 60 per cent. on the usual low average. St. George's-
in-the-East is one of the unhealthiest districts, and it
suffered four times as much from influenza as Lewisham.
This is an extreme case, but, on a comparison of all the
districts, it appears that the epidemic'—we are quoting
the words of the report—' killed twice as many people in
the insalubrious parts of London as it did in those less
unhealthy.' Hence, whatever the origin or character of
the pestilential element, its lethal force evidently depends
on the local conditions with which it is combined. Hea-
ven speeds the arrow ; man envenoms the barb."

WEST DERBY BOARD OF GUARDIANS.-At the weekly
meeting, on Wednesday, ICir. Sheppard took the chair.
Mr. H. S. Taylor, surgeon to the Fever Hospital, reported
that fever was on the increase. Mr. Smith moved that
the clerk of the board be requested to write to the Poor-
law Commissioners, respectfully entreating from them an
early decision on the case of the required division of Tox-
teth-park from the township of West Derby, as expressed
by the resolution, adopted in the presence of Mr. Austin,
poor-law inspector. The board divided, when there ap-
peared for the resolution 5, against it 4. The motion, as
proposed, was, of course carried, and the proceedings
terminated,