The New York herald., 1851-07-16

city, during the week ending on last Saturday.
OF these, the appalling number of three hundred
and twenty-one were innocent children, of both
sexes, under five years Of age.
From TO otwo..................... 81
From Two 10 oil
Total........................................a a2l
Three hundred and twenty one deaths Of children
under five years of age, in one week, in city re-
puted to be of the healthiest in the world !
There must be some cause for this frightful NOR.
tality-for this appalling I" Slaughter of the limo
cents" Nature never designed such a wholesale
destruction of the race, as this table exhibits The
laws which she ordained for our existence must
have been grossly and fagrantly violated, or such
great sacrifice Of life could not have taken place
within such a short time. But this is only the com
mencement OF the mortality among children, which
characteTizes the city Of New York during tho
mer months. every year. This wholesale dsstruc'
tion Of children, and agonizing of parents, will in
crease from week to week, as it has in former years
with the heat of the weather, and when the sultry
days and sleepless nights Of August shall have
rived, the number Of infantile deaths will in all
probability, be swelle to four hundred and fifty per
week, and perhaps more.
Now, in what manner have the laws Of nature
been violated-for it is only by assuming that they
have been violated that we can account for this
dreadful loss of life. According to the investigation
which has been given to the subect-according to
the concurrent testimony of chemists and medical
men-sccording TO observation and reason-ac ,ord-
ing TO experiments made at different times and ac-
eording to the dictates Of philosophy nne-enths of
the deaths which occur at this season Of the year.
among our infantile population, are produced by
that abominable noisome, nauseatng, and health
destroying mixture, known distillery milk. Ii
has been demonstrated by the Academy Of Medi-
cine that this vile stuff acts as active poison on
the delicate systems Of children; the press has full
mir ated its thundors against those who distribute
it; the authorities have been called upon to suppress
the Laboratories of ranknsss and disease, where it
is manufactured, in the upper parts Of the city; but
these nuisances still exist from year to year, owing
TO the culpable and criminal negligence Of the
authorities. The result is before u in the returns
Of the City Inspector. In the name Of God-in the
name of humanity-in the name of civilization
how much longer are we to be cursed in this
wayl How much longer are the heartstrings
Of parents to be'rent, and our little ones sent
to untimely -poisoned-murdered, with
the conniyarce, and under the implied sanction
Of the city authoritesl We hold up our hands
in horror at the Hindoo practice Of sacrificing
children to appease the imaginary wrath, and pro.
pitiate the favor Of aginary gods-we expend
ysst sums Of money in maintaining missionaries
amorg them-we beg aud beseech Of them 70 cease
such murder bu. there arc more children sacrificed
in New York, during the summer months than in the
whole Of India IN year. The IIindoo woman sacri-
fees her offspring a religious rule-we sacrifice
fhf IN Ia uaf ton v.~d. .f H. lay
nature not through ignorance, a. in tAe case Of
the llindoo woman, but with our eyes open. aud
with perfect knowlcdse of the fact We say. in
all seriouaness, that those Of the city authorities
who tolerate the existence Of the milk distillerie
arc, morally and in the sight Of heaven, as much
murderers Of the children who die in such numbers
every summer from disease produced by the use Of
dstilleIy milk, as if they had killed the n with
their own hands. We say this publicly and openly,
ard could substantate this solemn charge by tee
timony that would convict them Of IL by any jury
that might be selected.
What then, is TO be done to abate this dreadful
mortality The city authorities will not act. Tae
manufacturers Of poisoned milk are working day
and night, under the very eyes Of those whose duty
il is TO prevent IT, Will our law and order citizens be
compelcdto break through all restraints ani 70 in
body, and, with their owr hands destroy these labo.
ratories Of disease and death Nothing Of this kind
shoudb be done unless a lsstresource In the mean
time sc suggest the propriety Of demanding Of the
city authorities to toleratng the murder Of our
children by eosn g the milk dstillsrics. Every man.
specially every man Of family should ~ once &C. 10
this matter. Many hundfed children who are at
this moment in the apparent enjoyment Or health.
who are delghting the hearts Of their loving pa.
rents with their innocent prst,le and smuscmsnts;
whose moral training, education, and advancement
in life occupy the thoughts Of their parents, By
night as well as BY day, are doomed, ere The sum.
msr mosths are over, TO disease, torture and pre-
mature death from distillery milk. Whatever is
done ought to be done at once. weeks delay
may cost the lives Of hundreds of our childten.