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case of fractured skull, in which a verdict of wilful murder was returned,
and 6 were Suicide. Three of these were self-hanging, aged respectively
59, 42, and 41. Three others, self-poisoning— Cyanide of Potassium,
Strychnine, and Battle's Vermin Killer being the lethal agents.
Of the accidental deaths, 2 were from Tetanus, 1 following a punctured
wound of the hand, and the other a lacerated thumb.
In a case of heart disease, the death was accelerated by an over-dose of
Chloral. Twenty persons died from the effects of fractures and contusions.
One, a little girl, three-and-half years of age, was run over by
a tram car. Three died from burns and scalds, and 6 from drowning ;
one of these in a pail of water.
Suffocation caused 43 deaths, all, except one, amongst young children.
Of these 41 were under one year of age, and one was a newly-born
infant, whose body was found in the Museum grounds.
Under the head of wounds, I have classed the death of an infant, aged
four days, from umbilical hæomrrhage.
Amongst the violent deaths are entered one from Congestion of the
Brain, from shock and fright, and another from Meningitis, accelerated
by want, in an infant ten weeks old.
UNCERTIFIED DEATHS.
Thirteen deaths were registered without any medical certificate. All
were newly-born infants, and the cause of death was stated by the
attendant midwife to have been convulsions in nine cases, and premature
birth in four.
On the question of uncertified deaths, the Society of Medical Officers of
Health expresses the opinion, that all such cases should be reported by
the local registrars of births and deaths to the Coroner, who should, when
there is no 'prima facie ground for holding an inquest, direct each case to
be investigated and reported on to him by a registered medical practitioner.
Also, in the opinion of the Society, the present system of investigation
of deaths referred to the Coroner, namely, by officers bearing no special
qualification for the discharge of the duty, is unsatisfactory in the
extreme.
DEATHS IN PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.
The number of deaths in the various Public Institutions of the parish
was 472. Of these 351 happened in the Workhouse (211 males, 140
females), 56 in the City of London Hospital for Diseases of the Chest