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where many cases arose." There can be no doubt that in London, at any rate, the
improvement brought about in the last 30 years as regards food supply (fish and
shellfish) has been mainly concerned in securing decline during that period in typhoid
prevalence. There is, however, some ground for apprehension that with altering
conditions arising out of the termination of the Great War, there may come a risk
of reversion to the use of food supplies which in former years were undoubtedly
a source of danger. The present opportunity is, therefore, taken of setting out the
facts as far as they can be ascertained. (See pp. 18-32).
There has been some increase in London in the death rate from phthisis at young
adult ages. There is reason for inferring that this phenomenon is not due to any
notable increase in the number of deaths at these ages, but to changes, which have
resulted in the deaths being credited to London, whereas in days gone by the sufferers
would either have died abroad, or their deaths, if they had occurred in this country,
would, in many instances, have been registered as belonging to some health resort
in the country and not to London. The question is considered in some detail on
pp. 11-14.
Movement of population is nowadays more than ever recognised as possessing
great importance not only in connection with a chronic disease, such as phthisis, but
in acute epidemic diseases also. The freedom of this country from imported infectious
diseases during the war was in the main due to restriction of movement of
immigrants owing to war conditions. This restriction has to a considerable extent
been continued, owing to the decision of the United States Government to limit
the extent of immigration into that country; for prior to the war, and following upon
its cessation, many of the emigrants from Europe to the United States came through
this country up to the time when the new law came into force last summer.
As regards administrative procedure considerable further advance was made
during 1922 in carrying out the schemes approved by the Council for the treatment
of tuberculosis and venereal diseases. (See pp. 41 and 35.) The annual enumeration of
homeless persons was made in February and showed, as has been the case in recent
years, great reduction in the number of these persons as compared with pre-war
years. Common lodging house inmates also show a reduction; and the "furnished
rooms," which before the war were commonly found in streets in which there were
common lodging houses, or in neighbouring streets, and which provided accommodation
for many thousands of persons, who in a large proportion of instances occupied
them for the night or for the week only, are now showing a marked tendency to
decline in numbers. The figures returned in the official census of 1921 show slight
improvement as regards "overcrowding," using this term in the sense of occupation
of a room by more than two persons. This "overcrowding" is, of course, not to be
confused with statutory or by-law overcrowding, but it would appear that there has
been some small improvement, in London, during the last 10 years in this respect
also.
A.—Vital Statistics.
The population of London County at the census of 20th June, 1921, was
4,484,523. This figure includes members of the armed forces in London but excludes
Londoners on active service elsewhere.
The census has, as a rule, been taken about the beginning of April, but in
1921, owing to industrial unrest, it was delayed until June. The weather happened
at the time to be exceptionally fine and a number of persons were away temporarily
either for the week-end or on holidays. In order to arrive at a figure comparable
with earlier censuses, the Registrar-General redistributed the census population
of England and Wales to allow for the holiday movement, the result so far as
London is concerned being the addition of 39,477 to the census figure, giving a total
population of 4,524,000, which compares with 4,521,685 at the census of 3rd April,
1911.