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TO THE VESTRY OF
SAINT MARY, ISLINGTON,
Gentlemen,
My Tenth Annual Report on the sanitary condition of Islington would have
been a favourable one, were it not that it embraces some account of the outbreak of
a disease amongst the cows, which, commencing here in the month of June, has,
since that time, spread generally over the United Kingdom. Such an account
constitutes a necessary part of my report, first, because it is essential to the completeness
of the sanitary history of the parish of which my reports are the record;
secondly, because of the results of the cattle plague as affecting the food of the people;
and thirdly, because my observations of its rise and progress remarkably illustrate
and throw additional light upon the operation of those influences which we habitually
recognise as affecting the health of mankind.
MORTALITY, DEATH-RATE, and SICKNESS.
The number of deaths registered in Islington (omitting those of non-residents
in hospitals, and also those in the Clerkenwell Infant Poor-house) during the fifty-two
weeks ending December 30th, amounted to 3813. To these we must add 222 more
deaths as our share (proportionally to our population) of the deaths which took place
in the several metropolitan institutions for the reception of sick persons, lunatics, etc.
The mortality thus corrected amounts to 4035. Assuming that our population has
increased to the extent of 5 per cent. upon that of 1864. (the rate of increase in the
decenniad 1851-61) it will have numbered in the middle of 1865, 181,897 persons.
Our death-rate calculated upon this number was, for the year 1865,221.8 per 10,000.
Notwithstanding that 8662 persons may be believed to have been added to our
population during the year, it is worth noticing that the deaths registered here
during 1865 were less numerous than those registered during 1864 (corrected to the
same number of weeks) by 133. In London generally, during 1865, the death-rate
was 246.2. In 1864 the death-rate with us was 224 per 10,000, and in 1863 it was
227 per 10,000.