View report page

83
The death-rate for London, and that for
South London, are the lowest that have ever been
recorded for these arese. And it will be noted that the
death-rate of South London is smaller than that of
any other group of districts excepting only the
Northern. The difference, however, between the
North and South is but slight.
The birth-rate also is generally lower than
it is ordinarily. This circumstance affects the deathrate,
inasmuch as the mortality of young children is
always relatively high, and hence when young
children are relatively few, the death rate tends on
that very account to fall. It is probable, therefore,
that the prevalent lowness of the death-rate is
casually related in some small degree to the
prevalent lowness of the birth-rate; and that the
slightly lower death-rate of the Northern districts
than that of the South is explainable, not by their
greater salubrity, but by their considerably lower
birth-rate.
Table III. shews the deaths from each of the
chief zymotic or infectious diseases in London, year
by year, for the last ten years; and for the year
1883, their distribution among the several groups of
districts.
g 2