, 1876-02-13
THE GREAT CITY OF LONDON.

No better idea can be got of the immensity
of London than from the weekly health re-
port of the United Kingdom, embracing Lon
don and twenty other large cities in Great
Britain. This report includes the record Of
births and deaths, with information Of pre-
vailing diseases, comparative rates Of mortal
ity, etc. In London during the week for
which the report is at hand, there were 2, 448
births and 1895 deaths, which, allowing for
the increase Of the population, was $50 births
less and o23 deaths less than the average for
the corresponding week during the ten pre-
ceding years. At this rate there is one birth
for every four minutes during the year and
one death for every ight minutes in the City
Of London. The annual death-rate during
three weeks was respectively 24.3, ~, and
%. 8 per 1000 in London, which is much less
than the average of many large cities through
out the world, the last report of which made
the following showing:
Tne annual rate Of mortality, according to the most
recent weekly returns, in Calcuta was 81; Bombay,
%; Paris, 10; Brussels, 20 Amsterdam 27: Roter-
dam. 81; The Hague &C: Copenhagen IS; chrtstiania
Il: Berlin, %; HlmbuEg, II; Bresau, 81; Munich,
81; Vienna. g; Buda-Pesth, 80; Turin, o6; Brook
Ign, o6: and philadephis, a.
For London, with four and q quarter
millions of people to care for, including the
inner and outer circle of its population, this
showing is certainly most creditable. The
health report also takes account Of the condi-
ton Of the water-supply, the sewerage, and
other adjuncts of city life affecting the
general health. It seems that the system
of private filtration of water has been
widely adopted with good results, d new
process having been tried which converts the
organic matter into ammonia, which is harm
less. The metropolitan character of London
life is illustrated by the large number of
deaths from violence, Of which there
were 68 during the week referred to; Sc
deaths were the result of negligence or
Incident, 1 Of infanticide, and OF suicide.
The street-accidents numbered 8 deaths and
90 cases Of injury, many Of which could prob
ably be traced to the dangerous smoothness
Of the large amount Of asphalt pavement
used. There we're 265 deaths from what are
called "the seven principal diseases of the
zymotic class, go from whooping-cough, 83
from scarlet fever, SIS from measles, 80 from
different forms of fever, s from diphtheria,
90 from diarrhaa, and not one from small
por, which is remarkable IS compared with
the rayages of this disease elsewhere.
The world is trying great experiment on
the banks of the Thames. It is building up
there city which is vast almost beyond
human comprehension. The population Of
London (the city proper) will be almost ex-
actly $500, 900 in the middle of 1876. But
even these well.nigh incredible figures
do not tell the whole story. The city
is surrounded by a ring Of packed SUBJ
urbs which, with their population of $780,
600, are really part Of it. They are officially
known as "Outer London" The whole
metropolis, therefore, can lay claim, accord
ing to the London Times, to more than
II million Inhabitants In 1890, fourteen
years after the thirteen colonies had declared
their independence, the United States had
less than 10000 inhabitants, including
slaves, and London at that time only GOO, 900.
At present, the births in both Outer and
Inner London largely outnumber the deaths,
and immigration exceeds emigration. A
great city always acts ike sponge. It
sucks population from the surrounding
country. This process is going Oh all over
England, and yet the nineteen largest towns
in the provinces, from Liverpool, with its