Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1884-11-17
Cabs aud Skrtehes.
snieide and Civilization.

eide. Such is the somewhat startling
thesis which Mr.. Mulkall expounds IN the
June Contemporary Review. 1t Is, how
ever. not among those who most proht BY
education and civilization but among the
working classes. that cases of lunacy most
frequently occur. During the last 20 years
the number of insane persons has almost
doubled. while the population has only
increased 20 per cent. The rate OF IN
crease in insanity is thus five times as
great as the increase of population Inc
mistaken belief that women are more
liable to mental disease than men Mir.
Mulhall attributes to the fact that IN most
countries the number of women above ~
years OF age exceeds that OF men by III
per cent, and that insane women live
much longer than insane men. Among
female lunatics cures are much more ire
quent This is seen by the following
average of 10 years statistics for England:
Male Female General
per cent per cent. Average
Ratio Ct Recoveries So 40 81
Annual death rate Ez wi
1t is strange fact that in some parts
of England and Scotland insanity pre-
walls much more than in others. Noting
ham being twice as mad as Leeds and
/ London twice as mad as Sheffield. Out
OF 10000 inhabitants of Leeds l6. Shelf
/ field lS, Liverpool %, Manchester n. Biz
mingham 30, Nottingham 34 and London
( sc are insane. The lack of sanitary i'm
provements and intermarriage with cousins
are among the chief causes of mental dis
ease. In England. where per cent OF all
marriages are between cousins. heredita-
nv insanity is very frequent, while in Ro-
man Catholic countries, where such mar
riages are only permitted by special leave
from the Vatican. it is very rare. Drunk
enness is another great cause an average
of As per cent OF the cases OF idiocy IN
England arise from the drunkenness of
parents. One-third of all the insanity in
the United Kingdom is the effect OF drink.
Mental diseases caused by business anXi-
cites show an increase of II per cent,
which MIR. Mulhall attributes partly to the
introduction of kilograms which have
enormously enhanced the speed and trc
ton of 1.-THE wheel of life" From insan-
ity springs suicide, and in the growth of
insanity Mr.. Mulhall finds the chief cause
of the growth of suicide. indeed, is now
regarded not so much as a crime as a GER
tain stage OF mental disease This disease
has uuIlDS lIc IdSl ICdIo 81 lH-
creased all over Europe, that, while the
population has risen 10 per cent, suicide
has risen 90 per cent This is partly due
to the increased liability of men to mill
tary service. In France and Germany,
where it is universal, suicide is committed
by more persons than in any other country
OF Europe. Twelve per cent of the suicides
in England are said TO be the result of in
temperance; in 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 contribute
to the strength and endurance of the
mind" lead also frequently to selt-de-
struction, and in all countries it is believed
that about "a per cent. commit suicide
from insanity, Is per cent commit suicide
from drink, % per cent. commit suicide
from grief, and 20 per cent. commit sui
eide 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 selt-mur-
ders occur, although the numbers in Eng
land have risen during the last 10 years
1t is strange that the different seasons have
influence on suicide. but stranger still that
at the darkest time of the wear cases are
rarer than in the brighter season. The
following account is given of the suicides
at the different times of the year: Spring,
296; summer 3l3; autumn. 1876; winter,
1875. Three-fourths of all the suicides are
males, which may either be because the
female mind is better balanced and more
able to bear with fortitude the mistortunes
] and owls Of lifn or, NnSsihlv
men have not so many misfortunes to bear
as men. Whatever is the cause the figures
are as follows in the United States there
are y males to % female suicides in
! England, a male to 26 female; in France.
| IS male to % female; in Italy, so male to
20 female in Germany, 81 male to Is fe-
male. In countries where wOmentake an ac-
| tive part in politics. &c. they commit suicide
more frequently than in those nations
where they are condemned exclusively to
! the domesticities. This, no doubt. will be
claimed as an important argument on
| their side, by opponents of 1.-THE emanci-
/ patton of this SEX but it can hardly be
regarded as novel discovery that those
who would share the responsibilities must
share the 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, women are more
liable to brain disease from grief
occasoned By loss of friends than men.
but they gain on their exemption from
accidents, by which four men are deprived
OF their reason, for every woman. Mr.
Mulhill's suggested remedies for suicide,
are really preventives of insanity. He
tabulates them somewhat oddly as fol-
lows:
/. To abolish the duty on coffee, which
is the greatest foe to intemperance,
=. To open museums and galleries on
Sunday afternoons.
/ 8. To forbid marriages between cous-
ins, under penalty of paying double the
ordinary poor rates,
4. To initiate Mr.. Peabody as far as
possible in erecting suitable workmen S
tenements.
3. To recommend less high pressure
in schools
But even when all these things have
been done. it is far from probable that
the increasing pressure liberalization will
not make itself increasingly felt in the
progressive advance in the number of
suicides, for the more civilized the world
becomes, and the more educated its in
/ habtants, the more readiness the latter
diSplaV in lpavinu DnU mn