View report page

7
619 this year against 605 in 1871. These figures, taken with
those of the births, indicate that the population in Haekney and
South Hackney has not increased to any considerable extent
since 1871.
One of the best criteria for judging as to the healthiness of
a district, is to be obtained by a comparison of the number of
deaths of children under 1 year with the total births. It is true
that as a few births most probably still escape registration, the
calculated proportion of deaths is a little too high, but as the
objection applies to all districts, it does not require much consideration.
In the annual summary of the Registrar-General for
1874, the rate is given for 18 large towns, including London,
17.4 per cent. In London the average is not so large, being
15.5 percent.; in Portsmouth it is 15.1 percent.; in Bristol
15.3 per cent.; whilst in Nottingham it is 19.5, in Manchester
19.7, in Newcastle-on-Tyne 19.8, in Leeds 20.0, in Leicester
21.5, and in Liverpool as high as 23.3 per cent. The rate for
all London was lower than it has been for many years past.
Whilst the mortality of children under 1 year old, for all
London was 15.5 per cent, of the total births, the ratio for the
different districts varied considerably, as in the northern district,
(which includes Hackney), it was 15.1 per cent., in the southern
it was 14.5, in the east 16.0, in the west 16.9, and in the central
17.4, showing that in the northern and southern districts, which
contain a considerable proportion of open country, the mortality
was lowest. The same obtains for Hackney, as whilst the rate
for the whole district was 13.8 per cent., it was only 11.3 for
Stoke Newington, 11.9 for Stamford Hill, 13.3. for West Hacknep,
14.3 for Hackney, and as much as 14.6 for South Hackney.
But although the proportion of deaths was larger in Hackney
and South Hackney as compared with that for Stoke Newington
and Stamford Hill, yet it was much below that for all London,
and was also only 0.1 per cent, above the rate for the southern