1472 VITAL STATISTICS.-THE SERVICES.

VITAL STATISTICS.

HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.

IN thirty-three of the largest English towns 5977 birthsand 5248 deaths were registered during the week endingDec. 2nd. The annual rate of mortality in these towns,which had increased in the preceding five weeks from 18’3 to36-2 per 1000, further rose last week to 26-5 In Londonthe rate was 27’1 per 1000, while it averaged 26’1 in thethirty-two provincial towns. The lowest rates in these townswere 13-4 in Croydon, 15-9 in Halifax, 16-8 in Brighton, 17-5in Portsmouth, and 19-5 in Norwich ; the highest rateswere 29-7 in Hull, 30 9 in Wolverhampton, 33-0 in Liver-pool, 33-3 in Manchester, and 34-7 in Birkenhead. The5248 deaths included 503 which resulted from the prin-cipal zymotic diseases, against 513 and 496 in the precedingtwo weeks ; of these, 129 resulted from whooping-cough, 108rom diphtheria, 78 from "fever" (principally enteric), 70 from,scarlet fever, 61 from measles, 45 from diarrhoea, and 12from small-pox. These diseases caused the lowest death-rates in Blackburn, Cardiff, Derby, and Brighton, and theBlighest rates in Swansea, Plymouth, Norwich, Birkenhead,,and West Ham. The greatest mortality from measlesoccurred in Norwich ; from scarlet fever in Swansea and’Leicester; from whooping-cough in West Ham, Plymouth,Bolton, and Leeds; and from "fever" in Newcastle-on-’Tyne, Sunderland, Preston, and Norwich. The 108 deaths’from diphtheria included 74 in London, 6 in Liverpool,and 4 in Manchester. Five fatal cases of small-pox wereregistered in Birmingham, 3 in Bradford, 2 in Leicester, and2 in Oldham, but not one in London or in any other of thethirty-three large towns. There were 141 small-pox patients’under treatment in the Metropolitan Asylum Hospitals andin the Highgate Small-pox Hospital on Saturday last,against 150, 151, and 140 at the end of the preceding’three weeks; 33 new cases were admitted during theweek, against 20 and 21 in the preceding two weeks.The number of scarlet fever patients in the MetropolitanAsylum Hospitals and in the London Fever Hospital at the- end of the week was 3183, against 3071, 3129, and 3140 on thepreceding three Saturdays ; 373 new cases were admitted

- during the week, against 363 and 322 in the precedingtwo weeks. The deaths referred to diseases of the respi-ratory organs in London, which had increased from 271 to 669in the preceding five weeks, further rose to 737 last week,and were 310 above the corrected average. The causes of’79, or 1’5 per cent., of the deaths in the thirty-three townswere not certified either by a registered medical prac-titioner or by a coroner. All the causes of death wereduly certified in Cardiff, Blackburn, Leeds, Newcastle-on-

Tyne, and in eleven other smaller towns; the largest pro-portions of uncertified deaths were registered in Birmingham,Liverpool, Preston, and Hull.

HEALTH OF SCOTCH TOWNS.

The annual rate of mortality in the eight Scotch towns,which had increased from 18 ’2 to 25’4 per 1000 in the pre-ceding five weeks, further rose to 27’8 during the week endingDec. 2nd, and exceeded by 1’3 per 1000 the mean rate duringthe same period in the thirty-three large English towns. The-rates in the eight Scotch towns ranged from 14’9 in Aberdeen.-and 23’2 in Greenock, to 36 ’0 in Perth and 42-1 in Paisley.The 784 deaths in these towns included 32 which werereferred to whooping-cough, 15 to diphtheria, 12 to " fever,"’3 to scarlet fever, 3 to measles, 3 to diarrhoea, and not oneto small-pox. In all, 74 deaths resulted from these principalsymotic diseases, against 68 and 56 in the preceding twoweeks. These 74 deaths were equal to an annual rate- or 2’7 per 1000, which slightly exceeded the mean rate last-week from the same diseases in the thirty-three largeEnglish towns. The fatal cases of whooping-cough, which*had been 27 and 25 in the preceding two weeks, rose

again to 32 last week, of which 19 occurred in Glasgow,- 6 in Dundee, and 4 in Edinburgh. The deaths from

diphtheria, which had been 11 and 7 in the precedingtwo weeks, increased to 15 last week, and included<6 in Glasgow, 4 in Dundee, and 3 in Edinburgh. The12 deaths referred to different forms of "fever" con-

.siderably exceeded those recorded in any recent week, andincluded 6 in Glasgow and 3 in Edinburgh. The fatal casesof scarlet fever, which had been 12 and 10 in the precedingtwo weeks, further declined to 9 last week, of which 7

occurred in Glasgow. The deaths referred to diseases ofthe respiratory organs in these towns, which had been 212and 244 in the preceding two weeks, further rose to 270last week, and exceeded by 136 the number recorded in thecorresponding week of last year. The causes of 76, or nearly10 per cent., of the deaths in these eight towns last week werenot certified.

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HEALTH OF DUBLIN.

The death-rate in Dublin, which had increased in the pre-ceding three weeks from 26 ’7 to 28 ’6 per 1000, declined againto 27’1 during the week ending Dec. 2nd. During the pastnine weeks of the current quarter the death-rate in the cityaveraged 25’5 per 1000, against 21’4 in both London andEdinburgh. The 182 deaths registered in Dublin during theweek under notice showed a decline of 10 from the numberin the preceding week, and included 17 which were referredto the principal zymotic diseases, against 16 and 18 in thepreceding two weeks ; of these 17 deaths, 7 resulted from"fever," 5 from whooping-cough, 4 from measles, 1 fromdiarrhoea, and not one from small-pox, measles, or scarlet fever.The zymotic death-rate was equal to 2’5 per 1000, the rateduring the same period being 2’8 in London and 2’0in Edinburgh. The deaths referred to different forms of"fever," which had been 3 and 6 in the preceding twoweeks, further rose to 7 last week. The fatal cases ofwhooping-cough, which had declined from 8 to 5 in thepreceding three weeks, were again 5 last week. The 4 deathsfrom measles also corresponded with the number recordedin the preceding week. The 182 deaths registered in Dublinlast week included 38 of infants under one year of age and53 of persons aged upwards of sixty years ; the deaths bothof infants and of elderly persons showed a further increaseupon the numbers recorded in recent weeks. Five inquestcases and 4 deaths from violence were registered ; and74, or more than a third, of the deaths occurred in publicinstitutions. The causes of 13, or more than 7 per cent., ofthe deaths in the city last week were not certified.

THE SERVICES.

MOVEMENTS IN THE MEDICAL STAFF.THE following officers have embarked for India in the

transport Bothnia: : Brigade - Surgeon - Lieutenant - ColonelEaton, Surgeon-Major Lane, Surgeon-Captains Philson andFarmer-Bringhurst, and Surgeon-Lieutenant Anderson. The

following officers have arrived from India on completion of atour of service : Surgeon-Major Asbury and Surgeon-CaptainsFayrer, Allport, and Marks. Surgeon-Major Gormley hasembarked for a tour of service in South Africa, and Surgeon-Captain Burke for the West Coast of Africa. Surgeon-Captain Davis has resumed his duties in Jersey on returnfrom trooping duty. Surgeon-Captain Clement has arrivedfrom India on sick leave, and Surgeon-Captain Clapham hasbeen granted leave from Barbadoes.

ARMY MEDICAL STAFF.

Brigade-Surgeon-Lieutenant-ColonelFrancis Howard, M.D.,retires on retired pay. Surgeon-Captain John P. Carmody,M.D., from half-pay, is placed on retired pay.

INDIA AND THE INDIAN MEDICAL SERVICE.

Surgeon-Captain H. R. C. Barber, Officiating Civil Surgeon,Jullandur, is posted to Gujrat. The services of Surgeon-Major W. Coates, Civil Surgeon of Lahore, are placed tempo-rarily at the disposal of the Government of India in the HomeDepartment. Surgeon-Captain J. F. Evans, M.B., LM.S.(Bengal), Officiating Chemical Examiner to the Government ofthe Punjab, and Professor of Chemistry in the Lahore MedicalCollege, is appointed to officiate as Chemical Examiner andProfessor of Chemistry in the Medical College, Calcutta.Surgeon-Captain J. Chaytor-White, M.B., I.M.S. (Bengal),is appointed to officiate as Medical Officer of the DeoliIrregular Force and of the Haraoti and Tonk Pol Agencyfrom date of assuming charge. Surgeon-Captain G. H.Baker, Civil Surgeon, on return from deputation, is appointedto the Civil Medical Charge of the Banda District. Surgeon-Captain J. Morwood, Civil Surgeon, on return from deputa-tion, is appointed to the Civil Medical Charge of the SultanpurDistrict. Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel Franklin has beenselected by Lord Elgin for the medical billet on his personalstaff. Surgeon-Captain M. A. T. Collie, M.B., Resident