The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-01-20 00:00:00

49 years

125 Persons in trade, or similarly circumstanced,
and their families
752 Labourers, artisans, and others similarly cir-
cumstanced
The above figures indicate the chances of life amongst the
manufacturing population of districts which are not placed
under very unfavourable circumstances as regards health ;
yet the effects of crowding, filthiness, improvidence, intem-
perance, &c., are evident, and may be distinctly shewn by
comparing the average length of life in the more crowded
manufacturing towns with a less crowded country district,
where the dwelling of the poor man is better ventilated and
more comfortable, and where cleanliness and temperance are
not more the exception than the rule. Compare, for in-
stance, the town of Manchester with the county of Rutland :
Average age at death.
In Manclir. In Rutlands.

38 „

Professional persons, gentry, and their
families
Tradesmen and their families
Mechanics, labourers, and their fami-
lies 17 .. 38
But now let us turn to our own so-called " good old town";
and here it is truly startling to have to record the painful
fact, that Liverpool is the unhealthiest town in England, as
it will be seen by the following table :
LivußrooL, 1840.

Average age
at death.

137 Gentry, professional men, and families
1,738 Tradesmen and families
5,598 Labourers, mechanics, Src.
Here, by comparison, it will be seen, that the life of .
wealthy cotton spinner of Manchester, lasts, on an average,
only thirty-eight years ; that of the Liverpool " merchant
prince" averages only thirty-five, whilst that of the Rutland
country gentleman is prolonged for more than half a century.
The Liverpool or Manchester trademan's life is about half as
long as that of the Rutland farmer, and the child of the poor-
est agricultural labourer, and under the most unfavourable
circumstances, may calculate on more than tw2 such lives as
that to be expected by the children of the poor artisan of Li-
verpool.
Having now proved from documentary evidence these start-
ling statements, it will naturally be asked, how is it that all
this is allowed, and has been allowed, for so long ? How is it
that the same public, which would " clamour against the de-
struction of a few uncivilized savages some three or four
thousand miles off," will remain a quiet and apathetic spec-
tator, whilst England is committing national suicide, by al-
allowing 80,000 of her children to die annually of diseases,
a large proportion of which is proved to be preventible ;
and it is not only by lessening the duration of lite that these
noxious causes operate, but also by destroying the energies of
the labouring classes from frequent though not necessarily
fatal sicknesses. In Liverpool, as we are informed by Dr.
Duncan, one in twenty-five of the population is annually
attacked with fever alone. Now, this being the case, and
supposing the average duration of the illness to be only one
month, what a loss of productive labour is always " on the
shelf;" for whilst the poor man lies on his sick-bed, his
family must live; and when he recovers he finds, perhaps,
that his house has been stripped of its furniture to support
himself and children, aided perhaps by a scanty mite from
:he parish.
In futu7
,auses of
is referri

re articles I shall eudeavour to point out to you the
such a melancholy sacrifice of life, more especially
ble to Liverpool. Happily for the health of the
ng generation, our town council has wisely procured the
enactment of a measure well calculated to reduce the mor-
tality amongst us, but particularly amongst the denizens of
the cellars, courts, and alleys, which disgrace the town ; and
as the committee, I believe, will sit weekly, it will be the
bounden duty of any inhabitant who may be able to point out
to that committee anything which may require the inter-
ference of the authorities. But it is of little avail that others
help us, unless we ourselves put our shoulders to the wheel;
therefore, it shall be my duty in future articles to point out
to you, my operative friends, how you may advantageously
help yourselves ; for although yo cannot, as it has been
aptly said, add a cubit to your height, or a day to your life,
vet you may take it off, which comes to the same thing.
You may, by neglect of proper means, see your family drop-
ping off one by one, and yourselves prematurely aged and
diseased. For the present I take leave of you, with a full
intention of having more to say to you on this subject next
week.—Your's,

MEDICUS ACHATES
Liverpool, January 17th, 1843.

We are happy to inform our readers, says the Worcester
Herald, that there is now no doubt of the funds necessary to
effect the long wanted improvements in the Severn being
forthcoming. This will be the result of a determination on
the part of the Staffordshire and NV oycestershire Canal Com-
pany, decided upon at a special meeting held on Monday last,
Lord Ilatherton in the chair, for the purpose of taking steps
for providing the whole of the funds necessary to carry out
the entire of the works : 382 out of the 700 shares into which
the canal property is divided were represented at the meet-
ing, and it was unanimously resolved to apply to parliament
io the ensuing session for power to raise any sum of money
not exceeding £lBO,OOO, which shall be required to improve
the navigation of the Severn, and for power to advance the
same to the commissioners for• effecting the improvement.
" MAN-OVERBOARD " BOAT.—The experiments made
yesterday with what is called tile " Man-overboard Boat
succeeded beyond expectation. She was first hoisted endwise
to the yardarm of the ship Panama, 35 feet from the water,
then suddenly cut loose ; she plunged but two feet, keeping
right side up, and the water running out of the scuttles in
the bottom. She was next hoisted 45 feet, and again cut
loose to a similar effect. She was then hoisted to the great
height of 52 feet, where she hung ready for a dive that would
have completely destroyed a boat of any other construction;
the signal " roan overboard " given, she plunged from her
aerial elevation, dipped the end of her bow two feet six inches
in the water and bounding to the surface in an instant. She
was next thrown over the bulwarks of the ship (21 feet from
the water) as if some one had really fallen overboard. A man
then stood on her side long enough to swamp any three ordi-
nary boats, and endeavoured to press it under water, but in
vain. During these experiments her bottom was open, having
had two holes cut in it, each ten inches square. She is built
on the plan of Francis' life-boat, and it is impossible for any
boat not possessing their improvements and perfections to
arfot•m such feats. In the event of a man falling overboard
v ►nay be thrown over the side of the ship, and the man
Med safely on the water in a few seconds.—New York

Courier

IiOZ AND THE BANKER OF STRATFORD-ON- A.VCM The following anecdote has reached us from a quarter which
leaves no doubt of its authenticity :---Not many days ago be
celebrated " Boz" paid a visit to Stratford-on-Avon, - and,
having letters of introduction to the mayor, established him-
self at the head hotel of the place, and sent his letters to that
respected individual, who is a banker. His worship's know-
ledge of literature, or literary men, not being so extensive
as would be generally supposed in these enlightened days,
was quite ignorant of the existence of such a person as
" Charles Dickens," and sent for his cashier, who told him
it was " Boz." " And who is " Boz," said his worship.
" Go and tell him if he wants to deposit he can send it by
you, and if he wants to draw he must come himself." The
cashier obeyed his master's bidding, no doubt much to the
surprise and amusement of "Boz."—Court Journal.—[The
anecdote thus given by our courtly contemporary is certainly
calculated to amuse the numerous admirers of "Boz," and
to excite a smile, if not surprise, in the literary circle ; for
it cannot be denied that it is founded on truth. Mr. Dickens
"established himself" on the occasion at the Golden Lim]
Hotel. But it is due to the worthy mayor to add, not only
that (as a man of business) he evinced his knowledge of
books by observing that no such name as that of "Boz"
appeared in the Bank books, but that he devoted the next
day, after the unexpected introduction, to the service of the
literary lion, by conducting him over the town, and showing
him all that is so attractive to the traveller in the birth-
place of the immortal bard. The assiduous attention of his
worship to Mr. Dickens must have been as gratifying to the
latter as it was creditable to the genuine good-nature of the j
chief magistrate.— Warwick Advertiser.)