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Tables VIII. and IX. give the deaths occurring in the
Parish, and Table X. those of inhabitants who have died in
institutions outside the Parish, both arranged according to age,
season and disease, and also as to the registration sub-district
of the Parish from which they were removed, whenever this
information was given on the death certificate ; in those cases
where it was missing the deaths have been included under the
head of unclassified. They were for the most part of persons
who had died in lunatic asylums, and the only information
forthcoming was that they belonged to Camberwell.
Table XI. gives much the same information only
classified in a manner required by the Local Government
Board, so that all the reports of Medical Officers under its
control shall be made on a uniform plan. It will be seen that
in the latter there are two separate classifications for rheumatic
fever and heart disease, while that for cancer is included under
the head of "other diseases." There is also a heading for
phthisis considered by itself and not included with other tuberculous
diseases. I confess that I am unable to understand
why this should be, since the disease in all cases has a common
origin and differs clinically only on account of the different
organs in the body that may be attacked. It is true that in
the present stage of our knowledge the infection is considered
more likely to arise in cases of phthisis owing to the expectoration
of material which contains organisms required for the
propagation of the disease.
I have in previous years referred to the difficulty of
classifying heart disease, which is a somewhat wide term, but
as heretofore I have included all diseases both of the heart
muscle and its valves.
On comparing the figures for 1899 with those of 1898 it
will be seen that deaths from accidental or other violence (in
which are comprised cases of drowning) amounted to 156,
compared with 124 in 1898. The deaths ascribed to developmental
diseases (premature birth, etc.) and to convulsions
of infancy numbered 341 and 105 as contrasted
with 371 and 92 in 1898. Twenty-four deaths were ascribed
to the immediate or remote effects of child-birth,
and of that number 11 were ascribed to puerperal fever. This
vii.