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of 148 per 1,000 births. These figures show to what a large
extent the statistics of this district, which contains considerably
less than a tenth of the population, spoil those of the parish
generally. But if matters were bad in the district, as a
whole, they were still worse in the "Notting-dale" special
area, which contains a population of 4,000 souls; for its deathrate
(50.0 per 1,000 in 1896) was 55.7 per 1,000, as compared
with 15.6 in the parish, as a whole, and 24.6 in the north-west
district less the special area: the zymotic death-rate was 6.25
per 1,000 persons living, or three-and-a-half times as great as
that of the parish, as a whole. The deaths at all ages were
93 more than the births ; the deaths of children under one year
of age being in the proportion of 431 per 1,000 (or 43.1 per
cent.) on the births registered.
The True Death-Rate in 1897.—From time to time
observations are made which indicate misapprehension of the
signification of the expression "death-rate" as used, in the
table at page 17, which shows the rate of mortality for each of
the four-weekly periods covered by the monthly reports. It may
be well, therefore, to explain by an illustration what is really
meant. The deaths in the last four-weekly period of the year
were 226, and the death-rate was stated to be 20.0 per 1,000.
This statement implies simply, that if the deaths for the whole
year were in the same proportion to the population, as in the
49th—52nd weeks, the annual death-rate would be 20.0 per
1,000 of the estimated population in the middle of the year.
The estimated population in 1897 was 170,700: the deaths
registered were 2,667; the death-rate, therefore, was 15.6
per 1000 (2,667 ÷ 170,700 = 15.6). This method of
calculating the death-rate is customary, and is that used by
the Registrar-General. The death-rate so calculated is, of
course, an uncorrected one, as it does not take cognizance of
the relative numbers of the sexes, nor of the