View report page

44
and it is most probable that it errs to some extent on the
side of making the population appear larger than it really
is.
Estimated according to the former method, the population
of Camberwell in the middle of 1869 was about 89,205;
estimated according to the latter, it was about 113,518.
Upon the former population the death-rate for the year
was 2.65 per cent; upon the latter it was 2.09. The first
of these death-rates is greater than that of London itself,
or of any of its districts except the East; the last is far
below them all. I believe that the actual death-rate lies
between them, but a good deal nearer to the last than to
the first.
It seems pretty certain that the population of the parish
has not increased so much during the last year as it did
during the few years immediately preceding: it may
even have decreased somewhat (though I doubt this).
The births registered in 1869 are actually 33 less than
those registered in the previous year, but if the correction
be made for the extra week's births which the latter returns
include, a balance of 38 appears in favour of 1869. This
small increase in the number of births implies only a small
increase in the number of inhabitants ; and that the increase
of inhabitants has been small seems to be confirmed by
the comparative stagnation of building-operations, and the
large number of empty houses in various parts of the
parish.
As regards the sub-districts of the Parish, the births in
1869 were:—in Dulwich 79 (11 more than in 1868) ; in Camberwell
977 (53 more than in 1868) ; in Peckham 1,405