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26
Dulwich. Camberwell. St. George's. Peckham.
Population 1742 22,260 21,027 30,904*
Death-rate 1.38 1.91 2.27 2.46
But that irregularity of increase, which prevents us from
accepting the conclusions as to the number of the Camberwell
population derived from ordinary modes of calculation, is a
greater disturbing influence when we come to deal with sections
of Camberwell. Of all the districts, Peckham seems to have
grown the most rapidly since 1801. I appeal again to the
relative increase in the number of houses and to the relative
numbers of births. The number of births due to each district
for a year of 365.25 days was, in 1863, for Dulwich 45, for
Camberwell 700, for St. George's 810, and for Peckham 1091.
And hence the population of each district, assuming every
3.318 births to correspond to one hundred persons living, would
have been (in the middle of the year) for Dulwich 1423, for
Camberwell 21,133, for St. George's 23,070, for Peckham
32,018; and the death-rates in the same order would become
1,69, 2.06, 2.07 and 2.38.
Let us now compare the death-rates of Camberwell and ita
four sub-districts with their respective death-rates in former
years. There is no doubt that the number of deaths registered
in the year 1863 was very much in excess of the number registered
in former years. Indeed, for some years past, there
has been a gradual but decided increase in this respect. Further,
there is no reason to suppose that Camberwell has not shared
in those influences, whatever they may be, which have operated
to render the mortality throughout the whole of England heavier
* An unimportant discrepancy exists between the numbers given in this line
and the population of the parish (calculated on the same principle) given on
a preceding page. The discrepancy arises from neglect of decimals in the
earlier stages of the calculation.