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The registered births exceed the registered deaths by 2934; hence we may
conclude that all further increase of our population, probably to the extent of 6728
persons, have come into the parish from without.
Table IV. shows the number of new cases of disease recorded as happening
during the year in the pauper practice of the parish, and in the books of the Holloway
and of the Islington Dispensaries, and the Pentonville Convict Prison. I am greatly
indebted to the medical gentlemen who are at the pains of furnishing me with these
returns, and who frequently take advantage of their weekly sheet to draw my
attention to local unwholesome conditions. I am especially under obligations in this
respect to Dr. Osborne, the late resident medical officer of the Islington Dispensary,
and take this, the first opportunity that has presented itself after his retirement from
that post, to express them. Thanks to the assistance that I have thus constantly
received from these gentlemen and from the board of trustees, the statistics of sickness
amongst the poorer classes in the parish are complete from 1860 to 18G5, a period of
six years, and in the Table IV. the general result is exhibited in such a way as to
facilitate a comparison between the several years. The total amount of sickness
recorded during the past year was 29,098 cases, a number only 282 above the total
for 1864, and an increase by no means commensurate with the increase of population.
Comparing the sickness table with those of previous years, it appears that the number
of cases of small-pox has again risen from 86 to 222, only about 32 cases short of
half the small-pox cases during the epidemic year 1863. The number of cases of
measles was absolutely small, and the cases of scarlet fever by no means excessive.
Hooping cough however has prevailed to an unusual extent, and of the infectious
diseases of children has been the leading disease of tho year. Bowel complaints
prevailed less than they did either in 1861 or 1863, but somewhat more than in 1864.
There was a good deal of fever in the parish towards the close of the year, but not
enough to raise the total number of cases so high as in 1862-3, Chest affections
altogether prevailed less than during the two previous years.