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19
MORTALITY OF THE CITY OF LONDON.
continuance of the same exertions, would soon raise
the City of London above all fear of comparison, on
the ground of healthfulness, with urban or with suburban
populations.
Thirdly, I would beg the attention of your Honourable
Court to those very important local differences
of death-rate which may be deduced from a study
of our death-register. I have already had the pleasure
of citing to you the low rate of mortality which
has prevailed during the last year in the north-west
sub-district of the City of London Union. The rate
of death in the north division of the West London
Union was exactly double that proportion ; and between
these extreme terms of disparity there were
many intermediate degrees.
Similar inequalities of mortality were observable
in last year's record. In the healthiest sub-district
of the City the year's death-rate was little above
20 in the thousand ; while in the worst it stood within
a very small fraction of 40; and for the whole
West London Union was as high as 39.15.
Mainly and essentially these local differences of
mortality depend on the proportion in which preventable
deaths enter into the total; the differences,
however partial, depending on the operation within
certain districts, of removable deleterious influences
which do not exist in certain other districts.
In classifying for your consideration the deaths
which, during the last two years, have depended on
epidemic, endemic, and infectious diseases, I have