[30]. Where so much independent provision is made, as by clubs, only a part of the consequences of premature deaths appear on the poor’s roll. The population of Camborne is less exclusively mining than is Gwennap; but the records of pauperism in the office afford marks of a general difference in the condition of the population of the two parishes.
| Parish. | Ratio of Paupers to the whole Population. | Ratio of Widows and Women whose Husbands have deserted them, or are transported, to the whole Population. | Cost of Relief per Head on the whole Population. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| s. | d. | |||
| Gwennap | 1 in 25 | 1 in 186 | 3 | 2 |
| Illogan | 1 in 35 | 1 in 346 | 2 | 2¾ |
| Camborne | 1 in 34 | 1 in 401 | 2 | 4¾ |
[31]. I am informed that regulations on the principle of those we recommended, under the Factory Commission for the Protection of Adult Workmen from the consequences of Accidents, are now adopted in the Prussian code, and practically enforced.
[32]. An Act made in Ireland the 3rd year of his present Majesty “for better preventing the severities, &c., has the following clause:—“Whereas many infectious disorders are daily produced by the confinement of numbers in close prisons, whereunto there is no back-yard adjoining, and the lives of his majesty’s subjects are endangered by the bringing of prisoners into public streets for air; be it enacted—That every grand jury at the assizes or quarter sessions may be enabled, and they are hereby required and directed to contract either by lease, or to purchase a piece of ground next adjoining the gaol, or as near as conveniently can be had thereto, and cause to be erected necessary houses, and a wall sufficient for the security of the said prisoners.””
[33]. Thirty-three males who were imprisoned for six months gained 37 lbs. total weight; five females gained 19 lbs.; twenty-two males, confined during twelve months, gained 3 lbs.; eight females, during the same period, gained 5 lbs.; seven males in eighteen months gained 24 lbs.; and two females 10 lbs. At Edinburgh also they were weighed, and, on the whole, they gained. See Appendix, statement of the periods of confinement and weight of prisoners at the commencement and termination of their imprisonment.
[34]. It is observed by Dr. Wilson, in reference to the mortality in the navy, that “the mortality from wounds is inconsiderable compared with that occasioned by disease. Much misconception has prevailed on this subject in the public mind. Deaths in action, by the general excitement attending them, from being published in official despatches and perpetuated in gazettes, make more than a due impression; for it is found, when accurately reckoned, that they are few in comparison with those resulting from ordinary diseases. Sir G. Blane, when writing under the common impression, and without the corrections of figures, alleges that half the mortality in war periods is attributable to wounds received in battle and other external causes; but he gives a very different account when he dismisses unauthenticated notions to deal with numerical facts. He then states, that from 1780 till 1783, though in that period, besides single actions, engagements with forts, &c., the great battle of the 12th of April was fought, the mortality from disease, compared with that from external causes, was as 3 to 1; in 1779, according to his statement, the former was to the latter as 8 to 1.” During the last 41 months of the peninsular war, whilst 24,930 privates died of disease, only 8899 died of wounds, or were killed in battle. The deaths during the campaign were,—of the privates in battle, 4·2 per cent.; of disease, 11·9 per cent.: of officers, in battle, 6·6 per cent.; of disease, 3·7 per cent. per annum. The average deaths in four battles, Talavera, Salamanca, Vittoria, and Waterloo, were 3·9 per cent. of officers, 2·11 of privates. In the peninsular war there were generally 22½ per cent. of men absent on account of sickness; and a reduction of the proportions of sick to 6 per cent. would have set free 10,000 men from the hospitals to be added to the effective force of the army.—Official Returns. The highest increased charge for insurance of military men during the peninsular campaign was 10 guineas per cent. The extra premiums taken on the insurance of military lives on service in India and China are from 3 to 5 guineas per cent., governed, however, by the unfavourable chances of the climate to which the campaign leads, as well as by the increased risks from battle. The extra premiums on naval officers in hostile service is usually from 3 to 5 guineas per cent., governed by the consideration of the climate.
[35]. Vide Appendix for estimate and detailed specification. From some recent experiments made with the egg-shaped sewers or main drains, it appears that drains of sufficient size might be made at one-third less than the price for sewers in the annexed estimate. In many instances, main drains costing one-half the sum would suffice.
[36]. As an instance of the little account the manufacturing workpeople have made of such charges, it is mentioned by Sir Charles Shaw that, on the introduction of the new police force into Manchester, he found the workpeople in the habit of paying 6d. per week each to the old watch for calling them up. He put a stop to the practice, as being one which interfered with the regular duties of the police, and as being founded on a habit which might be corrected. The employers, however, complained of the interruption of the practice, and requested that it might be renewed. Sir Charles, considering that 6d. was too high a charge, offered to allow the police to call up the workpeople at 2d. per week each, provided the masters, to save the trouble of the weekly collection, deducted the amount from the weekly wages, and paid it over to the police fund. The answer to the proposal was, that the workpeople would sooner pay 6d. of their own accord than have 1d. deducted from their wages by their masters.
[37]. The experience of France is precisely similar. In a work of great authority on the lower classes of that country, it is stated that the secret of the existence of so many filthy, infected, and miserable habitations, is simply that the persons who pay two sous for their lodging at night spend ten sous on brandy by day.
[38]. A butter merchant informed me that the value of the Irish butter was deteriorated to a greater extent than they were aware of, from its being frequently made in close smoky hovels instead of in clean and well-ventilated dairies, as in England.