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10
I think it must be conceded that our death-rate
from all causes is so far satisfactory, being 6 per thousand
less than that of London generally, and lower
than that of any one of the twenty largest towns of the
United Kingdom included in the Registrar-Generals
returns. Nor does it suffer by comparison with that of
any one of the five groups of districts into which
London is divided, nor even with that of the most favoured
sub-districts, so far as I have been able to ascertain.
Deaths Registered in the London Districts.
West Districts 22.1 per 1,000.
North ,, 22.3 „
South ,, 24.0 „
East „ 25.5 „
Central „ 26.0 „
Paddington 17.6 „
But as the health of a population is shown not so
much by its gross mortality, which may, or may not be
affected by accidental circumstances, as by its comparative
freedom from zymotic diseases, it is needful to
examine more closely, with the aid of the death-returns,
the causes of the mortality in our midst. It will be seen
that of the total deaths (1,855) no fewer than 283, or
about one-seventh (Table 4) arose from the seven principal
zymotic diseases; that of this number, 2 were
from small pox, 11 from measles, 108 from scarlet fever,
and 63 from whooping-cough; in all 184 deaths. Now
it is not too much to say, that every one of these 184
deaths might, and should have been prevented. None