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17
Class IV.— DEVELOPMENTAL DISEASE.
430 deaths were thus grouped, rather more than half being amongst
young children.
Order 1.—Children. 19 died from teething; 46 were prematurely
born; and 14 were brought into the world with some part of their
bodies or internal organs so deformed as to incapacitate them from
carrying on the functions of life for more than a very limited period.
Order 2.—Adults. I am sorry to have to record the very large
number of 20 deaths from the various diseases and accidents attendant
upon Childbirth; of these 3 died from Puerperal Fever, 1 from Blood
Poisoning (attended by a midwife), 4 from Peritonitis, 5 from Haemorrhage,
4 from Puerperal Mania, and 1 from Puerperal Convulsions;
one was entered simply as prematurely delivered, and another as
Childbirth.
Order 3.—Old People. Old age was stated to have caused 176
deaths, many of them happening in the workhouse.
Order 4.—Nutrition. Atrophy and Debility caused 155 deaths, all
except 13 amongst young children. If we group along with these the
other wasting diseases of young children made up (in addition to those
just mentioned) of premature births, 46, and want of breast milk 4;
we get a total of 192 deaths, 13.3 per cent, of the total deaths of
young children, a mortality on the estimated population of children
under five years of age of 9.5 per thousand.
Class V.— VIOLENT DEATHS.
These, numbering 67, were all returned by the Coroner. Two were
Homicide; one a child whose throat was cut by its father, and the
other an infant killed by strangulation.
Of the 11 suicides, 7 put an end to their days by hanging, 3 by
cutting their throats, and 1 by self-starvation.
Of the accidental deaths, one person was choked by a piece of
bacon rind in his windpipe, and another (a child four years of age) by a
cherry stone; 7 died from the effects of fractures and contusions, 2
from burns and scalds, and 3 from drowning.
Suffocation caused 42 deaths, all except 2 amongst young children ;
of these, 36 were less than one year of age.
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