View report page

73
1884. Out of 69,000 males, 1,326 died, equal to one in 52, as
against one in 54'4 in 1884; whilst only 1,442 females died out of
103,000, or one in 74.4, as against one in 73'4 in 1884. The
deaths in the first and fourth, or colder quarters, exceeded those
in the second and third, or warmer quarters, by 22 only, whereas
in the five preceding years the difference in favour of the wanner
quarters was 240, 120, 355, 251, and 132 respectively.
INFANTILE MORTALITY.
The deaths of young children always bear a high ratio to total
deaths, and in 1885, owing to the fatal prevalence of measles, etc.,
this ratio was higher than in some recent years. The deaths
under five years were 1,085, (478 in the first and fourth quarters,
and 607 in the second and third quarters), compared with 1,114,
982, and 1,034 in the three preceding years; being equal to 39'2
per cent, on total deaths, and to 26.9 on births registered : the
equivalent percentages for the whole metropolis were 4.1 and
24.8. Under one year of age the deaths were 653, (compared
with 635, 601, and 689 in 1882-3-4 respectively), and were equal
to 23'6 per cent, on total deaths, and to 16" 1 per cent, on registered
births; the equivalent per centage for the whole metropolis
being 24'5 and 14'8.
The deaths of illegitimate children under five years of age were
86, of which 77 were registered in the Town sub-district, as
against 114, 78, and 80 in the three preceding years, and were
equal to 44 per cent, on births registered as illegitimate. Of these
86 children only 17 outlived their first year, and 11 died in the
second year of life. The causes of death, as registered, were
atrophy, debility, inanition, want of breast-milk, and premature
birth, 29; tubercular diseases, 21; zymotic diseases, 11 (diarrhoea,
9; measles and whooping-cough, 1 each); syphilis, 3; lung
diseases, 12; other visceral diseases, 3; erysipelas, convulsions,
thrush, teething, spasm of glottis, cellulitis, and delayed birth,
one each. Inquests were held in eight of the cases. Illegitimate
children are commonly brought up by hand, under the
D