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7
BIRTHS.—The Borough Birth.rate for 1949 is 17.17, which represents a fall of 1.20 per 1,000 of the population compared
with the rate for 1948. This rate is, however, a little higher than that for England and Wales (16.7), but slightly
lower than that for the County of London (18.5).
MARRIAGES.—The number of marriages solemnised in the Borough was 1,581, representing a rate of 24.20 per 1,000
of the population. The number for 1948 was 1,805 (rate 28.2), and for 1947 1,948 (rate 30.6).
Of the 1,581 marriages solemnised in 1949, 1,142 took place at the office of the Registrar of Marriages, 314 were
Church of England marriages, and 125 took place in Non.Conformist Churches.
The decline in the number of marriages is general throughout the country, and is no doubt intimately connected
with the housing shortage.
DEATHS.—There were 108 more deaths in 1949 than in 1948, representing an increase in the rate per 1,000 of the
population of 0.51 to 11.39. The causes of death accounting for this increase were cancer, heart disease and respiratory
diseases. The local rate was, nevertheless, slightly lower than the rates for London and England & Wales, which
were 12.2 and 11.7 respectively.
In the Table on the next page the deaths are classified according to the Abridged List of the International Manual
of Causes of Death, and the sex.age distribution is also shown.