View report page

5
Represented in proportion to the total population, the birth-rate in London appears to be more
than 35 per cent, higher than in Kensington. When the births are shown in proportion to married
women of child-bearing age, the birth-rate for London is seen to be less than 18 per cent, higher
than the rate in Kensington. The discrepancy is thus materially reduced when allowance is made
for the smaller proportion of married women in the community with the lower birth-rate.
In both areas the birth-rate is declining and, in spite of an increasing total population, the
births occurring every year in Kensington have fallen in round numbers from 4,500 in 1880 to 3,400
in the present year. The steady decline in the birth-rate is shown in Table IX. Appendix, p. 80,
where the number of births and the birth-rates both for London and Kensington are given for each
quinquennial period since 1856. The figures for each year were given in the Annual Report for
1908.

In proportion to the total population, the illegitimate birth-rate of Kensington is equal to or
greater than that of London as a whole. When allowance has been made for the excess of
unmarried females in Kensington, the true illegitimate birth-rate is seen to have been considerably
lower than in London both in the census periods and in 1908. The London figures for 1909 are
not yet available.
Deaths.—The corrected number of deaths was 2,449. The corrected death-rate was 14.6 as
compared with a crude death-rate of 13'5 per 1,000 living. To obtain the corrected number of
deaths, which represents the true mortality among the population, it is necessary to add the deaths
of Kensington "residents" occurring beyond the district to the number registered as actually
occurring in the Borough, and to subtract from the total thus arrived at the deaths of "nonresidents
"taking place in the institutions provided in Kensington for the reception of sick or infirm
persons. For statistical purposes the Local Government Board define the term "Non-residents"
as meaning "persons brought into the district on account of sickness or infirmity and dying in
public institutions there;" by the term "Residents" is meant "persons who have been taken out
of the district on account of sickness or infirmity, and have died in public institutions elsewhere "

* The great majority of these deaths occurred in institutions, but a small number were "non-institutional" The figures
are based on the periodical returns received from the General Register Office, in which corrections are made in the case oi
London both for institutional and non-institutional deaths.