155,000 68 235 53,000 87 Jewelry, includ. Chro 126,225 750 72,700 Lead, White, and 253,500 1,900,545 Lime. 43,629 79,000 77,000 10 106 ches, Lamps, Pick- 4,758,384 1,587,760 3,232 Total...........114,478,443 59,145,767 152,766 2. Railroad Reports.-There are annual 293 volumes published. From the one published 84 in 1847 for 1846, we note twenty-eight corporations. The fatal accidents on all during the year are nine-seven not fatal; others 50 supposed not given. Among the information given is that relative to stock of companies, 2,043 cost of roads and buildings, characteristics of 80 roads, results of the year, expenditures, in192 come, motive power, dividends, &c. All of these evidence wide prosperity, and deserve 2,506 to be studied in every part of the Union. In 1,103,850 2,421 1818 there was not a single mile of railway in New-England, save a short wooden track. The capital invested in railroads by Massachusetts men in 1846, was estimated at 427 $37,000,000; it must be now fast verging upon $50,000,000. 34 75 312 37 3. State Lunatic Asylum-Six hundred 1,369 and thirty-seven insane persons have had the privilege of the institution during 1846. 12 OCCUPATIONS OF THOSE ADMITTED. Poultry and Eggs.... Powder... 25,891 165,500 1846. Previously. 120,000 49 Farmers admitted.. Rolled and Slit Iron, 66 Saddles, Harnesses ..... .31 178 and Trunks........ 2 Salt.... 422,794 144,540 648 89 80 Sashes, Blinds and 57 Manufacturers " Seeds Shoe Pegs.. 4,721 18,206 2 and Hoes.... Shovels,Spades, Forks Silk, Raw........... 14 12 156 Lawyers Snuff, Tobacco, and Physicians 39 employment 1,849 Straw Bonnets and Many not classed, particularly females. 4. Common Schools.-The Report of the 269 Secretary of the Board, a considerable vol719 ume, contains the particulars in relation to all the school districts, &c. From the concluding pages we extract a passage: 256 275 "And the calamities which spring from ignorance, and a neglect of the social condi 1,017 tion of the masses of the people, are no excep526 tion to this rule. Republics, one after an2,925 other-a splendid yet mournful train-have 806 emerged into being; they have risen to greatness, and surrounding nations have sought Females accustomed to active em- .....66 432 That ports for 1844, contains 340 pages. protection beneath the shelter of their power; but they have perished through a want of intelligence and virtue in the masses of the people. They have been delivered over to anarchy and thence to despotism; and because "On the 1st of May last, therefore, I found they would not obey their own laws, they myself in possession of the School Commithave been held in bondage by the laws of ty- tees' Reports for two years. Each set of these rants. One after another, they have been was more voluminous than for any former blotted from the page of existence, and the year. Together, they were equal to fifty-five descendants of a renowned and noble ancestry hundred closely written letter-paper pages. have been made bond-men and bond-women; Every one of these I have carefully read. they have been dishonored and trampled Taken as a whole, they are documents of exupon, on the very soil still choral with the traordinary interest and value. From them, brave deeds of their forefathers. Has a suf the present volume of the Abstracts, more ficient number of these victim-nations been select than any of its predecessors, has been sacrificed, or must ours be added to the tragic compiled. I earnestly recommend its perulist? If men had been wise, these sacrifices sal to every friend of popular education in might have been mitigated, or brought to an Massachusetts-especially to all school comend, centuries ago. If men are wise, they mittee-men and teachers." may be brought to an end now. But if men 5. Registration of Births, Marriages, and will not be wise, these mournful catastrophes Deaths.-These are volumes published annumust be repeated again and again, for centuries to come. Doubtless, at some time, they will come to an end. When the accumulation of evils shall be so enormous and overwhelming that humanity can no longer en dure them, the adequate efforts for their termination will be made. The question for us is, has not the fulness of time Now come? Are not the sufferings of past ages, are not the cries of expiring nations, whose echoes have not yet died away, a summons sufficiently loud to reach our ears, and to rouse us to apply a remedy for the present, an antidote for the future ? We shall answer these questions, by the way in which we educate the rising generation. If we do not prepare children to become good citizens; if we do not develop their capacities; if we do not enrich their From this statement it appears that, while minds with knowledge, imbue their hearts the whole United States had 52.35 per cent. with the love of truth and duty, and a reve- of the population of the productive class, berence for all things sacred and holy, then our tween 15 and 60, Massachusetts had 59.65 per republic must go down to destruction, as cent, and England 56.70; showing this state others have gone before it; and mankind to be better situated, in this respect, than must sweep through another vast cycle of sin either. In the aged class it appears, however, and suffering, before the dawn of a better era that England had 7,20 per cent., while this can arise upon the world. It is for our gov-state had but 6.74-a result in favor of the ernment, and for that public opinion, which, longevity of that country. Some counties in a republic, governs the government, to choose between these alternatives of weal or woe." The volume of extracts from School Re England.. France Austria.. Prussia. Russia ally. We have four of them before us-—the one of 1842 being the first published under the state law. These cannot be too highly commended when properly kept. They present at all times an index to the actual condition of a people. The system of Massachu setts is deserving of universal imitation in other states, and we hope to see something of the kind before long. The volume for 1845 contains an admirable letter to the Secretary, by that able statistician, Lemuel Shattuck, Esq., of Boston. We make no apologies for presenting to our readers some of the striking results which it unfolds: PRODUCTIVE CLASSES. compare better than others or the whole state. Boston, has 64.65 per cent.-the greatest proportion of the productive class; and only 2.93 per cent.-the least of the aged. 24,297 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 in other terms, 717 wives bore annually 100 children in France, 152 children in Prussia, If the births are divided by the annual marriages that took place seven years before, there were 3.33 births (in wedlock) to a marriage in France-4.05 to a marriage in Prussia, and 4.34 to a marriage in Austria; 4.26 to a marriage in England, and if a correction be made for first marriages, 4.79 to every two persons married. The total annual births in England, divided by the persons married ser "The births registered in England are in proportion to the population one seventh part more numerous than in France, and one seven years before, give on an average 5.12 chilenth part less than in Prussia. To 3,525 inhabitants, 100 births are annually registered in France, 113 in England, 133 in Prussia, 136 in Austria, 151 in Russia. The small number of births in France is not accounted for by any difference in the proportion of the persons married, who are, in fact, more numerous in France than in any other country from which I have been able to procure returns. It ap pears that 100 French wives had 14 children, 100 Prussian wives 21 children, yearly; or, dren to every two persons married; and as many illegitimate children are the offspring of married persons before, during, or after marriage, the number of children to every two persons married in England must be between 4.79 and 5.12, or little short of five, about three of which attain the age of marriage to replace the two parents and those who have no offspring; the surplus swelling the number of the existing inhabitants of the island, or flowing in of emigration." 60, while in Preston 45.1 per cent. of the gen- sical nature, or has in itself unhealthy influtry, 20.5 per cent. of the tradesmen, and only ences, or in his occupation over-exerts himself 11.2 per cent. of the laborers survived that so as to impair his physical and mental capaage. This shows that the people of Massa- city. One man exposes himself to the conchusetts do not enjoy so good health as the tagion of small-pox, knowing, at the same better classes in England, though better health time, that it is dangerous, takes the disease than the laboring classes. The influence of and dies; another vaccinates himself, and thus circumstances and occupation on health and protects and saves his life. One man venlongevity, is strikingly illustrated by the state-tures upon the ocean without sufficient knowment concerning Preston. It appears that ledge to manage his craft, and thus exposes while 72.3 per cent. of the gentry survived 30 himself to accidental death; another is cau years, only 25.2 of the operatives, or laborers, tious, and ventures no farther than safety persurvived the same age. mits. The act of the one in each case is faThe following extracts are curious and in-vorable, and prolongs life; the act of another teresting. They furnish the most powerful is unfavorable, and abridges it. And will not reasons for the preservation of life statistics, every one say that all these acts and influand the study of this important branch of ences, for good or for evil, are more or less knowledge: within the control of man-that life may be saved and prolonged, and that the time of our death may, in some sense, be postponed? Numerous illustrations of this truth present them The late Rev. Dr. Ripley, of Concord, when settled, in 1778, had a feeble constitution; and one man voted against him because he thought it useless to settle a man whose prob. abilities of living were so small. He, however, by great care and attention to his health, acquired a pretty good constitution, and survived his 90th year. He probably added 50 years to a life, which another man, under similar circumstances, would not have enjoyed. "Man comes into existence a helpless being; arrives at maturity by the aid of others; exists in a state of maturity an indefinite period, and then decays and dies; 'the dust re-selves within the circle of our own knowledge. turns to the earth as it was.' This is the common lot of all. Life may extend to 70, 80, 90, or even 100 years: and it may terminate in a year, a month, or even in an hour. We know that we all must die; but the time of our death we do not know. It may come comparatively soon; it may not. We believe, however, that the time of our death, though unknown, is in some respects within our own control. We believe that disease and death come not from a mysterious, unconditional Providence, but are the result of the condition of our bodies, and the influences that are brought to bear upon them. Many of these influences we bring around us by our own voluntary choice. One person takes proper food, at proper times and in proper quantities; another indulges his appetite, and takes unwholesome food, at irregular intervals, and in inju rious quantities. One person clothes himself so as to maintain a uniform temperature of the body at all times; another guards not against the changes in the temperature of the seasons, but allows himself to be alternately heated and chilled. One man selects a place of residence where the air he breathes is pure and invigorating; another, where the noxious impurities of the air carry disease and death "The average age at death, as has been to his vitals. One person keeps his skin in a already said, not to be taken as an exact healthy state by frequent bathing; another index of comparison for the health of a place, permits it to be coated over with impurities, unless we have the number, age, and condition One chooses an occupation which gives suffi- of the living. It is, however, an interesting cient exercise, physical and mental, to keep fact to be known, and we present, in the suball the energies of his body vigorous; another, joined table, several calculations made from one that requires too much labor for his phy-such data as are in our possession: "The tendency of our people is to become a manufacturing people; and manufactures have been so far investigated, that the cost of every article-material, transportation, labor, wages, board, &c.-is clearly known. But what amount of life is sacrificed thereby we know not. We do not know, though we ought to know, whether there exists or whether there is any tendency to such a condition in any of our cities and towns, as would justify the remark of Mr. Chadwick, before quoted, making them 'characteristic of those crowded, filthy, badly-administered districts in England, where the average duration of life is short, the proportion of the young very great, and the adult generation transient.' "This statement affords another striking lost to the state last year by premature illustration of the influence of locality on deaths, before any return could be made for longevity. Estimating, by the above average it. Can any one doubt that half, at least, age at death, the value of life to be 100 per might have been saved by proper knowledge cent. enjoyed by the people of Plympton, then and care? the people of Boston would, according to the age 1831-1840, enjoy but 55.41 per cent.; or, in another view, the people of Boston, on the average, live a less number of years by 44.59 per cent. than do the people of Plympton! "The proportionate number of deaths among the young has been increasing for several years past in this country, as our investigations prove; and we see no reason to believe it will be less, until more knowledge is diffused in regard to the laws of life and the liability to death, under different circumstances. This immense loss of the productive power of the state may be considered as an annual tax, which the people must pay every year, until they find out and use the means of prevention. "But while we have all these surveys and maps pointing out the boundaries of our counties and towns, the localities of our mineral wealth, the best lands for farming and the production of domestic animals, and the existence of noxious and innoxious wild animals, we may ask where is the sanatory map which points out the healthy and un- It has been said that the strength and healthy localities of the state, which will re- dignity of a nation consist not in its lands, veal to our people where and how human its houses, its wealth, but in its people. And life can best be sustained and longest con- I have already stated, that that people is tinued, and where and how human energy most prosperous which contains the greatest and productive power can be best brought to proportionate number of the productive age. bear upon the culture and development of In the above calculation we have not taken the sources of wealth in the state? Have into account the loss sustained by the death we not said by such legislation that our cat of those belonging to this age. This would tle and our hogs are of more value than the greatly swell the amount of loss. We have lives of ourselves and our children? Have stated that, by care and attention, the late we not extended to the brute, whose worth Dr. Ripley probably added fifty years to his is measured by dollars and cents, a species of life. We are now considering time as money, legislation which has been withheld from labor as money, life as money, and not the man, who is of immeasurable value? When real, moral value of that good man's services. compared to investigations into the physical Estimating, then, this time to be worth $1 condition of man, all other investigations dwindle into insignificance. "The population of Massachusetts may now be estimated at 800,000. From the returns of deaths received, I have estimated the whole number of deaths in the state last year to have been 14,000, which is nearly 1 in 57, or 1.75 per cent. of the population. Of these 14,000, there died at least 6,000 children and youth under 15 years of age. Estimating the average ages of the whole of these in the same proportion as those actually known, it will give for each about 4 years, or 24,000 years of life for all. This, at $50 a year, amounts to $1,200,000 as the cost of their maintenance. And all this sum was per day, or $300 per annum, the fifty years of life were worth $15,000, and that sum was saved by the prolongation of his life. The deaths in this state last year, as we have estimated, were 14,000. Of these, 5,000 probably died between 15 and 60 years of age. Let us suppose, that by proper knowledge of the laws of health, and a proper care in obeying these laws, five years might, on the average, have been added to each of their lives— and this seems not an extravagant supposition-then we should have saved, instead of losing, as we have done, 25,000 years of life, which, estimated to be worth, in this adult age, only $150 a year, would have produced $3,750,000! And this loss must be annual! |