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the District into the various hospitals,—which will give us 1467 : but from
this number we must deduct 16 for the deaths in the Infants' Home, Great
Coram Street, of children belonging to other parishes. This will give us
1451 deaths as the actual amount of the mortality of the District.
These figures render a rate of mortality for the District of 26.8 per 1000
inhabitants. The rate for the Metropolis I have already stated to bo 23.59;
so that we considerably exceed our proper number. If we compare again St.
Giles District with the group of central districts in which it is included by
the Registrar General, we shall find that we are still placed at a disadvantage.
Last year the rate of mortality for the central districts was 24.69, as against
our 26.8. These central districts are, besides our own, the Strand, Holborn,
Clerkenwell, St. Luke, East London, West London, and London City, which
comprise within their circle the oldest parts of this Metropolis and some of
its most abject quarters. The City of London and its Liberties are rapidly
improving, and thereby getting rid of their poorer population. In this way
the rate of mortality for the central districts may have diminished during the
past two or three years more markedly than would otherwise have been the
case, whilst, no similar beneficial causes operating in St. Giles, our rate of
mortality exhibits a stronger contrast than might have appeared under other
circumstances. The improvements in the City and the clearances in
Carey Street to provide space for the proposed Courts of Law, must necessarily
have tended to produce an overflow into the adjacent parishes. The
degree in which we may have suffered from this cause, we are not at present
able to estimate; but it is fair to consider these points when we are comparing
the salubrity of St. Giles with neighbouring districts which in appearance
resemble it as regards the character and density of their population.
The smallest number of deaths (296) occurred in St. Giles in the second
quarter of the year; and the largest number (382) in the fourth quarter.
Of the number registered 674 were males and 698 females.
III.—The Causes of the Mortality in St. Giles District.
Having shown the rate of mortality in the Metropolis and St. Giles
District respectively, we shall now trace this mortality back to its causes, or,
in other words, to the diseases which produced it. I shall employ for this
purpose the method, of my predecessor, with such modifications as appear to
me desirable. In short, I shall follow the plan of the Registrar General as
regards the computation of "weeks," believing it best that all statistics
having the same purport should be in relation with a common standard.
All calculations tending to show the comparative frequency of any disease
or class of diseases, must be based upon the amount of population ; and here,
unfortunately, we lose a secure foothold. It has been estimated that the
ccntral districts decrease in population at the rate of 0.39 in accordance with
the experience derived on taking the Census in 1861; but the extensive
destruction of property, to which I have already referred, in some of the
districts constituting the group, has very probably increased the population
in some other districts, our own among the number. At any rate we can
scarcely count upon a decrease in St. Giles District; I think therefore,
that it is better to assume our population to be stationary, than to indulge in
any speculative ratio, which may lead to error. The difference in any case
cannot be large.
The annexed Table gives at one view, (1st) the number of deaths in each
class and order of disease; (2nd) the estimated quota which should fall to St.
Giles supposing the mortality in each class and order were the same as the
average mortality of the Metropolis; (3rd) the actual registered mortality;
and (4th) the true mortality after correction for deaths in hospitals registered
in outside parishes.