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residents of the District, in the true sense of the term, never by
any chance pass a night there, the large number of individuals
transferred from these havens to institutions adapted for the
treatment of the ailing, naturally tends to swell the death-rate.
Another feature of this District is the wonderful array of
charities belonging to the parishes of St. Saviour and Christchurch.
A very short residence has, I believe, been generally
sufficient to qualify applicants for these gifts, the result being
that large numbers of people whose health has broken down,
either through age, deprivation, or some other cause less easy
to defend, crowd into the poorer and cheaper tenements, so as
to become eligible for these charities. Whether they succeed
or not in their enterprise, they are people who are the least
likely to undergo the strain of any severe illness. If only we
were fortunate enough to be in a position to offer fewer
attractions to pauper immigrants, we should be able to show a
death-rate that would compare favourably with the average
mortality of London. As matters are at present, I fail to see
how, notwithstanding any effort we may make in the cause of
sanitary improvement, our death-rate can do otherwise than
annually continue to increase. Eliminating only those 50 cases
of persons whose claim on this District was founded on a short
residence therein in a common lodging house or the workhouse,
the death-rate is equal to one of 27.2 per 1000 of the population
Out of the total number of deaths 176 were under one year,
113 between one and five, and 218 over sixty years of age.
Appended is a list of the various causes of death :—
Measles. —17 deaths occurred from this disease, 3
being infants under 1 year, and 14 between 1 and 5 years.
This number is considerably below that of last year, viz., 50 ;
but I am still of opinion that had this disease come under the
notification of the "Infectious Diseases Act," the mortality
would have been still less.
Scarlet Fever.— 69 notifications were received during
the year, and of these 58 were removed to hospital, with
a result that only 3 deaths occurred.
Whooping Cough.— Total number of deaths 21, of
which 7 were under 1 year, 12 between 1 and 5 years, and 2
between 5 and 20 years; this total is 3 less than the numbers
of the previous year.
Croup.— 3 deaths occurred from this disease, 1 under
1 year, and 2 between 5 and 10 years.
Diarrhoea.— 12 deaths occurred from this disease, 9
under 1 year, 1 between 1 and 5 years.
Influenza.— Total number of deaths from this complaint,
11.
Rheumatism.— 1 death.
Erysipelas.— 4 deaths occurred from this disease out
of a total of 32 notified. It is difficult to see the utility of