London Statistics

Southland Times, Issue 19006, 27 March 1903, Page 4

London Statistics

There ;'js always a fascination w L°»fiou statistics. Probably it ia because the metropolis is bo t aßt » Bo wealthy, so poor,, and so complex that we find more of interest in figures relating to London than we do in those relating to amy other parts of the Empire, . or even to the Empire itself., t*^ 3ta.«sticai V oflicer of the London County Council has just issued the "Statistical Abstract for Londoni'^ and the! volume, Which can be -bouffbt for a sh>itoig, reveals in. a wohderful mamier the*BXtent to which local government is involved in the^very day work of London/ and. in -;the hundred and one, matters- which affect Its daily life. We learn that the City ot London, which COiTers 672 acres, has 3865 bihabitated houses, as against 633U t»n

years ago ; that it has 5762 unintiabitatad houses in occupation, and 437 not in ■ otcupation, which means that there are 5762 officeß in which caretakers live, and 437 in which no one lives or •works. That the small houses in the City have been rapidly disappearing is proved"' by the fact that while in 1895---there were 10,327 rated houi^s, there were only 6261 in April, 1902. In other words, ' small buildings have been pulled down, \'i and on their sites onehuge building has been constructed. In the county, the number, of rated Bouses has gone, -up Vfr0m "57.7,779 in April, 1895; to 599,258 in April. 1,902^ When we turn to. 'litabie value- we find that, despite a reduction in the number of rated houses in the City, the ratable' value of tlie one square mile has gone up during the same period from £4,217,886 to £4,888,378. The ratable value of tno County of London has : gone up -from .£30,003,994 4o £35,209,752 in seven*' years. JJnt while the. ratable value of .London has gone up by five millions, the "loan charge has also increased by a. million during, the ' past seven years. * In 189i2 theloan , charge for all London— excluding, the' charge" for loans for electric lighting,, tramways, artisans' dwellings, technical education. y -ah<i'l/;C:C. workshops— am<xun*ed to ££$107,000. At the - end of 1901 tt £3,042,983. In the' same way the^fitei levied :to meet the loan charge liaV gopo up from ' Is 3d to' Is \7d. As may be oxpect«d r thc debt itself has risen propbrtioriafeIn 1892 it ' amounted lo £33,705, 918, wlijch included the loans for electric lighii^T^trainways, etc., as set forth above, ' and excluded tho City's loans raised on the v> security o f its" revenues and estate's. -"'ln 1901 1C had risen to £49,917, 6 374. One feature of iihis . statistical report' is theunmista'kaWo . falling of the birth irate. J Thus, in 1891 there were 134,484 births in Lrondon, and while the numbers' rose and fell to a little above or below that -figure, there has been a steady decline to -J31,27Q i» 190ir The deaths^ on

the other hand, show a romiirkjable fall, i While tn 1891 there wore 89,122 dedthaW tne numbers ateadily diminished eachi' year to 77,898, a cohvinCing -proof tha& more admtnisiration of 'fne laws, of^iblic health hag- had t n protective, influenl'fe ujron' .the HVe9 <of the peo>ple. 'If marriage^ 'be any indication of the prosperity *of* London, there is ja. steady rise in that direction. Yet it is difficult- on the of this to tfecount

for,. an equally, steady rise in pauperism unless it be that the increasing competition of young" " people is drjvinir the "older people over the 'border line whi e £. divides independence fidni pauperism. With the housing question pressing so

hardly upon us it* seenrs difficult - V 6 -understand why there sliould be close upbiv 16,000 empty* houses in Londorl. We should r n6t be far . wrttoj? in saying that these housos*» wjsiild riccoiuiuodate 100,000 'people. I-Tere is a l-Vatter which needs some attention. Xocal authorities have powelr-jLo deal with houses as well as to build them, Woultl, it hot. 4>e cheaper and ..better to buy some s j)f t'hesK i^uvpty houses .and' fit them up pro'petly for thev-aCtommodation of families ?'■*' We have no •■ flpubt that wei'e the rents jea^onablffr-for the Coun*cil does not demand ten perfect. »on its investments — the" people ii'buid, providing the accmrkiuodation" was ;.|»ood. much profer them to so-cnlled '..^models."—Local Government' Journal.