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5
Pauper Illness in the District.
The Medical Officers of the Union have attended, during the past
quarter, 957 new cases of illness out of the Workhouse ; including 2 of
measles, 5 of scarlet-fever, 10 of hooping-cough, 7 of diarrhoea, 12 of
febricula, 1 of fever, and 4 of erysipelas. In the corresponding quarter of
the previous year the number of pauper cases of illness was 790 ; including
23 of small-pox, 1 of measles, 12 of scarlet-fever, 10 of hooping-cough, 6
of diarrhoea, 20 of febricula, 3 of fever, and 3 of erysipelas. The total
number of cases of illness in the Workhouse has been 1006; including 4
of measles, 2 of hooping-cough, 8 of diarrhoea, 6 of erysipelas, and 15 of
febricula. In addition to the above cases there were 37 of syphilis ; thus
making a total of 1043.
Uncertified Deaths.
The total number of uncertified deaths in this District for the quarter
ended 29th March, 1879, was only 4, or 1 in about 162 of the total deaths.
Of these uncertified deaths 2 were in the Spitalfields sub-District ; 1 in the
Mile End New Town ; and 1 in the Whitechapel North sub-District. The
proportion of uncertified causes of death in the twenty large English towns
averages 2.7 per cent. In London, the per centage of uncertified deaths
did not exceed 1.6 ; whereas in the united provincial towns it averaged 3.7.
Meteorology of Greenwich.
The Returns of the Registrar-General show that the rain-fall in the
Metropolis, during the quarter, has been 7.28 inches. During the corresponding
quarter of last year the rain-fall was 3.07 inches. The mean
temperature of the air was 37.1°. In the corresponding quarter of last
year it was 41.6°. The coldest days during the quarter were Sunday, the
12th January, Friday, the 10th January, and Saturday, the 11th January,
when the thermometer indicated respectively 19.4°, 21.4°, and 21.6°. The
coldest day during the corresponding quarter of last year was on Sunday,
the 24th March, when the thermometer indicated 21.3°. The low temperature
of the first three months of this year very unfavourably affected the
public health ; but not to the same extent as the cold weather in the first
quarters of 1870 and 1875.
The meteorology of the year presented some peculiarities. The mean
temperature of each of the first three quarters of the year was somewhat
above the average, while that of the last three months was below the
average. There was a great downfall of rain in the spring quarter, or in
April, May and June, amounting to 13.2 inches, which was 7.6 inches
above the average. The rain in the other quarters was below the average ;
but the rain-fall of the year was 29.2 inches, which is 3.8 inches above
the average.