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deaths, 45 occurred under one year of age ; 29 between one
year and five years ; 4 between five and 20 years ; 61 between
20 and 60 years; and 25 at 60 years and upwards. The
causes of death include 56 from tubercular diseases, and wasting
diseases of infants (i.e., atrophy, debility, and inanition);
47 from diseases of the heart and lungs ; 21 from diseases of
the zymotic class; 11 from diseases of the nervous system
including convulsions', 9 from diseases of the digestive organs;
4 from cancer; 3 from syphilis; 2 from influenza ; 2 from old
aye, and 9 from various other causes. Of the 164 deaths, 70
occurred "at home "; 88 at the parish infirmary; 3 at the
West London Hospital; 2 at St. Mary's Hospital; and 1 at
Fulham Infirmary. It is interesting to observe that the
lowest death-rate was in William-street (29 - 7 per 1,000), this
being the oldest of the five streets, and structurally the worst; it
is significant, moreover, that there were only 7.8 persons to a
house in this street. Cases of overcrowding were observed,
although on an average there were only, in round numbers,
two persons to a room. There can be no question of the
disadvantage of having, as we have in the area generally, a
large number of persons in a house, of the class who inhabit
the district; for this involves, necessarily, much contamination
of the air of the rooms, especially at night-time, and this, in
itself, would suffice, to a large extent, to account for the
unhealthiness of the district indicated by the excessive
mortality recorded.
*The observations on the "Avernus" statistics are summarised from
three of my monthly reports, viz., No. 13, 1895, dated January 9th, 1896, and
Nos. 1 and 2, 1896, dated respectively January 31st and March 2nd. The
Vestry, after consideration of the said reports, appointed a Special Committee
to " consider whether any steps can be taken by the Vestry, either alone or in
conjunction with some other authority, to effect an improvement in the conditions
at present prevailing in the North-West Sanitary District,division B."
At the present writing the Committee are sitting and receiving evidence,
having themselves on two occasions visited the locality. This being so. I
refrain from repeating in this report the views and statements set out in the
three monthly reports mentioned, as. practically, they comprise the subjectmatter
referred to the Committee.