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14
of deaths to the living; but enough is seen in
the facts already exposed, to indicate the struggle
for existence, and, perhaps, also the degrees of
improvidence; for of all the deaths in the City
among persons of more than 55 years of age, about
30 per cent. occur in the workhouses. It would
almost seem that the workhouse is the natural
asylum for the aged and infirm; and it might be
added, that when they reach it, the powers of life
are so husbanded, that a good old age is secured.
Those who enter the workhouse at 55 and upwards,
live to the mean age of 70. At 65 years of age and
upwards, the average term of life is to 77, whereas
in the whole City it is but 73, and in all England
it is scarcely 77.
The facts which are brought to light, by examining
in detail the mean age at death of the different
classes in the City are not without interest; for
although they do not give us very accurate information
of the probable lifetime of a citizen, yet they
indicate sufficiently well the marked difference in
the duration of a city and a country life. Among
all classes of males in the City, at 20 and upwards,
the mean age at death is scarcely 52 years, whereas
in all England it is nearly 56. Among women at
20 and upwards, the mean age at death in the City
is a little less than 50, though in the rest of England
it is a little more. It would appear from this that