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Of 140 deaths of persons aged from seventy-five to eighty-five years, 4 were the
result of cancer, 5 influenza, 79 old age, 7 diseases of the nervous system including
4 from apoplexy, 4 valvular heart disease, 7 heart disease not stated to have been
valvular, 17 bronchitis and 5 accident.
Of the 41 persons who died aged eighty-five years and upwards, 1 died from
cancer, 29 from old age, 1 diabetes, 1 influenza, 1 disease of the nervous system.
1 from heart disease, 1 bronchitis, 1 intestinal obstruction, 1 Bright's disease, 3 from
accidental falls, and 1 from malignant disease.
The principal causes of death in the Borough during the year were: Tuberculosis,
which accounted for 327, including 232 due to phthisis or consumption, pneumonia
232, bronchitis 236, diseases of the circulatory organs 183, measles 114, whooping
cough 99, diarrhoea 74, enteritis 52, cancer, 83, Bright's disease 63, apoplexy 39, prematurity
60, atrophy debility and marasmus 50, cirrhosis of the liver and alcoholism
47, and old age, which was given as the cause of 148 deaths.
Of the 83 deaths from cancer 35 were of males and 48 of females. The great
majority of these deaths were of persons aged between 45 and 75 years. Eight
persons under forty-five years and 5 over seventy-five years were certified to have
died from cancer. In addition to the deaths attributed to cancer there were 19
deaths certified as due to malignant disease. In some of these cancer was probably
the cause of death. Fourteen of the deaths from malignant disease were of males
and 5 of females. The death-rate from cancer was 0.72 per 1,000 population, which
is considerably above the average. The rates for previous years are as follows:—
0.64 in 1906, 0.70 in 1905, 0.69 in 1904, 0.66 in 1903, 0.74 in 1902, 0.63 in 19: ,
0.56 in 1900, 0.63 in 1899, 0.58 in 1898, 0.51 in 1897, 0.45 in 1896, 0.50 in 1895,
0.65 in 1894, and 0.54 in 1893. The deaths from malignant disease have not been
included in estimating the above rates. Of the deaths from alcoholism and cirrhosis
of the liver 24 were of males and 23 of females. These, however, are far from
representing the actual number of deaths directly or indirectly the result of the
abuse of alcohol.
Only one death was certified as being caused by appendicitis, as compared with
19 in 1906, 4 in 1905, 7 in 1904, 5 in 1903, 4 in 1902 and 2 in 1901. There were
6 deaths attributed to peritonitis. Taken together the deaths from peritonitis and
appendicitis were fewer than in any year since 1889.
Violence in its various forms resulted in 115 deaths, of which 73 were of males
and 42 of females. Through accident or negligence 84 persons met their deaths, the
chief causes being vehicular traffic 7, burns or scalds 10, falls, chiefly in persons over
forty-five years of age, 24, and suffocation in bed, mainly through overlying, which
resulted in 28 deaths. There were 5 instances of homicide, and 16 persons, 9 of
whom were males, committed suicide.