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13
Again, Dr. Letheby in a recent admirable report
on the Thames-water, says, "that one gallon gives off
15 cubic inches of gases." The great bulk of this is
carbonic acid, a substance easily determinable both
qualitatively and quantitatively. Does any one undertake
to demonstrate a sensible difference in the proportion
of carbonic acid in the air of Shoreditch, and that
in the air of the Welsh Mountains? If the carbonic
acid cannot be traced, what is the inference as to the
other Thames impurities ?
2. Statistical comparison of the sickness and causes of
death on, near, and at a distance from the river. If the
presence of the Thames-poison at any moderate distance
from the river baffles physical research, is it proved by
the vital test, namely, its effects upon the human body?
Not to weary you with elaborate statistical details, I
will mention some leading facts.
Taking the last ten years, during which the discharge
of sewage into the river has been annually and
rapidly increasing, the amount of mortality per centum
of London has—allowance made for the Cholera years—
been steadily falling.
The health of London as measured by the same
test, is considerably better than the mean of the 117
town districts of all England.