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20
Population,
1905.
Births, 1905.
Legitimate.
Illegitimate.
Birth-rate
per 1,000
Population.
Legitimate
Births
per 1,000
Married Women
aged 15—45.
1,475
39
Nil
26.44
172.5
The birth-rate in this community of skilled workmen is
well below the rate of the whole borough, and is much lower
than the rates in the three poorer enumeration districts which
have been considered. The birth-rate calculated on the number
of married women at child-bearing ages, is, however, still more
significant. On referring to the table on page 15 it will be
seen that in only one of the metropolitan boroughs was a
lower rate recorded.
The figures on which the three preceding tables are based
are small, and too much weight must not be attached to them.
If the tables covered a series of years, instead of one year only,
the results would be of greater value. Still, it is unlikely that
increased data would alter to any considerable extent the
results already obtained, and I have no doubt that the rates
represent real differences in the fertility of the various districts.
Marriages.
The marriages registered during the year numbered 1,412,
or nineteen more than the decennial average, and fifty-three
less than the number in 1904. The marriage-rate, i.e., the
number of persons married per 1,000 population was 15.9, or
.5 below the decennial average. The variations in the
marriage-rate since 1895, in Battersea and London, are set
out in the next table :—