MARRIAGES, BIRTHS, AND DEATHS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. No. I.-ENGLAND AND WALES. MARRIAGES IN THE QUARTER ENDED 30TH JUNE, 1866, AND BIRTHS AND DEATHS IN THE QUARTER ENDED 30TH SEPTEMBER, 1866. The Registers of the UNITED KINGDOM show that the births of 239,748 children, and the deaths of 151,054 persons of both sexes, were registered in the three months ending on September 30th. The marriages of Great Britain in the quarter ending June 30th were 54,542. The return of marriages in Ireland has not been received. The death-rate of the United Kingdom is less than that prevailing in England and Wales. The several facts concerning the other divisions of the kingdom are set forth in the reports of the Registrar-General of Scotland and the RegistrarGeneral of Ireland. The resident population of England, Scotland, and Ireland, in the middle of 1866, is estimated at about 29,935,404. The corrected death-rate of the quarter is 2.085 per cent. ENGLAND: MARRIAGES, BIRTHS, and DEATHS, returned in the Years 1860-66, and in the QUARTERS of those Years. Calendar YEARS, 1860-66:-Numbers. '62. '61. '60. '65. '64. '63. 185,520 180,387 173,510 164,030 163,706 170,156 747,870 740,275 727,417 712,684 696,406 684,048 491,360 495,531 473,837 436,566 435,114 | 422,721 36,835 37,988 35,528 33,953 33,274 35,150 40,853 42,012 43,777 40,600 39,884 40,541 June March........No. 196,737 194,287 192,947 186,341 181,990 172,933 183,180 192,459 192,921 188,835 189,340 185,554 184,820 174,028 Septmbr..... 178,982 181,642 181,015 173,439 172,709 172,033 164,121 179,020 177,478 178,297 172,431 166,620 162,719 Decmbr. .... March...No. 138,233 140,646 142,977 128,096 122,019 121,215 122,617 128,692 116,006 116,880 118,121 107,392 107,558 110,869 June Septmbr.....,, 116,826 113,404 112,223 112,504 92,381 101,232 86,312 121,304 123,451 115,116 | 114,774 | 105,109 102,923 Decmbr..... England. This Return comprises the BIRTHS and DEATHS registered by 2,200 registrars in all the districts of England during the summer quarter that ended on September 30th, 1866; and the MARRIAGES in 12,883 churches or chapels, about 5,459 registered places of worship unconnected with the Established Church, and 641 Superintendent Registrars' offices, in the quarter that ended on June 30th, 1866. The marriage-rate of the spring quarter was higher than it ever was before in that season since registration began. The birth-rate of the summer quarter was near the average. The country was visited by cholera, and the mortality was raised much above the summer average by the epidemic in some districts, while the rest of the kingdom was unusually healthy. MARRIAGES. In the quarter that ended 30th June, 97,046 persons were married in England. The marriages were 48,523 against 45,772 in the same quarter of the previous year. They were more numerous by 10,000 than in the corresponding period of 1856. A marked increase in the marriages of last spring over the numbers of 1864-65 occurs in London, the south-eastern counties, Lancashire, the West Riding of Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumberland, and generally in the midland counties. The marriages in London were 8,737; in Liverpool and West Derby, 1,794; in Manchester, 1,253. The annual marriage-rate in the quarter was 1·838 per cent. against an average of 1.698, or out of 1,000 persons living rather more than 18 would have entered wedlock (while previously, taking one spring quarter with another, the number had been 17) if the same rate that prevailed in the quarter had been maintained for a year. BIRTHS. In the quarter ending 30th September, 178,982 children were born. The number was about 2,000 less than in either of the two previous summer quarters. The annual birth-rate for the quarter was 3:344 per cent., the average of ten corresponding quarters (1856-65) being almost identical, namely, 3343 per cent. INCREASE OF POPULATION. The deaths last quarter were 116,826, and if compared with the births there is a difference in favour of the latter of 62,156, which number represents the natural increase of population. ENGLAND:-Annual Rates per Cent. of PERSONS MArried, Births, and DEATHS, during the YEARS 1860-66, and the QUARTERS of those Years. Calendar YEARS, 1860-66:-General Percentage Results. 3°322 3'644 3.768 3.740 3.691 3.644 3.500 3.707 3.272 3.230 2.141 2.141 2.169 2.504 2.728 2.772 2.538 2.443 2.453 2.481 1.800 1.994 1.718 2.043 The total number of emigrants in the September quarter from ports in the United Kingdom where emigration officers are stationed was 47,153; they were as many as in the same period of 1864, but not so many as in that of 1863, and few as compared with emigrants who left in the summer of 1865. Taking round numbers, 36,000 (of whom half were natives of Ireland) out of the 47,000 went to the United States, nearly 7,000 to the Australasian, and nearly 4,000 to the North American colonies. PRICES, PAUPERISM, AND THE WEATHER.-The price of wheat, which had been gradually rising from 38s. per quarter in the March quarter of 1865 to 46s. in the spring of the present year, suddenly rose last quarter to 51s. Beef was also dear last quarter, the mean price having been 6d. per lb., as sold by the carcase at Leadenhall and Newgate Markets, against 54d. and 53d. in the corre sponding period of 1864 and 1865. Mutton did not rise, the price having been 5 d. for inferior, and 84d. for superior quality; the mean price 63d. Best potatoes at Southwark rose to 97s. 6d. per ton. Thus the tendency of provision markets was decidedly upward. CONSOLS, PROVISIONS, PAUPERISM, and TEMPERATURE, in each of the Nine QUARTERS ended 30th September, 1866. Return with which the Registrar-General has been favoured by the Emigration Commissioners: of 47,153 emigrants the origin was undistinguished in 2,489 ases, which have been distributed by calculation. The quarterly average number of paupers relieved on the last day of each week was, in-door 120,955, out-door 717,553. The former number is rather high for the season, but the latter number shows a decrease, probably owing to the lateness of the harvest, by which labourers would be engaged longer than usual in field work. The mean temperature of the air in the quarter at Greenwich was 58 9, which is 1°.1 below the average of the season in twenty-five years. Each of the three months, but particularly August, was cold. The rain-fall measured 7·9 in., half of which was in September, when the amount was an inch and a half in excess of the average. Mr. Glaisher writes that the weather, which had been warm and fine at the close of the previous quarter, changed to cold at the beginning of July, and in every part of the country rain fell almost daily. From the 9th to the 17th was a period of heat, but from the 18th July to the 27th September the temperature was almost constantly low. Rain fell frequently all over the country in July; and in August seriously interrupted harvest work. In September the atmospheric pressure was always low, and in Guernsey and the west of England eight or nine inches of rain fell; near the east coast three inches; about London four inches. In the midland counties there were floods; thousands of acres were under water, and much damage was done. In the three visitations of cholera in past years there was great atmospheric pressure, high temperature, narrow diurnal range owing chiefly to high night temperature, defect of rain, wind, and electricity; and in the last of those (1854) a remarkable blue mist was observed which prevailed night and day. In nearly all these particulars the meteorological character of the present epidemic season is different from that of previous periods when cholera prevailed; but the blue mist has been again visible; it was first seen by Mr. Glaisher on 30th July, and by other observers in the preceding week. Since that time it has been generally present; on some days no trace of it visible, and on other days seen for parts of a day only. It has extended from Aberdeen to the Isle of Wight, and was of the same tint of blue everywhere. This mist increased in intensity when viewed through a telescope; usually no mist can be seen when thus viewed; it increased in density during the fall of rain, though usually mist rises from rain. Its density did not decrease when the wind was blowing moderately strong; it decreased when a gale was blowing, but increased again on its subsidence. Whatever may be its nature, he adds, the fact is very remarkable, that since the cholera period of 1854 this phenomenon has not been observed till the present time. DEATHS; AND THE STATE OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH.-116,826 deaths were registered in the 92 days ending September 30th; and the annual rate of mortality was 2.182 per cent. This exceeds the average mortality of the last ten summer quarters by 180, or one-twelfth part; and the excess on the population is equivalent to 10,720 deaths. The deaths returned from cholera amounted to 10,365; the deaths from diarrhoea, also due in great part to the same cause, to 9,570. Their distribution is shown in pp. 43—47.* The mortality was at the rate of 25 per 1,000 in the large town districts, and 18 in the village and small town districts; the excess in the large town districts was 7. The mortality in the town districts was considerably above its usual. summer average; while in the rest of the country the increase was slight. The three months of July, August, and September are now usually the healthiest of the year in England; and their average annual rate of mortality per 1,000 is 20, but their mortality during these months in the present year, was at the rate of 22. The mortality of London was at the rate of 29 in 1,000; of the north-western division 27; in the two northern divisions and in Wales, the mortality was at the rate of 22. In the other divisions the mortality was low, and indeed lower than their average: in the south-eastern division it was 18, in the south midland it was 18, in the eastern 18, the south-western 17, the west midland 17, and in the north midland division 18. Upon turning to the large cities of the United Kingdom, still greater divergences are observed; the mortality was at the rate of 19 in Birmingham, 21 in * See the original return of the Registrar-General. : VOL. XXIX. PART IV. 2 U |