View report page

77
the children had been "overlaid," i.e., suffocated—a remark
equally applicable to deaths attributed to convulsions, when
the deceased persons have been found "dead in bed." The
cause of death in such cases—whether spasm of the glottis
or convulsions be returned, can be only guessed at when the
child has not been seen to die, for examination after death
would not disclose the occurrence of spasm, during life, and
there is no pathological condition which would enable one to
say positively that a child had suffered, still less that it had
died, from convulsions.
2. The second Order comprises the Diseases of the
Organs of Special Sense, (e.g., of ear, eye, nose); five
deaths were classified to these causes.
3. Circulatory System.—The deaths due to diseases
of the organs of circulation, heart and blood vessels, were
179, as against 158 and 167 in the two preceding years:
150 were registered in the Town sub-district, and 29 in
Brompton; 3 only were of children under five years of age.
The quarterly numbers were 49, 39, 34 and 57. To specified
forms of disease, 65 deaths were assigned, viz., Pericarditis
6; Acute endocarditis 1; Valvular diseases of heart 51; Aneurism
6; Embolism, Thrombosis 1: Other diseases of heart, nature not
specified, caused 113 deaths; other diseases of blood vessels,
one death.
4. Respiratory System.—The deaths from the diseases of
the chest, phthisis being excluded, were 585, 24 fewer than
in 1882, and equal to 22'3 per cent. on total deaths. Of this
number 483 were r-egistered in the Town sub-district, and
102 in Brompton. The quarterly numbers were 197,145, 69,
and 174: 371 in the first and fourth, or colder quarters,
and 214 in the second and third, or warmer quarters. The
deaths under five years of age were 264,=45 per cent., and
at 55 and upwards 211,=36 per cent. of the whole number.
These diseases are thus seen to be most fatal at the
extremes of life; but the prevalence of them varies considerably
in different years, depending mainly on the degree