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CLASS IV.—DEVELOPMENTAL DISEASES.
The Developmental Disease column containing 88 entries, 59 being those of
children under 5 years, consists mainly of deaths from Premature birth, Malformations,
Teething and Old Age.
CLASS V.—VIOLENT DEATHS.
These, as usual, were chiefly due to drowning. The geographical-industrial position
of our parish, and tha apparently unavoidable accidents of domestic life amongst
a working-class population, were the cause of 67 inquests being held, 41 of which were
drowned cases, and 18 street and dock mishaps, the rest occurring in private houses.
I must again bear testimony to the great public value of our mortuary, which is
largely tenanted by those subjects for which it was specially designed ; though in the
hot summer weather, I was once compelled during your vacation, to take on myself the
responsibility of immediately burying a putrid corpse left there. Your Sanitary Committee
subsequently approved and confirmed my action.
METEOROLOGY.
The weather, generally, was cold, wet and sunless. Low temperatures were noted
in every month. The rainfall exceeded that of 1878 and was 1.3 inch above the
average. Only 983 hours of bright sunshine were recorded at Greenwich, against
1250 hours in the preceding year.
The mean temperature was 46°2, (3°3 below the average; the mean temperature
of the last three winter months was 4°6 below the average. The month of December
was the coldest December observed in the present century, its mean temperature being
6°7 below the average.
Rain fell on 186 days out of 365. The greatest rainfall measured 4.5 inches
beyond the average of the past 64 years. The mean velocity of the wind was 11*6
miles an hour, more than a mile an hour in excess of the average during the past 30
years.
SANITARY WORK FOR THE YEAR.
All instances of infectious disease, fatal or otherwise, coming under the notice of
your officers, were inspected, and as far as possible thoroughly isolated and disinfected,
and, with the co-operation of the officers of the St. Olave's Guardians, all suitable
cases were placed in the hospitals of the Metropolitan Asylums Board.
An important part of my duty was to attempt the repression of the long-continued
and repeated epidemics of measles, scarlatina and whooping-cough, from which this