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36 Parish of St. George the Martyr, Southwark.
surroundings of the kind should fly to alcohol for relief. Take the case of a town
labourer going out to his work after a night spent in an unwholesome dwelling.
Suppose him to change one bad environment for another in the shape of a workshop
that is overcrowded, ill.ventilated and polluted by sewer gas ? No wonder that a
man passing his life under such depressing conditions should become weakened in
mind and body, and crave for drink to stimulate his flagging heart and overtaxed
energies. That this picture is not altogether imaginary may be gathered from the
following considerations:—First, the proper sanitary supervision of dwellings,
especially of the poorer class, is yet in its infancy, aud, indeed, must remain so until
our system of inspection is rendered more thorough, skilled and systematic. Secondly,
the defective conditions under which workshop labour is often conducted in our towns
is plainly shown by the evidence given before the Lords' Commission upon sweating,
and also by the reports of medical officers of health all over the country. Indeed, it
could hardly be otherwise while the present local staffs of sanitary inspectors are
inadequate even for the discharge of routine duties, to say nothing of the impossibility
of a house to house inspection of places that contain domestic workshops.
If, on the other hand, the town labourer follow an outdoor occupation, his life
still appears to be much shortened as compared with a corresponding class in the
country. Thus, among the fifteen trades of heaviest mortality, we find:—
Occupation.
Mean Annual Death.
rate per 1,000 living.
Comparative
mortality
figure, 1,000
Age.
25.45
Age.
45.65
Age.
25.65
General labourers in London
20.62
50.85
2,020
Costermongers and hawkers
20.26
45.33
1,879
Watchmen, porters and messengers
17.07
37.37
1,565
Cabmen and omnibusmen
15.30
36.83
1,482.
Professional musicians
13.78
32.39
1,314
Carters and carriers
12.52
23.00
1,275
Although those who work at the foregoing occupations escape the danger of
unwholesome workshops, they are nevertheless exposed to the environment of an
unhealthy home at night, They share certain bad conditions in common with the
countryman, such as long hours of labour, arduous toil and constant exposure to the
stress of weather. They do not share alcohol to an equal extent, and there can be no
doubt that strong drink is one of the most potent factors in shortening the life of the
town labourer.
An interesting illustration of the effect of drinking habits upon mortality may be
drawn from the following table:—
Comparative mortality figure 1,000.
Occupation.
Age.
25.65
1. Cabmen and omnibusmen
14.82
2. Carters and carriers
12.75
3. Grooms and private coachmen
8.87