CREFELD.
151
1905 was 9 1 per 1,000, against 9*4 in 1904 and 8*8 in 1903. The Census
of December, 1905, showed that there were 7,292 more females than males in
the population (58,818 against 51,526).
The following table shows the birth and death-rates per 1,000 of the
population and the rate of infantile mortality per 1,000 births for five
years :—:
Year.
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
Birth-rate per 1,000 | Death-rate per 1,000
of Population. J of Population.
28-9
27 9
26 6
25 3
24*9
15*8
16 3
141
148
14*0
Infantile Mortality
per 1,000 Births.
177
144
139
170
137
Crefeld presents an attractive appearance. The walls, which formed a
• large oblong enclosing the old town, have been replaced by broad promenades
with avenues of trees, flower beds, fountains, and frequent monuments. The
streets are generally broad, with the exception of the old main street, which
is rather narrow and inconvenient ; and a number of them are planted with
trees.. In the new streets the houses are large, and there are good shops ;
elsewhere many of the small houses originally built for the home-weavers
remain—these are usually of two floors, including the ground floor, and
considerations of light caused the streets to be comparatively broad. In general
the town gives the impression of spaciousness and cleanliness. It possesses
a small public garden, and a " Stadtwald” (practically a large park) ; the latter
is situated at some distance from the centre of the town, but can be easily
reached by a convenient service of electric cars.
The municipality possesses its own electricity works, waterworks, gasworks,
and slaughter - house ; it maintains a municipal theatre, public baths and library,
and contributes towards a large museum and picture gallery ; it has also a
savings bank (with 30,849 depositors in 1905, to whom it pays 3| and 4 per
cent, interest), a public pawnshop, a large market hall, and a chemical
laboratory. The municipality has recently endeavoured to promote the prosperity
of the town by acquiring land some three miles away on the bank oí
the Rhine, and establishing there a dock connected with the town by a light
railway ; the area so acquired has been incorporated in the town. The
tramway system, which is well organised and efficient, and extends beyond the
municipal boundaries, is in the hands of a private company ; and in addition to
the ordinary lines Crefeld is connected with Düsseldorf and other towns by
light railways. It should be added that there are at Crefeld large and admirably
equipped schools of weaving and dyeing, founded by the 1 russian Government
and enjoying a high reputation, which attract students from many countries
. and other technical and commercial schools.
The area of the municipality in 1906 was 6,950 acres, of which 1,750 acres
were added by the incorporation of the rural district of Linn, rendered necessary
by the construction of the Rhine dock. The town possessed in that year
profit-yielding undertakings and properties valued at £1,411,880, and other
real estate of an unremunerative character valued at £o31,270, besides movable
property valued at £99,950, and invested funds to the extent of £473,450. As
the municipal loans and debts stood at £1,647,740, there was a balance of assets
over liabilities of £868,840.
Occupations, Wages, and Hours of Labour.
The industrial character of Crefeld’s population is very pronounced. With
the exception of Barmen it had at the last occupation census a larger proportion
of inhabitants engaged directly and indirectly in industry than any other
“ large ” Prussian town (that is, a town with a population exceeding 100,000).
The most recent industrial enumeration of the population is that of the ïactory
