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In 1957, the death rate from cancer (2.8 per thousand population)
was the highest in Middlesex. In 1956, the rate for Southgate
was the second highest in the County. In 1955 the rate was the
third highest in Middlesex, while in 1954 the rate was again the
second highest in the County. In short, year after year, the number
of deaths from cancer in Southgate, which varied from 168 in 1955
to 202 in 1957, remained high when compared with figures from
other County districts. The reason is again not far to seek. The
population o.f Southgate is weighted in the over-60 group and is
becoming increasingly weighted as the years go by. This means
that more and more Southgate inhabitants are living to the age
when cancer used to be considered a major killing disease. Although
one cannot describe any cause of death as satisfactory, it is at least
pleasing to think that the conditions which prevail within the
Borough are such as to promote longevity. Unfortunately, we
know only too well that a portion of these deaths occur in persons
who have only reached late middle life. None the less, the over-all
fact remains that, in the absence of any factor which might increase
the prevalence of cancer—and no such factor seems to exist—we
must assume that the high rates in Southgate are primarily due to
the long life of its burgesses.
Infant Mortality.
There were 16 deaths of infants under 1 year of age, which
gives an infant death rate of 20.1 per 1,000 births, as compared
with 11 deaths and a rate of 13.8 in the preceding year.

As already indicated, the Infant Mortality Rate rose from 13.8
in 1956 to 20.1 in 1957. These figures are perhaps seen in more
accurate perspective when it is remembered that the number of
infants who died before the age of one year in 1956 was 11, while
the corresponding number in 1957 showed only an increase of 5,
making a total of 16. In other words, as has been explained, a few
infant deaths will appreciably raise the infantile mortality rate for
a district with a population such as Southgate's. We also know,
that most of our infant deaths occurred during the first few weeks
of life, indeed, during the first few days of life. This mortality,
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