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During the year, 3,152 births to Kensington mothers were registered, and of this number 2,919
or 93 per cent, have been notified in accordance with the requirements of the Act. The number of
stillbirths notified was 64.

Although it is 16 years since the Notification of Births Act became law, there is still a good
deal of confusion existing in the minds of many people in regard to the two distinct duties of
Notification and Registration of births. Many parents believe that the act of Notification to the
Medical Officer of Health covers Registration, and vice versa.
It is unfortunate that the law requires every birth to be reported to two different Public
Officers.
Notification to the Medical Officer of Health within 36 hours of birth is of primary importance
to the efficiency of a Public Health Department, and cannot be dispensed with; by very slight
alteration of the law, it could be made to cover Registration.
With such an emendation it would simply be necessary for the Medical Officer of Health to
supply the Registrar with a weekly list of births. As the Kensington Registrars and the Medical
Officer of Health already exchange weekly lists of births reported to them, in order that each may
discover and deal with omissions to notify or register as the case may be, the alteration would
decrease rather than increase administrative work and an economy would probably result. In any
case, parents would be saved a good deal of trouble and irritation in visiting local Registrars' Offices,
which are not always easily found.
A greater and still more desirable alteration of the law is the transfer of all duties in connection
with registration of births and deaths from the supervision of the Guardians of the Poor to the
Local Sanitary Authority. It is well known that the work of the Registrar is not to any material
extent, if at all, bound up with the relief of the poor, which is the main function of the Guardians,
whereas the work of that official is very closely associated with that of the Public Health Department
of a Local Sanitary Authority. For this reason, and for the general convenience of the
public, it is desirable that registration of births and deaths should be performed at the Town Hall
under the supervision of the Borough Council.
DEATHS.
The number of deaths registered in the Borough during the year was 2,814, but this does not
represent the true mortality among the population and, in order to obtain the corrected number
of deaths which does so represent the true mortality, it is necessary to add the deaths of
Kensington "residents" occurring beyond the district to the number registered as actually
occurring in the Borough, and to subtract from the total thus arrived at the deaths of "nonresidents"
taking place in the institutions provided in Kensington for the reception of sick or
infirm persons.
Total deaths registered in the Borough 2,814
Deaths of residents in public institutions, etc., beyond the Borough 507
3,321
Deaths of non-residents in public institutions, etc., within the
Borough 894
Corrected number of deaths belonging to the Borough 2,427