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REPORT
OF THE
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH AND PUBLIC ANALYST.
FOR THE YEAR 1907.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
Metropolitan Borough of Stepney.
Gentlemen,
I have much pleasure in submitting to you my seventh Annual Report,
which deals with the Vital and Sanitary Statistics of the Borough of Stepney
for the year 1907.
Population.
The population at the middle of the year was estimated at 308,923, but
there is reason to believe that this is somewhat higher than the actual population
at the present time Seven years have now elapsed since the official
census was made, and the further we are removed in time from that census,
the more inexact our estimated population becomes, and the less reliable are
all vital statistics. It would be a great advantage from this point of view, if
there was a census taken by the Government every five years. For statistical
and comparative purposes, it is almost impossible to depart from the method
adopted by the Registrar-General in order to arrive at a correct estimate of the
population. This method is based on the assumption, that the rate of increase
which prevailed in the last completed intercensal period has been maintained
since the census was made. The results obtained by this method are not
correct, as is demonstrated when the following census is taken.
In 1901 most of the houses in the Borough were occupied. In 1907 there
was a larger number of unoccupied houses than there had been previously for
several years. Again, in 1901 and previous years, small houses were demolished
and large model dwellings erected on the sites.