The metropolis of England claims a distinct notice of the increase or diminution of its popula tion, as well as of the population now existing in it. It is situated in two counties, divided by the river Thames, and its population is exhibited in five divisions. A thirtieth part may be added to the resident population of England in general, for the mariners and soldiery; but it is undeniable that 14,000 arrivals of trading shipping annually must make a constant, though fluctuating, accession to the resident population of the metropolis, to a larger amount than elsewhere. On this consideration, adding a twenty-fifth instead of a thirtieth part, the metropolis contains 900,000 persons. The Metropolis. Population. 6. Total of the Metropolis 674,350 676,050 900,000 1. The walls of the ancient city of London included a space now in the middle of the metropolis, about one mile and a half in length, and rather more than half a mile in breadth. The population has diminished almost one half during the last century. Many streets have been widened, and many public buildings erected, whereby the number of houses has been much lessened: and the houses which remain are not crowded with inhabitants, as they were formerly. 2. The city of London, without the walls, is an extension of the ancient city, which it surrounds. It is governed by the City Magistrates. 3. Westminster, which is the seat of government, adjoins to the City, extending westward. 4. The London Bills of Mortality were origi nally instituted about the year 1562; and from 1603 a complete series is preserved. The putrid filth produced by a crowded population, and not carried off by sufficient sewers, made London very unhealthy in former times, and caused a plague once in twenty years; and a timely notice of this danger was to be given by the Weekly Bills of Mortality. The crowded part of London was purified by the memorable conflagration of 1666, which seems to have exterminated the plague. The district with in the bills of mortality has been gradually extended, and, besides London and Westminster, now comprehends a large population under the title of out-parishes. 5. A few parishes, now forming part of the me tropolis, have not yet been taken into the bills of mortality. The apid increase of the population of this division shews how rapidly London increases in extent, though its population does not increase so fast as that of the kingdom in general. In 1700, the metropolis contained almost an eighth part of the inhabitants of England and Wales; in 1750 above a tenth part, and at present rather less than that proportion. 6. Some objections may, perhaps, be made to the accuracy of the limits of the metropolis, here assumed, it may therefore be proper to observe, that within a circle extending eight miles around St. Paul's cathedral, the total population, includ ing the aforesaid addition of one twenty-fifth part, amounts to 1,000,000 persons.* The many enquiries and discussions which have taken place concerning the population of the metropolis, have determined the deaths unregistered The department of Paris is also contained in a circle extending eight English miles around the centre of that city: In it are rather more than 600,000 persons. at about 5,000 annually; and the registered burials of the last five years average at 24,000. Nine hundred thousand divided by twenty-nine thousand gives the annual mortality at one in thirty-one. In the year 1750, it appears to have been one in twenty-three; but it is not wonderful that the extension of the population over a large space should have had this salutary effect. DISEASES AND MORTALITY. In the year 1650, the total number of deaths were 8,764. In 1700, they were 9,443. In 1950, they were 23,727. In 1798 and 1799, there were 18,000 in each year. And in 1800 they were 23,068, in 1801 they were 19,374, and in 1804 the following is a list of the principal diseases: 4881 died under two years of age, 1300 between seventy and one hundred, 527 of asthma, 413 of apoplexy, 3147 of consumptions, 158 of gout, 603 of inflammations, 619 of measles, 368 of mortifications, 404 from teething. In the year 1802 the number was 1579; but the smallpox is happily losing its malignancy, from the introduction of the inoculation for the cow-pox; a sure preventive, which from its mildness and perfect safety, does not deserve the name of a disease. If it were possible entirely to prohibit incculation for the small-pox, that discase would, no doubt, Salubrity and Climate. The broadness of the streets, and the extent of ground occupied by the bulk of families, contribute greatly to health. But in London, there are a variety of circumstances tending to the same point. The greater part of the town is situated on rising ground; the soil is of the best kind for residence, being sound and dry; the lower parts are freed from moisture by subterraneous sewers or drains; a broad and rapid river flowing through the heart of the town, and agitated twice in fourand-twenty hours with a tide, ventilates and purifies the whole; the immense quantities of water conveyed into the houses, even the meanest, for domestic purposes, afford the means of cleanliness, one of the surest companions of health. In a word, although the atmosphere of London is too frequently moist, the weather often in extremes, and the change from one extreme to another fre quently sudden, yet the metropolis may fairly be deemed one of the most healthy in the world. During the four last years of the last century, Six's thermometer out of doors, averaged 49.6; the barometer 29.9; and the average annual depth of rain was nineteen inches; on the hottest day during the four years, in June 1798, the thermometer stood at 86; and on the coldest day in December, 1796, it fell to 4. in that month it averaged 32.1; in December, 1797, it averaged 42.7; in December, 1798, 35.2; and 1799, 34.3. There are about 209 days in the year without rain, and 156 in which it rains or snows; about 12 is the ave shortly become extinct. The cow-pock is said to have entirely eradicated the small-pox, from several cities on the Continent. These returns from the bills of mortality may serve to form a general idea of diseases, but they are cer tainly not a very precise one. |