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16
The mortality statistics thus obtained provide
very useful material in indicating both the progress
which has been made and the problems which still
remain to be dealt with. There have been great improvements
in the methods of death certification during
recent years, but there is room for considerable
improvement yet before the death returns can be
regarded as a thoroughly satisfactory index of the
health of the people. The statement of the cause of
death is very defective in many instances, and vague
and probably inaccurate descriptions are frequently met
with. In many cases I believe it is the practice of
the Registrar General to communicate with the Doctor
concerned with a view to getting fuller or more definite
information as to the cause of death, and it would
be a great advantage to Medical Officers of Health
if this additional and more accurate information were
also furnished to them. Even greater efficiency would
probably be achieved in death registration if its local
administration were made an integral part of the Public
Health Service.
EXTRACTS FROM VITAL STATISTICS FOR
THE YEAR.
BIRTHS.
Males Females TOTAL Birth Eate
Legitimate 1,143 1,159, 2, 2,353 19.9
Illegitimate 24 27
DEATHS.
Males Females TOTAL Death Rate
717 622 1,339 11.3
MATERNAL MORTALITY.
Number of Women dying in, or in consequence of,
childbirth:—
From Sepsis Nil.
From other causes 4