| Dates of Census. | Population. | Suicides. | Proportion of Suicides to the Population. | |
| Quinquennial Periods. | Average Annual Number. | One in | ||
| 1811 | 160,801 | 1812 to 1816 | 25.8 | 6,232 |
| 1821 | 181,444 | 1822 — 1826 | 23.8 | 7,623 |
| 1831 | 201,604 | 1832 — 1836 | 31.6 | 6,379 |
| ——— | ————— | —— | —— | |
| Average | 181,283 | .. | 27.06 | 6,700 |
“It must, however, be taken into consideration that suicides committed in Westminster may not belong to the population of the district, for that the proximity of the river, and other causes existing in Westminster, may attract persons residing in other parts of the town. Hence an increase or decrease of facilities for committing suicide in the surrounding districts, such as the formation of a canal, &c., will naturally affect the number of such deaths in Westminster.”[77]
It has been clearly established that suicide is less frequent among women than men. In early life, death by hanging is preferred; in middle life, firearms are had recourse to; and in more advanced years, strangulation again becomes the fashionable mode of terminating life.
| Years of Age. | Pistol. | Hanging. | ||
| Between | 10 and 20 | [78] | 61 | 68 |
| — | 28 — 30 | 283 | 51 | |
| — | 49 — 50 | 182 | 94 | |
| — | 60 — 70 | 150 | 188 | |
| — | 80 — 90 | 161 | 256 | |
In an analysis of 525 cases of suicide in Prussia, the following was the result:—
| Hanging | 234 |
| Shooting | 163 |
| Drowning | 60 |
| Cutting throat | 17 |
| Stabbing | 20 |
| Jumping out of window | 19 |
| Poison | 10 |
| Opening artery | 2 |
| — | |
| 525 |
Marriage is to a certain extent a preventive of suicide; it has been satisfactorily established that among the men two-thirds who destroy themselves are bachelors.
In M. A. Guerry’s able “Essai sur la Statisque Morale de la France,” published in 1833, we find some valuable statistical facts relating to suicide in France.