Abstract of the proceedings of the public meeting held at Exeter Hall, Dec. 11, 1844.

  • Health of Towns Association (London, England)
Date:
1844
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Abstract of the proceedings of the public meeting held at Exeter Hall, Dec. 11, 1844. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    them are supposed to be—the amount of instruction is higher than in Lancashire. The North Riding of York¬ shire is the highest. He was intimately connected with the North Riding of Yorks hire himself, and knowing how much remained to be done in this respect there, he knew how low must be that scale where it holds the first place l Yorkshire is often treated as one county. Yorkshiremen like so to consider it. Between the West and the North there would seem no distinction, except the greater wealth of the West, from its thriving towns ; but education is in the proportion of 5 to 3 in favour of the North over the West. To turn from this to the next column in the Return, more directly but hardly more truly connected with the objects of the meeting—the proportion of houses to inha¬ bitants—there are nearly twice as many houses to the same number of inhabitants in the North as in the West Riding. Lancashire is very low in the scale, too; and Hereford the only inland county in which the value of life is at the highest, has also the greatest number of houses to its inhabitants. He had just stated that the value of property in the county of Lancashire had increased 136 per cent, since the last income tax: take the eight most healthy counties mentioned above, and take an average amongst them, and even including Sussex with its thriving watering- places, the value of property in the eight had only increased 38 per cent. : in property, 98 per cent., or 3 to 1 in favour of the one side; in health, 2 to 1 in favour of the other. If such is the case,—if wealth and death held divided empire over new districts which formerly were neither marked by their power nor their preference, does it not become every one interested in the future welfare of his country to inquire whence this arises; what are the causes of this not necessary alliance? Much did he wish that persons of all parties, instead of reciprocating reproach and crimination, would turn their attention to the justice of the charge of neglect, to the relative longevity of different classes of the people, and to the proportions in which those who had been connected with each class were found in the workhouse, the gaol, the hospital, and the lunatic asylum. It was also important to bear in-mind that the mere money amount of wages were often but a very imperfect criterion of the relative social position: above all, that which passed merely through the hands of the labourer in the shape of in-