View report page

6
therefore, who either themselves, or by their families and dependants, are the most
likely to be driven by disease to take advantage of the charity of their neighbours, or
to accept of relief from the poor rates. It is for the benefit of such as these, labourers,
artisans, clerks, shopmen, and shopwomen, and their families, &c., that we seek to apply
the resources of sanitary science, in their homes, in their workshops, at their trades,
rather than of those whose social status permits greater liberty of selection, and
whose means permit the use of sanitary luxuries. It is these, too, whom we ought to
endeavour to instruct.
The death rate for the whole Parish being 20-0 per 1000, that of the several
sanitary districts I have set out varied from 8'5 in Hornsey Rise district to 33-5 in
Balls-pond district. Assuming, with Dr. Farr, a mortality of 15 per 1000 as a
standard mortality for a healthy district, there were ten out of the thirty-five
districts in which it was lower than this, viz., Hornsey Rise, Hornsey Road, Tufnell,
Market, Highbury Hill, Belle Isle, Rydon, Highgate Hill, Archway, and Park Street
districts. The appearance of Belle Isle district in their list is remarkable and
instructive. Its full significance, however, is at present hidden from us. The death
rate from zymotic disease, and the large per centage of infant deaths would place this
district much lower in the list: the former stands in striking contrast to the infant
mortality of the other nine districts. Still it is observable that in 1360 this district
(calculating its death rate upon the population of 1861) was low, only 15 2 per 1000.
Yet it is inhabited mainly by a negligent population, the houses are mostly small,
there are, on an average, three families in every two houses, and the land is badly
drained, and wet during a great part of the year. Probably, the great redeeming
feature in the locality is the detached and isolated manner in which most of the
houses are built, the free circulation of air amongst them, and the consequent
thorough dilution of atmospheric poisons. It is, however, possible that the low death
rate for two years, contrasting so forcibly with that in the Bemerton district
adjoining, may be only one of those accidents, the influence of which can only be
rectified by an inquiry extending over a series of years. Time will show.
Of the remaining districts in which the death rate exceeded 15 per 1000, there
were 11 in which it exceeded the mean mortality of the Parish, in which it was above
20 per 1000. There was only one district, (Balls-pond) the death rate of which
exceeded that of the entire of London, viz., 23 2: every other district was below this
rate. The eleven districts were Theberton, Church, Lower Hollowav, Kingsland,
Shepherdess (rapidly growing), St. Peter's, Lower Road, Bemerton, Battle Bridge,
Irish Courts, and Balls-pond districts. Balls-pond district was nearly at the bottom
of the list in 1860 ; what places it quite the lowest in 1861 appears at the first glance
at the table. The deaths from zymotic diseases were nearly double those of any
other district, the mortality under five years of age was 18 in the 1000 living at all
ages, and the deaths from scarlet fever were only feebly approached by those in the
Irish Courts, being nearly three times as many as those in any other district. On
referring to my street list, I find that out of nineteen deaths from scarlet fever in
this district, six occurred in five houses in Albion-place, three in two houses in
Brunswick-place, and seven in six houses in Mildmay-street. Altogether 78 out of
the 102 deaths registered as happening in this district from all causes occurred in these
three streets, viz., 21 in Albion-place, of which nine were from zymotic diseases, and
fourteen of children under five years of age ; 20 in Brunswick-place, out of which six