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that now the average number is slightly higher, owing to the
character of the buildings erected. A large number of the
houses recently built are let in tenements, and this fact accounts
for the increase in the average number of occupiers per house
from 5.9 in 1891 to 6.2 in 1901. At the Census of 1901, there
were 6,086 inhabited houses in the district and the
population was 37,744. There were besides, 454 uninhabited
houses ; 95 of the latter were in occupation and 359 were not in
occupation. The point should be emphasized that the above
figures have been abstracted from Table 9 of the Census report,
as some confusion has arisen, and a distinction was not made
between Tables 9, 12 and 15 of the Report. The number of
tenements together with the number of rooms to each tenement
is given in Table 15, and there were 8,326 separate tenements in
the parish at the Census. The figure 6,086 represents the number
of separate dwelling houses, and if a house is let in flats, the
building is reckoned as a single house, and each tenement is not
taken separately.
Between March 31st, 1901, and June 30th, 1905, 1,865
dwelling houses or shops have been erected, and 63 public
buildings, such as schools, factories, offices, workshops, &c." On
the latter date there would be in the district 158 public buildings
and 8,320 dwelling houses ; 310 of the latter were vacant, leaving
a total of 8,010 houses inhabited and in occupation. An average
of 6.2 persons per house would give a population of 49,662. As
there is reason to assume that the average number is now slightly
over 6.2, for the purposes of this report, the population has been
estimated at 50,000 inhabitants.
Unless great changes in the industrial and social conditions
of a district have recently taken place, the birth rate serves as a
means of checking the estimated population. Though the birth
rate has shown a tendency towards a steady and continuous
decline, these stages have not been marked by sudden and
abrupt changes, and if the deviation from the average birth rate