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42
and increase of population, chiefly the result of immigration.
There can be no doubt, to use the words of the Registrar
General, that "London, is, as regards its magnitude, the
greatest City in the world but its low rate of mortality, if we
take its density into consideration, is still more striking. With
a density of 29.322 persons to the square mile, the mortality
should be 35.2 per thousand persons liiving per annum, were
not special systems of drainage and cleanliness in use in London,
by which the mortality in the years 1874.8 was reduced to 22.8,
and thereby 12,178 lives are saved annually. You may fairly
claim to be the means of saving a proportion of these lives,
seeing, as I shall show you, that your mortality rate is less than
that of the whole Metropolis.
This is the last Western District of the lesser Metropolis.
It comprises an area of 4,209 acres, and an estimated population
of 100,000 inhabitants. It is divided for registration
purposes into three sub-districts, namely:—Fulham, which is
the Parish of Fulham; and St. Peter's and St. Paul's, which
together make the Parish of Hammersmith. Hereinafter, for
the sake of brevity, these sub-districts are spoken of as Fulham,
St. Paul's and St. Peter's. Fulham comprises an area of
1,716 statute acres, St. Paul's 2,102, and St. Peter's 185. The
estimated population of Fulham is 40,000 inhabitants, that of
St. Peter's and St. Paul's together 60,000 inhabitants. On
the 31st December last there were 15,257 inhabited houses—
10,300 in the Parish of Hammersmith, and 4,957 in the Parish
of Fulham. This gives, on the estimated population, 6.5
persons to each house. There is an excellent system of drainage,
and, as a natural consequence, the amount of that disease,
enteric fever, which is the direct result of bad and imperfect
drainage, is but small. There is an excellent water supply,
both as to quantity and quality; though as to quality there is
still some room for improvement. Extensive building operations
of a superior kind are now being carried on in both Parishes,
and to such an extent that we may fairly expect great additions
to the population within a very limited period. Taking all
these circumstances into consideration, namely, that this is
almost the largest district in the Metropolis, that the population
is rapidly increasing, that large numbers of houses of a
superior class are being constantly constructed, and that the
value of property is increasing every year, it is likely that this
will be, at no distant period, one of the most important districts
of London. Numerous must be the difficulties that your Board