The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-07-22
Suicide and civilization
From the Pall-Mall Gazette. ]

insanity increases, and with insanity sui
eide. Such is the somewhat startling the
sis which Mr.. Muhall cXpoundS in the
June Contemporary ReUielC. 1t is, how
ever. not among those who most profit by
education and civilization, but among the
wOrkIng-clasSeS, that cases Of lunaCy most
| frequently occur During the last twenty
wears the number OF insane persons has
almost doubled, while the population
has only increased 20 per cent The rate
OF increase in insanity is thus five times aS
great rs the increase Of population. The
mistaken belief that women are more liable
to mental disease than men Mr.. Mulhall at
| tributes to the fact thu III most countries
| the number Of women above twenty years
OF age exceeds that Of men 10y 10 per cent,
and that insane women live much longer
| than insane men. Among female lunatics
cures are much more frequent. This is
seen by the following average OF ten years
statistics for England:
Mt}e. Female. General
Per can't Per cent Arerdge.
Ratio Of rcCOvorcs 81 43 80
Annual dcatli-raie. ...l2H lOh
II il strange fact that in some parts Of
England and Scotland insanity prevails
much more than in others, Nottingham
being twice rs mad rs Leeds, and London
twice as mad aS Sheffield. out Of 10000
inhabitants OF Leeds IL, Sheffield Is, Liy-
crpoOl -, Manchester -, Birmingham 80,
Nottingham 81. and London Sc are insane.
The lack Of sanitary improvements and in
| tcrmarriagc with cousins art among the
chief causes Of mental disease. In England,
where > per cent. OF all marriages are be-
| tween cousins, hereditary insanity is very
| frequent, while IN Roman Catholic countries.
where such marriages are only permitted by
! special leave from the Vatican. il is very
rare. Drunkenness j. another great cause :;
anoavcragc Of Is per cent. OF the eases Of
| idiocv i'm England arise from the drunken
ness OF parents. One third OF all the in
sanity in the United Kingdom is the effect
Of drink. Mental diseases caused by bust
ness anXictics show an increase OF - per
cent, which Mr.. Mulhall attributes partly
! 10 the Introduction OF kilograms, which
! have enormously enhanced the speed ana
! friction OF 1.-THE wheel Of life" From in
sanity springs suicide. and i'm the growth
81 insanity Mr. Mulhall finds the chief
causc OF the growth Of suicide. Suicide,
| indeed is now regarded not so much
as crime rs certain stage OF mental
| disease. This disease has during the last
| twenty-five years so much increased all
over Europe that, while the population has
risen ~ per cent, suicide has risen G3 per
cent. Th, is partly due to the increased
| liability OF men To military service. In
| France and Germany, where ii Is Imivcr-
sal, suicide is committed by more persons
than IN any other country OF Europe.
| Twelve per cent. Of the suicides in Eng
| land are said to be the result OF intcmper-
ance: III Germany they amount to - per
cent. Grief the worry OF town life, and
various other causes, among which
! DR.. Crichton Browne includes 1.-the
loss OF those religious feelings which con-
tribute to the strength and endurance Of
the mind" lead also frequently 10 Sclf-dc-
Strucion. and in all countries it i believed
| that about 81 per cent. commit suicide from
| insanity. 10 per cent. commit suicide from
| drink. % per cent. commit suicide from
"ricf, and - per cent. commit suicide from
various causes. In Paris the number OF
suicides is five times the rate of London,
where, among all the European capitals,
the smallest number Of sclf-murdCrS occur.
although the numbers in ENGLAND have
risen during the last ten years. II is
strange that the different seasons have
! influence on suicide. but stranger still
that at the darkest time Of the year
cases are rarcr than i'm the brighter season.
| The following account Is given OF the sui
cidcS at the different times OF the year
Spring, 29G; summer, 3l3; autumn. 1876 ;
winter. 1915. Three fourths OF all the sui
cidcS are males. which may either be be-
cause the female mind j. better balanced
and more able to bear with foritIde the
misfortuncs and evils OF life. or possibly
| because women have not 80 many ml>fOr-
tunes TO bear aS men. Whatever i the
cause, the figures are a. follows: In the
United States there are - male 10 % f.
male suicides; in England. II male to 26 fe-
male: i'm France, - male to - female; in
Italy, so male to 20 female; in Germany,
" male TO Is female. In countries where
women take an active part IN politics, Nc.,
they commit suicide more frequently than
in those happier nations where they are
condemned exclusively tO the dOmcstici-
ties. This, no doubt. will be claimed as an
important argument on their side 10y the
opponents OF "thc emancipation OF the
SEX" but it can hardly be regarded
rs a novel discovery that those who would
share the responsibilities must also share
thc casualties OF life, including among the
latter liability to insanity and consequent
suicide. Women may even in time become
more suicidal than men. Even now WO-
mon are more liable to brain-discaSc from
grief occasioncd 10y loss Of friends than
mon. but they cain on their exemption
from accidents. by which four men are de-
nrived OF their reason for every woman.
! Mr. MulhaIPS suggested remedies for sui
eide are really preventIyes OF insanity.
He tabIllatcs them somewhat oddly, Us fol-
lows:
I. TO abolish the duty on coffee, which
is fine greatest Zoe to intemperance.
.. TO open museums and galleries on
Sunday afternoons.
2. TO forbid marriages between cousins
under penalty Of paving double the Ordi-
nary poor rates.
siblo in erecting suitable w0rkmen's tene-
mentS.
8. To commend less high pressure in
schools.
I'm even when all these things have been
done II i far from probable that the in.
crea.ino pressure OF civilization will not
maIc Itself increasingly felt in the pro-
oressiye advance in the number OF suicides,
for the more civilized the world becomes,
the more educated its inhabitants, the more
readiness the latter display in leaving it.
At Newport, X. L.. Wednesday, n bro
tber waited for George r. Allen, an ap-
prentice bow on the training ship James.
town. on the opposite shore, with q suit o.
dry clothes. Allen, 1t seems, was tired oil