The Annnal Report of the Committee of the Charing Cross

Hos- pital, amongst a variety of information on the objects, resources, and advantages of the charity, contains the following analysis of the cases of " Accident and Emergency" admitted in 1836. The reflection that nearly a thousand fellow-creatures, suffering under bodily afflic- tions to which all are liable, have received such assistance as science can render, must be gratifying to the subscribers. The statist looks at it with another eye, and calculates the relative proportions according to the causes from which they arise. Thus, out of the whole number of cases, three-fourths originate in the earning or spending of money for maintaining life. The first four items, or 257 casualties out of the 975, occur to workmen while following their vocation ; 469, or nearly half of the whole, happen to persons engaged in domestic affairs ; 121 are pure accidents, out of which those caused by vehicles of various kinds are 99; passion (slight cases, we hope) produces nearly one-ninth of the whole ; natural disease, only 17 cases, or about 1.57th of the whole; despair, still lower, yielding only 8 cases. It may be remarked, that of the domestic casualties the greater number were probably slight, and that a more laborious neighbourhood than Charing Cross would yield a greater amount of accidents under the first heads. The proportions of such cases in the London Hospital, si- tuated near the Docks and the Pool, would probably be in a much higher ratio—that of St. George's perhaps lower.

From falls off scaffolds, ladders, buildings, vessels, lofts, staircases, and windows; os dow u cellars. t rap.dours, areas, &c

128

From the falling of excavated earth, buildings, chininies, timbers, stones, heavy weights. Ike

73 From steam-engines, mill-cogs, crane-tackle, and other machinery

9

From burns, scalds, melted socials, &c.; and explosions of gunpowder. Ste 47 From carriages and horses, coaches, carts, omnibuses, cabriolets, trucks, &c 99 From accidental drowning, suspended animation, taking of deleterious articles,

inhalation of noxious gases, Fee

4

From bites of dogs, cats, &c

18 From personal violence, angry blows. kicks, stabs, &c 103

From attempted suicides by wounds, poisons, drowning. shooting. Sic..

8

From broken glass or porcelain, splinters, casual falls, contusions, lifting of weights, and Ilse incautious use of spikes, beaks, knives, and other domestic

implements or articles, atc 469

Fnmsapoplexy, epilepsy, Ste

10 From hernia, hemorrhages, &c

7

975