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9
something more than a mere difference in the mode
or custom of registration; they point to a difference
in the state of society, and are the true exponents
of its morality. A knowledge of the people, and
close observation of their habits, confirm this; for
it is here, where the returns of bastardy are so
large, that Ave find the worst forms of over crowding,
the indiscriminate association of the sexes, and
the total disregard of all the decencies of life. It
is here, also, that the death rate is largest, and the
occurrence of zymotic disease most frequent.
Of the 2,747 deaths which were registered in the
year, 1,433 were males and 1,314 females. These
are in the proportion of 109 of the former to 100
of the latter. In the Western Union the proportion
was as 124 of the former to 100 of the latter,
whereas in the City Union the proportions were
equal. The mortality of males in the Western
Union has, therefore, been excessively high: it has
amounted to rather more than 28 per 1,000 of the
male part of the population, while that of the
female part has been only about 22 per 1,000. In
all England the proportion of male to female deaths
is about 103 to 100.
Again, of the 2,747 deaths in the year, 1,032
occurred in the Eastern districts, 739 in the
Western, and 976 in the Central. These are at the
rate of 23.1 per 1,000 for the first named district,
25.8 for the second, and 17.2 for the third—the