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old. In the Western Union it is one in five, and
in the City proper only one in seven. The mortality
at from 5 to 15 years of age is but 4 per cent,
of all the deaths; at from 15 to 45 it is nearly 20
per cent.; at from 45 to 65 it is nearly 21 per cent.,
and above that it is 19 per cent. At the middle
periods of life, and at mature age, especially among
males, these numbers are excessive; for while in
all England the mortality of males at from 15 to
45 years of age is only about 17 per cent. of the
total male mortality, and at from 45 to 65 it is a
little less than 14 per cent., in the City of London
at these periods it is nearly 22 per cent. This,
together with the fact that there is an excess of
male deaths at these ages over the female deaths,
in the proportion of 129 to 100, shows in what
way the population of the City is fed, and how
great is the mortality of the most vigorous portion
of the community. It is this high mortality of the
young and able bodied which reduces the expectancy
of a City life so largely; for while in England
generally a man at 20 may expect to live to 60, in
the City he will not reach to 52. This is the
penalty of trade and industry, for those who are
not engaged therein—the women—escape it. Home
influences act on the infant and weaken its vitality,
but it is the excitement of commerce which presses
upon manhood and exhausts its vigour; and both
of these agencies are largely concerned in the
death rate of the City.