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26
tary statistics of the Registrar-General, I also shall
regard the year 1868 as a year of 53 weeks, terminating
on the 2nd of January.
The mortuary returns for the Metropolis appear to
have been favourable. The death-rate, though somewhat
higher than it was during the year 1867, wasbelow
the average. It was 2.359 percent., or, in other words,
there "were nearly 24 deaths to 1000 of the population."
The average death-rate is 2.434 per cent.
Further, the mortality in South London, which was a
few years back always in excess of that of other districts
of London, has for several years past been below
that of other districts, and it still maintains its favourable
character. The death-rate for last year in the
Western Districts was 2.268, in the Northern 2.290,
in the Central 2.469, in the Eastern 2.555, and in the
Southern 2.288.
Notwithstanding the general slowness of the death
rate in London, Diarrhoea was unusually fatal during
the Summer and Autumn; and both Fever, Scarletfever,
Hooping-cough, and Measles produced severally
a large number of deaths.
I believe that our own returns (see Tables I andII),
though shewing also a high mortality from Diarrhoea and
a few other of the Zymotic diseases, will be found at least