General Death Rate, 1882, was 17·4; 1883 was 19·2.
Suicide Rate, 1882, was 20·7; 1883 was 24·7.
| 1882. | │ | 1883. | ||
| There were─ | │ | There were─ | ||
| 141 Homicides. | │ | 107 Homicides. | ||
| 105 Suicides | Male, 81. | │ | 124 Suicides | Male, 89. |
| Female, 24 | │ | Female, 35 | ||
The Means were:
| Means, | 1882. | 1883. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male. | Female. | Male. | Female. | |
| Hanging | 24 | 4 | 19 | 8 |
| Drowning | 14 | 6 | 17 | 14 |
| Shooting | 21 | 2 | 20 | 0 |
| Cutting | 13 | 6 | 25 | 8 |
| Poison | 2 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| Other means | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
In a Report on the Health of the British Navy for 1883, there are six suicides described, which occurred during the year; 2 were by fire-arms, 1 by hanging, 2 by drowning, and 1 from poison.
I add here a table, supplied by the “Lancet,” of the relative proportional use of various means in the countries of Europe.
Per 1,000 Suicides.
| Means. | England. | Prussia. | Italy. | Belgium. | Switzer land. | France. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanging | 368 | 608 | 167 | 545 | 430 | 450 |
| Drowning | 208 | 182 | 300 | 228 | 267 | 290 |
| Fire-arms | 46 | 109 | 244 | 118 | 170 | 110 |
| Cutting | 206 | 54 | 55 | 39 | 67 | 40 |
| Poison | 94 | 30 | 61 | 23 | 33 | 20 |
| Falling | 20 | 9 | 113 | 15 | 11 | 30 |
| Suffocation | 30 | 3 | 22 | 4 | 13 | 70 |
Legoyt has calculated the relative proportions of these causes in the two sexes, in Europe as a whole, thus: