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death-rate is not so high on an average of 6 years, as in some other parts, in
such places for instance as Henry Street, Mary Street, Draper's Place, Midford
Place, Tottenham Place, Poplar Place, James Street, and Wellington Square.
The crowding together of many families in one house operates most prejudicially
in raising the death-rate; the air is more contaminated by a number of
human beings herding together, than by a few horses. There are a few houses
in this Parish occupied by as many as 50 persons, aud a great many occupied
by 25 or 30, and as most of the air passes up from the street door into the
dwelling rooms on the basement, and from them into the staircase, and thence
into the rooms above, and so on upwards till it reaches the top story, it can
easily be understood how much it has lost of its oxygen or life-giving portion,
and how much it has become charged with carbonic acid and other products of
decomposition which are death giving or disease-breeding ingredients, before it
reaches the roof. At this point it is frequently stagnant, and as there is no
window which will open, or any skylight or opening in the roof, there is no
means of its being renewed near the top of the stairs.
To diminish the evils attendant on this state of things, free openings on the
staircases and in the roof are required, as well as windows in the dwelling-rooms
which open from the top as well as at the bottom. Wherever these can be
provided, it is my endeavour to get them introduced by representation to the
landlord of the necessity for such provisions. In many cases the houses are
built back to back, or there is some opposition raised by the occupants of houses
in the rear to any opening being made which will overlook their back windows.
Sometimes landlords are ready to receive and act upon any reasonable suggestions;
in other cases they will only do what the law empowers the Sanitary
Committee to enforce, which is necessarily much less than is desirable for the
health of the inmates—the Nuisances Removal Act, under which most of our
proceedings are taken, being only designed to abate very glaring evils, and
even to accomplish this design, being in many points extremely ineffectual.
By looking at Table II.—VI. inclusive, it will be seen, that in the 1st
quarter of the year the deaths numbered 1490; in the 2nd quarter, 1105;
in the 3rd quarter, 1034; and in the 4th quarter, 1072. The 1st quarter is
usually the quarter of highest mortality, but in 1860 this quarter was unduly
unhealthy as compared with other years.
METEOROLOGY.
The mean temperature was 49°.4, which is 1°.1 above the mean in 90
previous years, and 2°.4 above the temperature of 1860.
The 1st quarter averaged 39°.9, being l°.8 above the average of corresponding
quarters; the 2nd quarter averaged 5l°.8, which is 0°.4 below the
average; the 3rd quarter had a mean temperature of 60°.4, which is 0°.9
above the average; and the 4th quarter had a temperature of 45°.5, which is
2°.0 above the mean in corresponding quarters of previous years.
The mean daily range of temperature was 16°.5, which was 0°.7 more than
usual. The mean height of the barometer was 29.798, which is 0.023 of an
inch lower than usual.
Rain fell to the depth of 20.7 inches, which is 4.9 less than usual, and 11.3
inches less than in 1860.