The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1871-01-09

The New York Tribune has an interest
ing chapter on suicides, called forth by the
report Of the coroner. After a lengthy
philosophical disquisition on suicide in
the abstract, it comes down to the follow
ing facts:
The report of the coroner gives some
| hint of the utter wretchedness which
exists unknown at our very elbows, when
| it informs us that in this, the most practi-
cal and prosperous of all the worlds great
cities, during the year just finished, 112
persons found the miseries of life more
dreadful than death, and laid violent hands
on their own existence. OF these, only 23
were natives of the United States--the ele-
ment of hope is stronger In the Yankee
than in any other creature Beer, meta
physics, and hone-sickness give to the
Teutonic immigrant predisposition to
self-slaughter, increased by indiscreet read
ing of Werther and the Robbers.
The German suicides reach the dispro-
portionate number of SO. The Irish are
relatively much less numerous. Many of
them would seem to have little to live for,
and yet only Is have thought best to die.
OF the French, who at home have such
passion for charcoal and the Seine, only
three chose to run the ordeal Of an alien
Morgue. As might naturally be expected,
the very young people have not been eager
to leave aworld where there was kissing |
and dancing. Under twenty yearsSf age |
there was but one solitary unfortunate; |
under thirty there were 26; under forty |
Al. a. r. - bor
fight; under fifty, II there were 16 under
sixty and 10 under seventy, and one who
had finished the allotted limit of men
grew impatient and courted his dallyiog
death. The suicides were pretty evenly
distributed through the year. January
was the month most affected by the self
and in March there were
fewest. This is natural enough, as mid
winter is destitute of cheer to the wretched,
aud hope wakes in every heart where it
slept at the first vivifyng touch Of spring.
Either because they suffer less, or endure
suffering better than men, comparatively
few women commit suicide. Last year the
proportion was % to 49, There is a Curl
Gus and Characteristic difference in the
in which the two sexes make way
with their lives. The largest number of
men shoot or hang themselves but only
Eve women used the ungraceful rope, and
not one had the courage to load and fire a
pistol. Most of them took poison, which
allows one to die in picturesque and
heart-broken attitude. -Four who had
possibly read Hood and seen Hamlet,
sought watery grave, which they would
not have done if they had ever seen a
drowned person. A blonde Bavarian girl
came before the coroner few days ago
and said "My lover and agreed to die
now while we were young and loving. He
brought two pistols and shot himself, and
was afraid" If this Romeo of the
Bowery had brought phial of Prussio
lcid, his Juliet would have gone unflinch-
pgly with him into the silent land.
1t has occurred to us after due delbera-
ion to inquire of our New York contem-
oorary, if he ever knew case Of suicide
lmong the African race. We have been
or a long time in the south, and connected
With the press, but cannotsrecall to mind
Single instance of eolored person even
eeking his own destruction. If suicide
ver does happen among that race, 1t is OF
,ery rare occurrence Why this is so, we
will not pretend to discuss, nor will we
olow the negro to bis native Africa to as
certain if the same regard for his own ex-
stance distinguishes him there that is
liscernible in this respect among his more
iyilized brethen here.