27 DECEMBER 1873, Page 2

We are very glad indeed to hear that 780 Londoners

above the average died last week of the fog. We do not want them to die, of course, but if they were to die, it is better they should die of the fog, and so get rid at once of the superstition that the most disagreeable, inconvenient, dangerous, and spirit- depressing visitation which falls on Londoners is somehow "good for us." It is not good for us, any more than for cattle, but bad, as the Registrar's return shows. There is no cure for it except retreat into warm rooms, and we strongly recommend the sanitary reformers to provide them - at other people's expense, of course— and pass an Act compelling all Londoners to stop in them, under penalty of a month. A compulsory use of respirators at £2 a piece would also answer the end sought.