View report page

11
George's-in-the-East, 200 in Holbom, and 219 per acre in
St. Giles. Now as we can in many parts of the District with
difficulty obtain 400 cubic feet of air for each adult in a living'
and sleeping room, how much greater difficulty must there be to
prevent injurious overcrowding in St.Giles, Whitechapel, Holborn,
and St. George's-in-the-East. If we now compare the columns
of the death-rate and density of population, we perceive that a
certain relation exists between the two, but not at all in an
uniform ratio. Thus in Greenwich with only 26 persons to an
acre, the death-rate was 240; in St. Olaves with 71 to the acre,
it was 245; in the Strand District with 95 to the acre, it was
only 205; and in Westminster with 237 to an acre, it was only
215. On the other hand, amongst the 14 least crowded districts,
no fewer than 11 had a death-rate of less than 232 per 10,000
inhabitants; whilst amongst the 14 most crowded districts, 11
have a death-rate in excess of 232, in Whitechapel it is as great
as 282, and in St. George's-in-the-East it reaches 286 per
10,000 residents. If we now ascertain the mean death-rate of
the 14 least crowded districts, we find it to be only 209, and of
the most crowded districts no less than 240 per 10,000 residents.
The possession by Hackney of 467 acres of open spaces, and 101
acres of water, ought to materially assist in modifying any
injurious effects of overcrowding in certain parts of the district.
The column showing the percentage of servants to population
is a very important one; in the first place—because servants
are generally in the prime of life and rarely die at the houses of
tbeir masters, for when taken ill they are usually sent to an
hospital, or workhouse, or to their friends, so that a large percentage
of servants must be coincident with a somewhat
diminished death-rate. But another important consideration is,
that a large proportion of domestics signifies in the inhabitants
an unusually great amount of the comforts, as well as the
necessaries of life; plenty of living space; good clothes, food, &c.,
as well as prompt medical attendance.