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4
All Causes.
Phthisis.
Other Respiratory.
Diarrhœa.
District No. 3 23.7 3.6 5.4 1.8
St. John's Ward 18.3 2.4 3.7 l.0
City 14.6 1.7 3.0 0.5
The high rates under all headings will be noticed readily. There is
a number of small, confined yards, but which do not appear to contribute
disproportionately to the mortality. Certain streets, however,
such as Wood Street (south side), are prominent in their worn-out state,
while special attention may with advantage be called to St. John's
Chambers (Smith Square), Tufton Street, and Marsham Street. The
east side of the latter street is within this district and the west side in
District No. 5, and the street will be considered as a whole in connection
with the latter district.
St. John's Chambers consists of two large blocks of old tenements
situated on the west side of Smith Square, which has afforded accommodation
for an average population of 400. As it has been recently
closed by the County Council, it is only interesting now as a recent
factor influencing the death-rate of the area in which it is situated.
All Causes.
Phthisis.
Other Respiratory.
Diarrhœa.
St. John's Chambers 21.8 3.1 4.3 1.25
City 14.6 1.7 3.0 0.5
It will be seen that the death-rates from all causes exceeds that of
the City by 50 per cent., while the phthisis and diarrhoea rates are
about doubled. As in Tufton Street, next to be considered, there is
little doubt that these figures fall far short of indicating the actual
disease engendered, as the class of inhabitant is such as would drift to
common lodging houses and workhouses, and their deaths fail to be
attributed to their correct source. These buildings, moreover, showed
a marked tendency to increase in mortality rates, the latter being 17'5
in 1901 and 25.0 in 1904, an increase of 42.5 per. cent.
High as these figures are, they are not so unsatisfactory as those
for this district as a whole, which are largely swelled by the deaths
in Tufton Street, where the condition of property generally and the
resulting mortality rates call for serious consideration.
Lyon's Buildings, Tufton Street (now closed), a dark, ill-ventilated
block of tenements, was a particularly bad feature of this street.
Excluding common lodging houses, the average number of deaths per