NOTICE. THE Council of the Statistical Society of London wish it to be understood, that, while they consider it their duty to adopt every means within their power to test the facts asserted in this Journal, they do not hold themselves responsible for their accuracy, which must rest upon the authority of the several Contributors. LONDON: Printed by WILLIAM CLOWES and SONS, 14, Charing Cross. CONTENTS. On the best Mode of representing accurately by Statistical Returns, the Du- ration of Life, and the Pressure and Progress of the Causes of Mortality amongst different Classes of the Community, and amongst the Populations of different Districts and Countries. By Edwin Chadwick, Esq., F.S.S. On a Method recently proposed for conducting Inquiries into the Compara- tive Sanatory Condition of various Districts, with Illustrations, derived from numerous places in Great Britain at the period of the last Census. By F. G. P. Neison, F.L.S., &c. The Metropolis: its Boundaries, Extent, and Divisions for Local Govern- ment. By Joseph Fletcher, Esq., Barrister-at-Law, Hon. Sec.. The Metropolis: its Boundaries, Extent, and Divisions for Local Govern- History and Statistics of the Present System of Sewerage in the Metropolis. An Examination of the Returns made by the various Railway Companies of the United Kingdom, with respect to their Traffic during the year ending 30th June, 1843. By G. R. Porter, Esq., F.R.S., Treasurer of the Sta- Observations on certain Passages in the Report of the Irish Census Commis- sioners. By Henry Hallam, Esq., F.R.S., one of the Trustees of the Contributions to Vital Statistics, obtained by means of a Pneumatic Appa- ratus for valuing the Respiratory Powers with relation to Health. By A Third Contribution to a Knowledge of the Influence of Employments upon Health. By William Augustus Guy, M.B. Cantab., Professor of Forensic Medicine, King's College, and Physician to King's College Hospital, Hon. On the Progress of the Population of Russia. By Major Graham, Registrar- Statistical Report on the Physical and Moral Condition of the Working Classes in the Parish of St. Michael, Blackrock, near Cork. By North Ludlow Beamish, F.R.S., President of the Cork Scientific and Literary A Statistical View of the Recent Progress and Present Amount of Mining In- dustry in France, in continuation of a Paper read before the Statistical Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science at New- castle in 1838. By G. R. Porter, Esq., F.R.S., Corresponding Member of Report on the Experience of the St. Marylebone Infirmary, since 1827, with respect to Admissions, Duration of Treatment, Mortality, and other Sta- tistical results, according to Age and Sex. By John Clendinning, M.D., Oxon. F.R.S., Physician to the Infirmary On the Relative Liability of the Two Sexes to Insanity. By John Thurnam, Notes on the Report of the Royal Commissioners on the Operation of the Poor ERRATUM. Page 96, line 2, for " 1844" (twice) read "1843." QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE STATISTICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. APRIL, 1844. On the best Modes of representing accurately, by Statistical Returns, the Duration of Life, and the Pressure and Progress of the Causes of Mortality amongst different Classes of the Community, and amongst the Populations of different Districts and Countries.-By EDWIN CHADWICK, ESQ., F. S. S. [Read before the Statistical Society of London, December 18th, 1843.] Ir has for some time been my wish to call the attention of the Fellows of the Society, and through them the attention of statists in Europe and America, to the best modes of keeping mortuary records, and preparing statistical returns, to show the duration of life and the pressure and progress of the causes of mortality, and the numbers of the population in different districts and countries. The first topic on which I would ask the attention of the Society, is as to what is the best mode that is at present practicable of representing the annual mortality in any population. With the permission of the council I am enabled to present for consideration those parts of an official report in which I have endeavoured to illustrate this subject. The mode generally in use is to take the proportions of deaths to the population, to represent the comparative mortality in different districts; and these proportions are generally given by statists, and received by the public, as representing the average ages of death in any population. Dr. Price, in his work on Annuities and Reversionary Payments, states that in his time the proportion of deaths in London within the bills of mortality, was rather more than 1 to 22 of the population annually, which he states as an equivalent proposition to saying that the average duration of life to all who died was 22 years. Or, to use his own words, he states that " One with another, then, they will have an expectation of life of 22 years; that is, one of 22 will die every year." (p. 255.) In p. 274 he observes, that— "In the dukedom of Wurtemberg, the inhabitants, Mr. Susmilch says, are numbered every year; and from the average of 5 years, ending in 1754, it appeared that, taking the towns and country together, 1 in 32 died annually. In another province which he mentions, consisting of 635,998 inhabitants, 1 in 33 died annually. From these facts he concludes, that, taking a whole country in gross, including all cities and villages, mankind enjoy among them about 32 or 33 years each of exist VOL. VII.-PART 1. B |