1214

VITAL STATISTICS.

HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.IN the 97 English and Welsh towns with populationsexceeding 50,000 persons at the last Census, 8083 births and4517 deaths were registered during the week ended Saturday,Nov. 14th. The annual rate of mortality in these towns,which had been 13-8, 13-5, and 13-4 per 1000 in the three

preceding weeks, further fell in the week under notice to 13’0per 1000 of their aggregate population, estimated at 18,120,059persons at the middle of this year. During the first sixweeks of the current quarter the mean annual death-rate inthese towns averaged 13’5, against 14-0 per 1000 in themetropolis. Among the several towns the death-rate lastweek ranged from 2-7 in Great Yarmouth, 3-0 in Carlisle,5-2 in Wimbledon, 6’6 in Gillingham and in Eastbourne, and6-7 in Devonport, to 17-6 in Blackpool, 17-8 in Merthyr Tydfil,18-6 in Huddersfield, 22-3 in Newcastle-on-Tyne, and 22-5 inLiverpool.The 4517 deaths from all causes were 147 fewer than the

number in the previous week, and included 454 whichwere referred to the principal epidemic diseases, against.472 and 497 in the two preceding weeks. Of these 454deaths, 167 resulted from measles, 131 from infantile diar-rhoeal diseases, 58 from diphtheria, 42 from scarlet fever,59 from whooping-cough, and 17 from enteric fever,but not one from small-pox. The mean annual death-ratefrom these diseases was equal to 1’3, or 0’1 per 1000 lessthan that recorded in each of the two precedingweeks. The deaths attributed to measles, which had in-- creased from 67 to 146 in the four preceding weeks,further rose to 167 last week, which was the highestnumber of deaths from this cause recorded in any week ofthis year; the highest death-rates from this disease were1’4 in Plymouth and in Oldham, 1-5 in Edmonton, 1’9 inHuddersfield, 2-0 in Grimsby and in Wakefield, 2’2 in Gates-head, 3’4 in Wigan, and 4’6 in Newcastle-on-Tyne. Thedeaths of infants (under 2 years), which had steadily declinedfrom 1223 to 169 in the eight preceding weeks, further fellto 131 last week, and included 36 in London, 13 in Liver-

pool, 11 in Manchester, 5 in Birmingham, and 4 each inalford, Sunderland, and Rhondda. The fatal cases of diph-theria,; which had been 79, 61, and 93 in the three precedingweeks, declined to 58 last week, of which 12 occurred in London4 each in Liverpool, Manchester, and Middlesbrough, and3 each in Stoke-on-Trent and Cardiff. The deaths attributedto scarlet fever, which had been 37, 38, and 34 in the threepreceding weeks, rose to 43 last week, and included 8 inLondon, 6 in Manchester, 5 in Liverpool, and 2 each inBristol, Oldham, Preston, Middlesbrough, and Cardiff.’The deaths referred to whooping-cough, which hadbeen 35, 32, and 38 in the three preceding weeks, were 39last week, of which 11 were registered in London, 3 eachin Nottingham and Liverpool, and 2 each in Manchester,Salford, South Shields, and Newcastle-on-Tyne. The fatalcases of enteric fever, which had been 19,14, and 17 in the threepreceding weeks, were again 17 last week, and included 3 inLondon and 2 each in Bradford and South Shields.The number of scarlet fever patients under treatment in

the Metropolitan Asylums Hospitals and the London FeverHospital, which had steadily increased from 3071 to 4769 inthe 12 preceding weeks, had further risen to 4976 onSaturday last; 751 new cases were admitted during the week,.against 657, 598, and 690 in the three preceding weeks.These hospitals also contained on Saturday last 1 cases ofdiphtheria, 72 of enteric fever, 62 of measles, and 57 ofwhooping-cough, but not one of small-pox. The 1153 deathsfrom all causes in London were 49 fewer than in the previousweek, and corresponded to an annual death-rate of 13’3 per1000. The deaths referred to diseases of the respiratorysystem, which had been 191, 197, and 193 in the three pre-ceding weeks, further declined to 181 in the week undernotice, and were 23 below the number recorded in thecorresponding week of last year.Of the 4517 deaths from all causes in the 97 towns, 194

resulted from different forms of violence and 370 were thesubject of coroners’ inquests, while 1329 occurred in publicinstitutions. The causes of 36, or 0’8 per cent., of the totaldeaths were not certified either by a registered medical prac-titioner or by a coroner after inquest. All the causes ofdeath were duly certified in Manchester, Leeds, Bristol,West Ham, Bradford, Nottingham, and in 75 othersmaller towns. Of the 36 uncertified causes of death, 7 eachwere registered in Birmingham and Liverpool, 4 in Stoke-on-Trent, 3 in London, and 2 each in Bury, Sheffield, andSunderland.

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HEALTH OF SCOTCH TOWNS.In the 16 largest Scotch towns with an aggregate popula-

tion estimated at 2,293,200 persons at the middle of this year,1071 births and 668 deaths were registered during the week-ended Saturday, Nov. 14th. The annual rate of mortality inthese towns, which had been 15-0, 146, and 15-8 per 1000 inthe three preceding weeks, declined to 15-2 per 1000 in,the t

week under notice. During the first six weeks of thecurrent quarter the mean annual death-rate in these townsaveraged 15-2, against 13’5 per 1000 in the 97 large Englishtowns. Among the several towns the death-rate last weekranged from 5-0 in Motherwell, 6-3 in Ayr, and 8-8 inKilmarnock, to 18’6 in Dundee, 18-7 in Greenock, and 18-9 inHamilton.The 668 deaths from all causes were 28 fewer than the

number in the previous week, and included 50 which werereferred to the principal epidemic diseases, against 78 and79 in the two preceding weeks. Of these 50 deaths, 20resulted from infantile diarrhoea! diseases, 8 from scarletfever, 7 from diphtheria, 7 from whooping-cough, 5 fromenteric fever, and 3 from measles, but not one fromsmall-pox. The mean annual death-rate from thesediseases was equal to 1’1, against 1’3 per 1000 in the97 large English towns. The deaths of infants (under2 years) from diarrhoea and enteritis, which had been31, 26, and 24 in the three preceding weeks, further declinedto 20 last week, of which 7 were recorded in Glasgow,4 in Edinburgh, and 2 each in Dundee, Paisley, andCoatbridge. The deaths referred to scarlet fever, whichhad been 16, 14, and 17 in the three preceding weeks, fell to8 last week, and comprised 5 in Glasgow, 2 in Aberdeen, and 1in Edinburgh. The fatal cases of whooping-cough, which hadbeen 9, 14, and 12 in the three preceding weeks, fell to7 last week, of which 6 occurred in Glasgow and 1 inHamilton. The deaths attributed to diphtheria, which hadbeen 19, 16, and 18 in the three preceding weeks, fell to7 last week, and included 3 in Glasgow and 2 in Dundee.The 5 deaths referred to enteric fever were equal to theaverage in the earlier weeks of the quarter, but showed noexcess in any of the towns. The 3 fatal cases of measles,of which 2 were recorded in Glasgow and 1 in Dundee, werealso equal to the average in the earlier weeks of the quarter.In addition to the deaths from the above epidemic diseases,a fatal case of typhus was registered in Dundee.The deaths referred to diseases of the respiratory system,

which had steadily increased from 62 to 104 in the eightpreceding weeks, further rose to 111 in the week undernotice; 32 deaths resulted from different forms of violence,against 17 and 30 in the two preceding weeks.

HEALTH OF IRISH TOWNS.In the 27 town districts of Ireland with an aggregate

population estimated at 1,205,280 persons at the middle ofthis year, 514 births and 408 deaths were registered duringthe week ended Saturday, Nov. 14th. The annual rate ofmortality in these towns, which had been 15’8, 15’2, and18’2 per 1000 in the three preceding weeks, fell to17’7 per 1000 in the week under notice. During the firstsix weeks of the current quarter the mean annual death-ratein these towns averaged 16’4, against corresponding rates of13’5 and 15’2 per 1000 in the English and Scotch townsrespectively. The annual death-rate last week was equalto 18’1 in Dublin (against 13’3 in London and 15’3 inGlasgow), 16-6 in Belfast, 15-6 in Cork, 20-3 in London-derry, 16-2 in Limerick, and 26-6 in Waterford, whilein the 21 smaller towns the mean death-rate was 18’1per 1000.The 408 deaths from all causes were 12 fewer than the

number in the previous week, and included 40 whichwere referred to the principal epidemic diseases, against 51and 48 in the two preceding weeks. Of these 40 deaths, 14resulted from scarlet fever, 10 from infantile diarrhcealdiseases, 9 from measles, 3 from diphtheria, 2 from entericfever, and 2 from whooping-cough, but not one from small-pox. The mean annual death-rate from these diseaseswas equal to 1-7, against corresponding rates of 1-3 and 1’1per 1000 in the English and Scotch towns respectively. Thedeaths attributed to scarlet fever, which had been 5,12, and 6 in the three preceding weeks, rose to 14 lastweek, and comprised 8 in Belfast, 5 in Waterford,and 1 in Dublin. The deaths of infants (under 2 years)from diarrhoea and enteritis, which had been 21, 19,and 21 in the three preceding weeks, declined to 10 last week,of which 4 occurred in Dublin and 4 in Belfast. The fatalcases of measles, which had been 7, 7, and 11 in the threepreceding weeks, fell to 9 last week, and included 7 inBelfast. The 3 deaths attributed to diphtheria, comprising2 in Kilkenny and 1 in Cork, were equal to the average in thetwo preceding weeks. The 2 deaths from whooping-coughwere recorded in Belfast, and those from enteric fever inDublin and Ballymena. In addition to the above, a fatalcase of typhus was registered in Dublin.The deaths referred to diseases of the respiratory system,

which had been 60, 61, and 86 in the three precedingweeks, fell to 67 in the week under notice. Of the 408leaths from all causes, 144, or 35 per cent., occurred inpublic institutions, and 4 resulted from various forms ofviolence. The causes of 17, or 4-2 per cent., of the totalleaths were not certified either by a registered medicalpractitioner or by a coroner after inquest; in the 97 largeEnglish towns the proportion of uncertified causes did notixceed 0’8 per cent.