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There is thus a decrease in the birth-rate since last year
of ·1.
But, on making a reference to the Annual Report for 1901,
I find that the birth-rate there is given as 29.75. That being a
census year the rate is fairly certain to be accurate, and it
shows a very great falling off when we come down to the 24.4 of
1912.
At present the falling off is compensated for by the great
diminution in infantile and other mortality. When this has attained
its limit of decrease, and the birth-rate still shows a progressing
diminution, the outlook for the material prosperity of the country,
and even for the existence of the nation, will begin to assume an
unfavourable aspect.
The complete number of death registrations in the Borough was
3,874, but from this must be deducted the 823 non-residents who
died in the district, and to it must be added 342, the number of residents
who died outside. It thus happens that 3,393 represents the
number of deaths to be actually assigned to the Borough for the
purpose of calculating the death-rate. So far as possible, each of
these outside deaths has been credited to the particular sub-district
whence the patient was removed to the hospital or other institution
where he died. But just as in the case of the registration of births
it was not always possible to do this on account of the deficiency in
the information as to the address, in 58 instances it was impossible
to correctly allocate the deaths. They have therefore been redistributed
among the various sub-districts proportionately to the deaths
that we were aware of as having occurred in them. They were
principally of people who had been moved from one of the Poor Law
institutions to asylums outside, where they are registered as
coming from Camberwell Borough, and this is usually the only
address we are able to obtain.
This number also includes the deaths of 33 persons who have
been assigned to this Borough by the Registrar-General, as those
considered by him to be properly described as residents of Camberwell,
even although the death took place away from home. Some
of these are of persons who obviously should be assigned to
Camberwell, such as those who are found drowned, or who have
met with a sudden death in other parts of London. There are,
however, occasions in which, through the lack of ability to ascertain
the last outside residence of a person who died in a Camberwell
institution, we have had to accept the death as of a resident. A
patient died from cancer of some standing in a nursing home in the
Borough. She had been removed here from a similar institution
in the West End, the exact situation of which it was impossible
to ascertain, and in consequence the death was allocated as one of a
local resident. The result is that, through the impossibility of
finding out the address of the institution from which she was
removed, we are credited with a death from a disease which
commenced elsewhere.
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