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The death-rate for the Borough in 1916 was 17.2 per
thousand living inhabitants, being 4.2 below that recorded in
1915, and 1.4 below the average for the last 10 years.
This is a highly satisfactory record, since it is the lowest
death-rate recorded since the formation of the Borough in 1900.
It is certainly also much lower than any rate previously recorded
by the Vestries of Bermondsey and Rotherhithe before the
amalgamation.
In column 1, foot of Table I. of the Appendix will be found a
list of places where deaths of non-parishioners occurred in the
district. There were 155 such deaths in all, against 38 in 1915,
and 26 in 1914.
145 such deaths occurred in the infirmary; 10 in the workhouse;
12 in River Thames; 9 in Surrey Commercial Docks.
453 persons belonging to this Borough died in outlying
institutions, against 542 in 1915, and 516 in 1914. The names
of the various places where the deaths occurred will be found in
columns 2 and 3 at foot of Table I. of Appendix.
Infantile Mortality.
The figure for this is 108 deaths under one year to every 1,000
births, and when it is remembered that the average for the years
1905 - 1914 is 137, and that in 1915 it went up to 154, the drop is
most remarkable and satisfactory. When examining the figures
for last year I found that the increase was entirely in the period
between 3 and 12 months old, but comparing Table V. for 1916
with the two previous years, I am unable to find any evidence
that to one particular period under 12 months the fall is due for
the reduction appears to be very evenly distributed.
Neither am I sanguine enough to attribute the fall solely
to increased activity on the part of Sanitary Authorities though
some part is no doubt due to this cause. For one thing there
was a tremendous drop in diarrhoeal diseases from 102 in 1915
to 36 in 1916. The real cause of this was the cold damp summer.
The popular notion that such weather is unhealthy is not
founded on fact, because with such weather one can with certainty
predict a low infantile mortality.