The sun., 1908-01-10
London's Health Statistics.

Some remarkable facts attesting the
are brought out in a report covering
1905, which was submitted near the close
of last December to the Lcndon County
Council. 1t appears that since the pub
lie health act of 1891 went into operation
the death rate has fallen nearly 30 per
cent, representing a gain TO the metro
politan community Of some nineteen
thousand lives in each Of the two last
years. The truth is that London has
become one Of the healthiest of the large
cities Of the world.
II seems that the death rate for 1905
was exactly the same as it had been
for the previous year, namely, ISL per
thousand of the population. OF four
teen English towns possessing each over
200 900 inhabitants only two, Bristol and
Leicester, had a lower death rate than
London. An analysis of the death rate
In the several boroughs comprising the
metropolitan district naturally shows
that some of these are healthier than
others and that in some of the over
crowded districts there is still room for
improvement. In the borough OF Hemp
stead, for instance, the death rate was
only 90 per thousand Of population,
whereas in Finsbury it was 2O.7.
II now we turn to infant mortality
we find that in London during 1905 there
were 1871 deaths under one year Of age
per thousand children born. This is less
than that of any other large English town
except Bristol. Here again it was TO be
expected that a marked difference be-
tween the metropolitan boroughs would
be observed. We learn that in Hampstead
infant mortality under one year Of age
was only II per thousand of children
born, while in ShoreditCh il was 1873. A
comparison Of the annual figures over
a long period discloses the fact that
an increase or decrease Of per cent.
in the mean temperature Of the summer
quarter is attended in London by an
increase or decrease Of about per cent.
in infant mortality. AS the chief cause
ofinfant mortality in London is diarrhpa,
the Importance of the milk question to
the British metropolis is unmistakable.
Considerable powers Of inspecting and
sIaughtering tubercnlous'cattle are vested
in the Public Health Committee, and ac-
cording to the report just published the
general condition of cows in Woolwich
during 1906 was better in respect of
grooming and cleanliness than it was in
Wiltshire.
The marriage statistics prove that there
has been a slight increase in the number
Of matrimonial unions, the figures for
1905 exhibiting a marriage rate Of III per
thousand persons living, as against 1879
during the preceding year. II we follow
the comparison through a long period.
however, we cannot but recognize signal
dminution of the marriage rate, which
was 1911 annually in the decade lS7l-SO
and 2O.6 in the ten years ended in 1860.
We note with interest that the proportion
of male and female minors who contract
marriage in London has been diminishing
for number Of years. During 1905 among
the males married 3.5 per cent. we're under
II years of age, while the percentage Of
equally young females was l2.9. tits not
surprising that diminution in tho mar
riage rate should be accompanied by
diminution in the birth rate. In London
during 1908 the birth rate was but c8S per
thousand persons, which was the lowest
on record. In the decade ended in 1870
the birth rate was 35.4 and even as late
as the decade ls9l-l9OO it was 3O.3.
We remark, finally. that by another
section Of the health report presented