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64
Disease and Mortality amongst the Union poor.—
In Table V., Appendix, it may be seen that as
many as 459 new cases of illness amongst title
Union or out-door poor were duly attended to. Many
of them were of a severe type. In the first place there
were 25 new cases of small pox, but no deaths in the
patients' homes; several died in the hospitals to which
they were taken, but the exact number I cannot ascertain
owing to the circumstance that when one hospital
was full they had to be taken to another, and no record
was kept of the parish from which they came.
Also it may be seen that there was no death from
Measles, Scarlatina, Diphtheria or from Whooping-cough,
and but two from diarrhœa; there were 48 new cases
of remittent or low fever but no deaths in the patients'
homes,—a circumstance to which I attach great importance.
Density of Population.—That we are daily increasing
in population, while we do not, of course, increase
in area, furnishes unpleasant reflections concerning our
future sanitary welfare, for density of population has a
powerful effect in the promotion of disease, and in
increasing the death-rate of a locality. The density in this
parish is about 30 persons to an acre; and there are 5,612
inhabited houses, divided by which the population gives
6.5 persons to each inhabited house. It is extremely
satisfactory, however, to know that, with a greatly
increased density of population, we are still in the enjoyment
of a low rate of mortality.
Sanitation during the past year.—In Table VI. in
the Appendix can be seen the amount of sanitary work
done by the Surveyor and his most diligent assistants,
who deserve great praise for their prompt and careful
attention to every case as it occurred. Eighty-three
houses in which contagious or infectious diseases
occurred were fumigated and disinfected, and their