For twenty years the number of persons reported lost, stolen, strayed, and missing has been steadily increasing.
| In 1841 | it was | 1,000 |
| „ | 1851 | 1,876 |
| „ | 1860 | 2,515 |
Of which
| In | 1841 | 560 | were restored | by the police. |
| „ | 1851 | 928 | „ | „ |
| „ | 1860 | 1,164 | „ | „ |
Now unscrupulous statisticians and newsmongers would not hesitate to say that the “Fleet Ditch” Dr. Ryan is so fond of might unfold a tale that would elucidate the mystery.
It is surprising that in these enlightened days such monstrosities should be listened to.
How many, I should like to know, disappear from home and enlist in the army? How many run away to sea, and how many commit suicide?
A little reflection shows us that the tales of murder in immoral houses are only bugbears conjured up by moralists to frighten children. Not designedly perhaps, but more through ignorance than anything else.
Perhaps the number of suicides committed annually in London may be of some use in reducing the number of lost and missing.