[Report 1911] / Medical Officer of Health, Brighouse Borough.

  • Brighouse (England). Council. nb2008024084.
Date:
1911
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1911] / Medical Officer of Health, Brighouse Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    5/84
    1 ntroduction. To the. Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Members of the Health Committee. Oentlemen, With two exceptions, my report on the statistics, furnishing material for a review of the health of the Borough during the past year is very encouraging. The two excepticns are very unsatisfactory: the one being the Census return of the population taken up to the first quarter of the year, the second being the further decrease of the already existing low Birth Bate. Twenty years ago there was nearly as la,rge a population in Brig- house as exists now—^to be exact there were one hundred and seventy- nine more in the last computation than were counted in the census cf 1891. In the ten years, 1891-1901, there had been an increase of over a thousand, so during the past decade this number has been almost wiped out. It had been conjectured for some years past that very little, if any, progress had been made towards increase; mills destroyed by fire re- mained untouched in the way of restoration, with the consequent throw- ing out of employment many workers, who were forced to try for work elsewhere, even in their search leaving this country altogether. But we did not expect such a decrease. It seems a great pity that these mills should be allowed to remain in the state they now are in, especially as their proximity to the chief railway station of the town will most likely create a very poor impression on visitors arriving for the first time. The second cause for comment^—the declining Birth Bate—has for many years been regularly on the list as showing deterioration, and this year, though not much worse, is still actually lower than in any previous year. Many reasons have been put forward at various times, and one person who is presumed to have a fair knowledge of current events ascribed the decrease in the Birth Bate generally throughout the land to the great interest that was being taken in the pursuit of golf. I do not myself understand why any one particular sport or enjo;^- ment should be singled out to account for this lowered rate. I am satisfied that the love of luxury and the abhorrence of worry attendant on the bringing up of ai family account in most part for the decrease.