Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1886-02-20 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

THE SOCIOLOGY OF SUICIDE.  At a meeting of the London Statistical Society on Tuesday evening a paper was read on "Suicides in England and Wales in Relation to Age, Box, Season, and Occupation," by Dr. W. Ogle. The following is an abstract of the paper. The deaths registered in the 26 years 1858-83 in England and Wales as due to suicide were 4 land in the proportion of 72 annually per million persons living. The suicide-rate increases rapidly with age until after middle life, bat in the more advanced age-periods again diminishes. The maximum rate is in the 55-65 years period, when it reaches 251 per million persons living. At all age-periods, with one exception, the male rate is far higher than the female, and the difference between them increases with age. The one exceptional period is the 15-20 years period, when the female rate is slightly the higher. Taking all ages together, out of equal numbers living and in the same age distribution, the male suicides are to the female suicides as 267 to 100. The occupations in which the suicide-rates are lowest are those which imply rough manual labour, carried on mostly out of doors, and by men who are comparatively uneducated. The occupations with the highest suicide-rates are those which are sedentary and carried on by highly educated , men, as the learned professions, and also such 'se notoriously lead to intemperalice, as those of 'innkeepers, publicans. soldiers, bitcheas, 'butlers, commercial travellers. Between the ' two extremes come farmers, sbopkejpexs,. and town artisans. A recwr frmers, ttiair_auicides were nearly doubled in , the two years 1879-80, when agrioultural distress was most acute. The amount of i suicide varies with the seasons, forming a regular annual curve, of which the minimum is in December and the maximum in June. The I commonest method of suicide is hanging; then follow in order drowning, cut or stab, poison, gunshot. Women, however, select drowning before hanging, and poison before cut or stab. Women also differ from men in selection of poisons, men choosing painless and sure preparations, while women take any poison that is at hand indifferently. The choice of method' is also affected by age, the young showing a comparative preference for drown- , ing, poison, and gunshot: and by occupation, men using prillerentially the instruments of their crafts;_ and by season, drowning being avoided in the cold months. At the conclusion of the reading of the paper a discussion followed. —Dr. Longstaff argued that education had a distinct tendency to increase the suicide-rate.—Mr R. Clifton said it appeared to him a very remarkable fact that there was an increase of suicide in the summer months, and he should have liked more information on that head. He oongratulated Dr. Ogle on having contributed an exceptionally interesting and original paper on the subject of suicide.—Dr. R. Lawson, Inspector General of Hospitals, explained the extraordinary death rate from suicide by soldiers in the army by the circumstance that the army was a refuge for those to whom all other resources had failed.  As a safe, care for and with FAXED .  permanent,  , and wansattad