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For the purpose of enabling the incidence of cancer on the several populations of the
sanitary areas of London to be more precisely stated, factors have been calculated for correcting,
as far as possible, for differences in the age and sex constitution of the several populations concerned.
These factors are shown in the following table, together with the death-rates for each
metropolitan borough, corrected by their application. Owing to the changes of area in the
sanitary districts of London, caused by the London Government Act of 1899, the death-rates
for the two years 1901 and 1902 are the only figures available for comparative purposes, but it
can be seen from these figures that differences in the age and sex constitution of the population
are largely responsible for the differences in the crude death-rates obtaining in the several districts.
Thus, in 1901 the crude death-rates ranged between 0.67 per 1,000 living in Bermondsey
and 1.8 in the City, whereas the corrected death-rates for the same year range between 0.73 and
1.05 in those districts respectively. Again, in 1902 the crude death-rates range between 0.67
in Stepney and 1.56 in the City, whereas the corrected death-rates range between 0.76 in Kensington
and 1.28 in the City. For the purposes of this table deaths occurring in public institutions
are as far as possible distributed to the areas from which they have been received, but
there must be a residuum of cases, especially in the case of such a prolonged disease as cancer, in
which the original residence of the patient is unknown or lost sight of, and the deaths of such
persons tend to increase the rate of that district in which the institution is situated. The effect of
a comparatively small number of such deaths in a district with a small residential population
would be to materially increase the death-rate and the unfavourable position of the City, even after
correction for age and sex, shown by the table, may possibly in some measure be due to this cause.

1 See footnote (1), page 13. 2 See footnote (1), page 12.