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great probability of its dying, with that of the wretched woman, who,
in the agony of shame and destitution, destroys her child outright. But
in the endeavour to lessen the inducement to occasional and exceptional
direct infanticide, it is well to reflect whether we may not be drawn into
establishing an order of things that will entail an entire revolution in
the moral tone and domestic customs of our countrymen, and raise
indirect infanticide on a large scale into an organised and systematic
institution.
On the Epidemics of 1864.— Table III. shews the fluctuations
observed in the prevalence of the principal Epidemic or Zymotic diseases
during the ten years ending with 1864. Small-Pox exhibits the
greatest range of variation. This circumstance is dependent upon the
infectious character and the almost absolute preventibility of the disease,
by protecting the human system against the consequences of infection.
From time to time small-pox breaks out and spreads; then subsides, so
that few or no cases are observed. This is due to the fact, that after a
lull, whether from neglect of vaccination, from imperfect vaccination, or
from the protective influence of vaccination being exhausted in some
persons, an accumulation of subjects susceptible to the poison has arisen.
Upon these small-pox seizes and spreads amongst them. When under the
combined influence of vaccination and re-vaccination, and the action of
varioloid poison itself, the susceptible subjects are no longer susceptible,
the disease fades away. Thus we see the deaths from small-pox rose from
7 in 1862 to 113 in 1863, and fell again to 8 in 1864. But the deaths
in the register, of course, give but an imperfect idea of the extent to
which the disease may have prevailed. From returns furnished by
Mr. Nightingale, Clerk to the Board of Guardians, we find that 10
cases have been sent to the small-pox hospital at Highgate. The returns
of the medical officers under the Poor Law, shew, that 49 cases came
under their care