The New York herald., 1863-10-21
Morality 1n EngIand.
INFANrICIDE IN THE ISLAND.
rFrOm the London Prees. Oct. 81

That tho crime Of infantio,de is frghtfuy tho in.
nS ws to Dy
Of mortality exhibit percentage upon the number OF
births Of infant deaths under the age OF two
speaks volumes, seeing il is not agreeable to the
ascertaned laws OF nature that large proportion
ton capable Of and destined for c should perish before
they attain childhood II Is calculated that OF the
ID M under % Two ysss yea o. ae SIX out o.
The suspicion which this proportion OF infant
mortality is calculated to excite painfully confirmed by
FORM In one year alone-the year 186linquests were
held in the metropolis upon upwards Of eleven hundred
children under years Of age This return course
as to call for the interference OF the for nquess
are not held on children who. have died, or are
diarrhna, and other nfante ailments II Is only
whom the presents peculiarly and when there
the notice Of the authorities, that coroner 8
inquest upon an infant under two years old Is
Ss ,ns soys gurs oGs may
the number Of which inquest ought to be held
Now out Of the 1000 n question there only
LAT in which the death Is ascertaned to have resulted
from accident" Assuming that Of those accidents
stwful," such might with common care haye
been avoided we have to find out how the rest by
their death In upwards Of 600 cases the verdict died
through neglect" which Is but another expression for
"el to and n how many Of these cases tho neg
the infant should live, or OF positive wish that might
not live, who shall teip Then another class
sufocation"-overlaid In bed. Who, again, shalt say
In how many Of these instances tho suocation the
result OF most culpabe absence Of care, and
in how many the elect Of cause ssiI more cupabIc,
which the jury had means OF trscipgi Next comes
Of whose death and OF whose belongings
be given The whole OF these may fairly be down to
the account Of undiscovered improved nfantcide And
oneha that number have been to have died
through violence; in five only OF the seventy
under circumstances with justified the jury In reducing
the offence to manslauehter the remainder being
in which the crime OF 9wilfu murder has been cstab
shed by conclusive legal proof Tho estimate OF o me-
ropotan coroner who has paid considerable attention
to this subject and who calculates that there about
one thousand infancides committed every year in the
metropolis alone would according 70 these data. appear
reached the fu extent OF this hideous social inquy
There Ia immense number Of infant corpseswe a.
" how hs wss
seems enormous.at any rate very large number, dis
The coroner do not figure the registrars reports
Who rs there TO answer that they are ALI ho~n "a.
- nss eRsc "a we nsse ana nT ,ba
Of very alarming nature to the contrary AT recent
inquest in OF the metropolitan districts in conse
police, inquiry was made about one Of these still
borns already in the undertakers hands, its way
10 the effect that was q still born from midwife
who had assisted at the birth But there evidence
aso that the child had been born alive, that had sd
over twenty four hours and had during its short
,stence had more sustenance than little tea On
opening the shell which enclosed It. m bead was found
rushed but this accounted for by the shell being
too short. The midwife confessed that she had given
false certificate. but could see no harm" in what shc
S inc 20 n
OF infant copses discovered In various stages OF de-
the roof OF Whitechapel church, IL
clearly established that the undertakers arc 10 tho con
practice OF taking charge OF st borns that the
process is to send TO them for an empty SHELL and to
bring back with little corpse in 1t, with without
certificate that they consider certificate unnecessary,
and that any certificate 10 which female signature Is az
fixed s tnken by them TO be the signature OF midwife,
tlu fpou VhQta
With this evidence before us, astonshmcnt at the
number OF "stili. .borns" Is certainly diminished.