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17
BATTERSEA
The difficulties which arise in attempting to assume
the average number of inhabitants living in the parish in
the year 1879, are alluded to in the reports for the several
sub-districts. It is, however, possible from the proportions
between the births and deaths to estimate the birth and
death rates with a considerable approach to accuracy.
The total number of children born in the whole
parish during 1879 was 4,001; of these 2069 were males,
and 1932 females.
The deaths of 1980 persons were also registered, 1001
being males, and 979 females, and the real death-rate
founded upon the usual calculations does probably not
exceed 19 0 per thousand during the year.
The official mean population of the Registrar-General
has by the lapse of time become inaccurate, very much
under-estimating the population, which is, by the official
method, assumed to be 82,509 for the year 1879, and
would yield a death-rate of 23.9 per thousand persons
living, which is without doubt much in excess of the real
death-rate; of whom 204 persons died in the Union
Infirmary and 4 in other public institutions, together
amounting to 208, of whom only 105 belong to Battersea,
and many of these are only credited to it as inhabitants
from length of residence in the Infirmary itself, which
happens to be just within the borders of the parish.
B