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hitherto done. It is to me most consolatory, that I find no death
registered in our district as occasioned by either of the following
causes.—By exposure to cold, by neglect, or from insufficient food.
This is a proof, if any were required, of the watchful energy practised
throughout our Parish, in not merely administering relief to
those who ask it, but in seeking out those who are in want, and
those who need assistance. Practical benevolence has done much in
alleviating hardships, which in crowded and poor populations invariably
add to sickness and swell the tables of mortality.
During the month 13 aged persons died, of these the oldest,
an inmate of the workhouse, was 86 years of age ; 6 of these 13 died
in the last week of December, affording an illustration of the influence
of cold upon the aged.
Our deaths were 31 for the week ending December 1st, the corrected
average being 28. Measles were fatal in 3 instances, and
scarlatina in 1. The births in the week were 41.
In the week terminating December 8th, our mortality was but 25,
compared with a corrected average of 31—Whooping cough was
fatal in 2 cases, diptheria in 1, scarlatina in 1, and small pox in 1.
The births were 44.
The week following, that ending December 15th, our mortality
rose to 53, the corrected average being 24. Scarlatina was fatal in
4 cases, whooping cough also in 4, and typhus in 1. The births
were 54.
In the week ending December 22, the deaths rose to a somewhat
serious extent, registering 38, the corrected average being 25. No
less than 7 fatal cases of whooping cough have occurred, also 2
deaths from measles, 1 from diarrhœa, 1 from typhus, and 1 from
small pox. The births were 45.
The week ending the 29th of December, the deaths were 31, being
a fractional increase only on the average. Four deaths occcurred
from whooping cough, 1 from diarrhœa, 1 from scarlatina, and 1
from small pox, in a child two years old, unvaccinated. The births
this week were but 28.
am, Gentlemen,
Your faithful Servant,
JOHN CHALLICE, M.D.
Medical Officer of Health.