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until the death-rate amongst children becomes, in the most
densely crowded districts, nearly 60 per cent. in excess of that
which obtains in the districts having a mean density of 97 to the
acre. Now as the Hackney District contains 3953 acres, or
excluding the marshes and water spaces which are situated on our
borders and not in our midst, and our population was about
142,000 on July 1st, 1875, we have only 132 square yards to
each inhabitant, or deducting the marshes and the Lee 117 yards,
so that for some time past the effects of increased density of
population has been counteracting our sanitary measures.
On reference to Table XII, showing the mortality in
Hackney as well as in London since 1841, we perceive that
although the death-rate has increased, yet that it has done so
only to a small extent, and that, as previously mentioned, our
normal death-rate, that is to say our rate calculated for age and
sex, is higher than our mortality at the present time. Our mean
death-rate for 1841-5 was 19.18 per 10,000 population; for
1851-61 it was 19.14; for 1861-71 it was 20.37, and for 1871-5
it was 20.l, our normal death-rate being 22.04. It is therefore
very evident that as our death-rate now is only 1.0 per 1000 in
excess of what it was in 1841-51, although our density of population
is nearly three times as great as it was then, and as the
class of people now living in the district would naturally give
a higher death-rate than those residing here years ago—amongst
the proportion of servants to the remainder of the population
being smaller,—we may be well satisfied with the present rate of
mortality.
The proportion of deaths amongst infants under 1 year to
1000 births in each year has increased to a larger extent than the
general death-rate, thus showing the effect of increased density.
The death-rate amongst infants is a far more delicate test of the
influence of density of population than even of children under
5 years, as is shown by the fact that the average, which was very
regular up to 1861 (having'been 128 in 1841-51 and 127 in
1851-61), increased during the 10 years 1861-71 to 143 and in
1871-75 to 147 per 1000 births. It is therefore quite evident