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This return shows that the infantile death-rate has been slightly less
during the last thirty years than in a similar period immediately
preceding. It might also be said that the period covered by the report
has been marked by the employment to a much larger extent than
formerly of persons in factories, and the disposition of more of the
country people to flock to large towns. All these conditions have to be
duly considered.
The death-rate for England and Wales which has fallen from 23.3
per 1,000 in 1846-50 to 17.7 in 1896-1900, points to the great improvement
that must have taken place in the health conditions under which
the people have lived. Although at the present moment many grievous
defects still exist in the social machine, we are bound to acknowledge
that the food of the people is better than it was in the middle of the last
century. The sanitary conditions and the cleanliness of the people
generally have also improved. The birth-rate which was 32.6 in 1841-50
had declined to 28.8 in 1898-1902.
This decreasing birth-rate does not tend to lower the infant rate. It
acts all the other way. The families of the lower classes in our borough
are just as large as ever they were, the restriction occurs in the healthy
lower middle class, many of which are fully able to support and bring up
large families, but at the same time are unwilling to exercise the selfdenial
that is necessary to do so.
It regard to Southwark specially, the accompanying statistics show
that our borough, if not the worst in the metropolitan death and infant
rates, is generally among the three placed at the bottom of the scale. The
wards that are particularly bad in their infant rate are St. George, St.
Michael, St. John, and All Saints'.
I have prepared tables of birth and death rates for London, and the
several Metropolitan Vestries and Boroughs covering a period of ten years
1893-1902. I have also submitted tables of infant mortality for England
and Wales, London and the various vestries and boroughs together with
many of the chief large towns of England. A glance at these tables will
at once make apparent the importance of this subject of Infant Mortality.