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cause of nearly half the deaths. Whether the
disease is nurtured by these occupations, or whether
the phthisical attach themselves to these trades,
because of the comparatively light work, is yet to
be determined; but there is great reason to fear
that the occupations themselves are not altogether
free from influence on the disease.
Inflammatory affections of the lungs, as pneumonia
and bronchitis, cause about one-fifth of the
total mortality of adults; but with painters, costermongers,
labourers, cabmen, and porters, it is fatal to
the extent of from 225 to 264 per l,000of the deaths.
And, lastly, the diseases which are most active
with young children at from 1 to 5 years of age,
are tabes, scrofula, and hydrocephalus—all diseases
of a tubercular character. These together cause
about 80 per 1,000 of all the deaths in the City,
the average for the whole country being but 40.
Under 15 years of age the mortality from these
diseases is about 221 per 1,000 of the deaths,
whereas in the rest of England it is but 67. This
explains the remarkable fact of the large mortality
of children in the City after the first year of their
age. It points to the unhealthy influences at
home, which, though they may not largely affect
the well-being of the adult, are manifestly concerned
in the destruction of the child.