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128
1911
Pleurisy.—This disease caused 27 deaths, of which nine were of persons
under five years old. Five deaths were registered in the public institutions.
Asthma and Emphysema. —8 deaths were known, all of which
occurred among adults who had passed their 45th year.
Other Diseases of the Respiratory System. — To these were
credited 22 deaths, as compared with 13 in 1910.

ALCOHOLISM.
Among all the mortality returns included in these annual reports there
are none which so conclusively indicate a change in the habits of the people
as those embraced under this heading, for they clearly indicate that the drink
habit is gradually, but, nevertheless, very surely, disappearing from the
borough, and, therefore, that the people living here, as in many other places,
are becoming more sober. During the ten yean, 1901-10 there have died on
the average 29 persons per annum. Last year there were only 4 deaths.
The decrease began in 1902, and has continued since, although not always
quite uniformly, for in 1907 the figure rose to 28 from 16 in 1906. Nevertheless,
the diminution is remarkable. Thus in the five years 1901-5 there
were 138 deaths registered, while in the next five years they had decreased to
84. If we divide the ten years into pairs, it is found that in the years 1901-2
there were 65 deaths, in 1903-4 48, in 1905-6 41, in 1907-8 45, in 1909-10 29.
It is curious to note that there was an increase in 1907-8, which was, however,
fully made up for by the decrease in 1909-10. The drop to 4 deaths in 1911
emphasised the change to which the other figures pointed. The number of
deaths of males and females was alike, 2.