workers in 1914-8, materially contributed to the increase in the population. For the purposes of the report of the medical officer of health published in 1920, the population was estimated to be 910,000. When the census was taken in 1911 the males over 18 years of age numbered 246,881 and the females 283,366. Just prior to the Armistice the number of men of or over military age in the city had been reduced to 200,251, while the number of women residing in the city had increased during the war to 323,911. The war probably accounts largely for the falling-off in the birth-rate during the same period. In 1913 the rate was 27.3 per 1,000 and in 1918 the figure was 19-4. The intervening years show proportionate decreases. There were 19,335 babies born during 1919. This is equal to a birth-rate of 20-9 and indicates an upward tendency, though the increase of population is due more to the improvement in the death-rate than to the recovery of the birth statistics.
The Greater Birmingham scheme, the prospect of which in 1910 had greatly disturbed the authorities of the counties of Warwick, Worcester and Stafford, became an accomplished fact in 1911. Although the area taken into the city included a considerable amount of agricultural and undeveloped land in the county of Worcester, the residential suburbs annexed to the city in 1911 were mainly populated by people who derived their incomes, as well as their water, gas, electricity and other urban amenities, from the city.
The borough of Aston Manor, the urban districts of Erdington and Handsworth, almost all of the urban district of King's Norton and Northfield, and the rural district of Yardley were added to the city at this time. King's Norton and Northfield, as parts of Birmingham, ceased to be portions of Worcestershire from the geographical as well as from the administrative aspect, and came nominally within the new boundary of Warwickshire, as did Handsworth, from Staffordshire.
The area of the city was increased from 13,477 ac - to 43,537 ac., or about 68 sq. m., and the rateable value of Birmingham rose automatically from 2,963,711 to 4,340,017, leaving out of account the differential rate for various periods granted to certain of the added areas.
The membership of the city council was at the same time increased to 30 aldermen and 90 councillors, representing 30 wards. Judged by municipal standards, Birmingham was in 1921 the largest city in England.
Public Health. In the decade immediately preceding the war the death-rate was 14-8 per 1,000, and for the five years from 1915 the figures declined from 14-4 to 13-0 in 1919. The death-rate was in 1921 the lowest but one among the large towns of Great Britain. One of the principal causes of Birmingham's comparatively clean bill of health, and the decline in infantile mortality, is the employ- ment by the health committee of a large and highly organized staff of lady health visitors. The city is divided into four quarters, each of which is under the supervision of an assistant medical officer of health or a lady doctor, the latter specializing in maternity and child-welfare work. The Corporation also employs specialists in tuberculosis, who have urban dispensaries and country sanatoria in their charge. The lady health visitors include 13 who have charge of tuberculosis cases, 19 who deal with the general health of certain congested areas, and 54 who are specially concerned with infant welfare, making a total of 86 lady health visitors.
Housing. In Oct. 1919 the Corporation submitted a return to the Local Government Board showing that 14,000 new houses were at that time required to meet the unsatisfied demand, and that 50,000 new houses would be required to rehouse persons displaced by the clearance of insanitary areas, and to replace other dwellings which fell definitely below a reasonable standard. Prior to that date, however, the Corporation (July 1918) formulated a policy for dealing with the housing question and a number of proposals then suggested were incorporated in a local Act and in the Government's Housing Act of 1919. In the following winter the Corporation ac- quired approximately 1,050 ac. of land upon which some 10,000 houses could be erected. Other large estates were subsequently purchased, and the Corporation was in 1921 in possession of about 1,930 ac. of land for housing purposes. This land would accommo- date from 19,000 to 20,000 houses. In Sept. 1919 a housing di- rector was appointed and a considerable proportion of the houses had in 1921 been completed and occupied. Difficulty was found in obtaining a satisfactory supply of labour and materials. This not only delayed completion of the houses but seriously affected the, cost of erection, the average for the first four schemes being about
900 per house; the cost of the land and other expenses brought it up to over 1,000. By the end of Jan. 1921, contracts were placed for 2,386 workmen's dwellings. Of these 180 houses were built by direct labour. The Corporation also converted army huts at Castle Bromwich into dwellings for about 100 families.
Town Planning. Birmingham was the first large town in England to prepare a comprehensive scheme of town planning. Important pioneer work in this direction was done by Mr. J. S. Nettlefold when he was chairman of the Birmingham housing committee, before the passing of the Town Planning Act of 1909. No definite steps to carry out this scheme were possible until the extension of the city in 1911, when 24,000 ac. of undeveloped land in the suburbs were brought under the control of the city council and Mr. Neville Chamberlain became chairman of the town-planning committee. The first town-planning scheme authorized by the Local Govern- ment Board related to Harborne and Quinton, and dealt with 2,320 ac. on the W. side of the city. The future line of main roads was defined, some of them being 100 ft. wide, and the owners of the adjoining land were notified that they would have to conform to a general layout affecting the construction and character of the side roads (which may be narrower and less expensive) and the number of houses and kind of buildings to be erected in the area. Open spaces and corner sites were reserved. No factories were provided for in this area, but considerable space was reserved for them in the E. Birmingham town-planning scheme (1,443 ac -). where the greater part of the property is already industrial and the prevailing winds blow the smoke away from the city. These two schemes were approved in 1913. The N. Yardley scheme of 3,176 ac. and the S. Birmingham scheme of 8,267 ac - were prepared before the war and approved in 1916. A supplementary scheme for S.W. Bir- mingham, involving an area of 9,866 ac., was launched after the war. The public works and town-planning committee also prepared tentative plans for improving the built-up area in the centre of the city, and widening the arterial roads. They have experimented with a sleeper tramway track between two carriage-ways, with wide grass margins and avenues, and are providing specially for fast- travelling vehicles on a ring road and arterial roads, which are to be widened to 100 ft. or more. The first sections of road so widened were completed in 1915 at Edgbaston and Harborne. The scheme includes the widening of 43 m. of radial main roads and the con- struction of 7 m. of new roads. During the trade slump of 1920-1 large numbers of unemployed were engaged in this work of road widening and the construction of new roads. Similar labour was employed in laying out a municipal golf course in the park known as Warley Woods and another course on land given by members of the Cadbury family on the Leckey hills. Another important addi- tion to open spaces around the city is Barr Beacon given by Col. J. H. Wilkinson during the World War.
New Buildings. The building of the new municipal offices and art galleries on a portion of the Colmore estate, bounded by Ed- mund St., Congreve St., Gt. Charles St. and Margaret St., which began in 1906, was completed in 1912. The offices of the gas, health, tramways and education departments were transferred from the old council house to the new premises and the rooms thus vacated were utilized for the accommodation of the water department, public works department, town clerk's department, salvage de- partment, parks department and the new Municipal Bank.
A legacy of 50,000 from Mr. John Feeney, who had been a generous donor to the museum and art gallery, was utilized for the erection of a handsome suite of picture galleries and a museum of casts over the new municipal offices and connected with the old art gallery by a bridge across Edmund Street. The natural history museum was established at the same time, and a unique collection of British birds with their nests and perfectly natural surroundings was provided as a memorial to the late Alderman C. G. Beale. The first of the new Feeney galleries is devoted to the work of modern English painters and contains some of the larger pictures, such as Millais' " Widow's Mite," Lord Leighton's " Condottieri," Henry Moore's " Newhaven Packet," " Autumn " by Sir L. Alma-Tadema, " The Village Philharmonic" by Stanhope Forbes, " Hayle from Lelant " by Sir Alfred East. Gallery II. contains old masters and portraits of local worthies, including excellent examples by Reynolds and Gainsborough. The next three galleries are filled with works of the English pre-Raphaelites, notably those of Sir Edward Burne- Jones, a native of Birmingham. This collection, both in size and importance, is unrivalled. Another interesting gallery is No. VII., which includes Turner's beautiful drawing " Schaffhausen," from the Ruskin collection, and other important water-colours. A large collection of drawings by David Cox and other local artists is in galleries VIII. and IX. The old galleries are now mainly devoted to decorative and industrial art, including the Feeney collection of nearly 2,000 pieces and several important collections on loan. One of the new galleries is reserved for loan exhibitions of pictures.
In 1914-6 a new parcel post-office was erected on the site of the old Inland Revenue office in Paradise Street. This severely plain structure, built by the Office of Works during the war, is connected with the post-office in Victoria Sq. by a massive stone bridge across the top of Hill Street. The Inland Revenue offices were transferred to Empire House, Gt. Charles Street. The galleries
