Feb. 23.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 269

It is interesting to compare the death-rates for nine towns of the United Kingdom with those given above:—

Deaths per 1,000 of Popu-
lations.

Dublin .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 30·6
Manchester .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 28·7
Liverpool .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 23·7
Glasgow.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 23·2
Edinburgh .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 19·8
Birmingham .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 19·7
London .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 19·6
Derby .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 17·1
Brighton .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 16·9

The death-rate of Brighton is the lowest of those of fifty-nine towns in the United Kingdom for which the rates are stated in the Victorian Year-book of 1892, but is nevertheless considerably higher than the rates in any of the four centres of this colony.

INFANTILE MORTALITY.

The infantile mortality was highest at Christchurch for the year 1892. Compared with 1891, the rates for Christchurch and Auckland show an increase, but those for Wellington and Dunedin a diminished rate. The proportion of deaths of children under 1 year of age to every 100 births for each of five years is exhibited by the following statement:—

Mean of
1888. 1889. 1890. 1891. 1892. Five Years.
Auckland .. 11·36 .. 10·80 .. 9·89 .. 13·36 .. 14·28 .. 11·94
Wellington .. 10·41 .. 12·42 .. 9·77 .. 12·14 .. 11·50 .. 11·25
Christchurch .. 13·23 .. 13·11 .. 11·94 .. 12·71 .. 16·81 .. 13·56
Dunedin .. 7·30 .. 9·59 .. 8·22 .. 9·87 .. 9·51 .. 8·90

Christchurch is thus shown to have had the highest infantile mortality during 1892, and for four out of five consecutive years. Auckland has the next highest rate, both for 1892 and generally. At Wellington the mean for five years is nearly as high as that of Auckland. At Dunedin the mortality amongst infants is decidedly lower throughout than at the other three towns.

The infantile mortality of Greater Melbourne for 1891 was as high as 15·88 per 100 births, the rate for Sydney being nearly the same as that of Melbourne, and those for Brisbane and Adelaide higher.

DEATHS OF CHILDREN UNDER FIVE YEARS.

The mortality of children under 5 years is shown in the form of the proportions of deaths of children of such age to every 100 of deaths:—

Mean of
1888. 1889. 1890. 1891. 1892. Five Years.
Auckland .. 42·78 .. 39·45 .. 32·74 .. 37·95 .. 38·48 .. 38·28
Wellington .. 35·90 .. 40·64 .. 32·38 .. 34·22 .. 32·10 .. 35·05
Christchurch .. 34·41 .. 35·93 .. 34·97 .. 29·19 .. 37·06 .. 34·32
Dunedin .. 20·15 .. 28·85 .. 17·14 .. 26·73 .. 25·84 .. 23·74

Christchurch here takes the second place, with a mean rate of 34·32 per 100 births, against 38·28 at Auckland, which town has the highest of the four.

SPECIFIC FEBRILE OR ZYMOTEIC DISEASES.

The number of deaths from these diseases in 1892 was 214, against 262 in 1891. The mortality from complaints belonging to this class, the prevalence of which is closely connected with sanitary condition and climatic influence on health, was as under:—

Diarrhœal Diseases. Typhoid Fever. Whooping-cough. Diphtheria. Influenza.
1891. 1892. 1891. 1892. 1891. 1892. 1891. 1892. 1891. 1892.
Auckland .. .. 45 44 9 9 19 1 1 3 3 13
Wellington .. .. 26 31 19 25 27 1 2 4 14 5
Christchurch .. .. 8 17 1 2 2 5 3 4 11 9
Dunedin .. .. 8 14 4 2 17 1 3 2 16 7
Totals .. .. 87 106 33 38 65 8 9 13 44 34

Diarrhœal Diseases are shown to have been more fatal in 1892 than in the previous year at Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, but not so at Auckland. The total mortality at the four towns for 1892 from these complaints (106 deaths), though greater than in 1891 (87 deaths) and than that in 1890 (80 deaths), was not so heavy as in 1889, when the number reached 116 deaths. The deaths in 1892 were most numerous at Auckland.

Typhoid Fever was considerably more fatal in 1892 and in 1891 at Wellington than at the other three towns, the deaths being 19 and 25 for those years respectively. Auckland had 9 deaths from this cause in each of the two years. Taking the four towns together, the total mortality from typhoid is found to be greater in 1892 (38 deaths) than in 1891 (33 deaths), but not so great as in 1890, when there were 49 deaths.

Whooping-cough.—The mortality at each town was insignificant during 1892 compared with that which prevailed in 1891. The total deaths for last year was only 8, while in 1891 the number reached 65, 27 of which took place at Wellington.

Diphtheria.—There were 13 deaths at all the towns, against 9 in 1891, 8 in 1890, and 16 in 1889.

Influenza.—This disease was most fatal at Auckland last year, when there were 13 deaths; but it was not so prevalent as in Dunedin in 1891, when the deaths numbered 16. Although the deaths at the principal towns came to 34 for the year 1892—a considerable number—the account is more satisfactory than that of 1891, when there were 44 deaths from this cause.

CONSTITUTIONAL DISEASES.

The deaths in 1892 were 276, against 254 in 1891, an increase of 22. The greatest mortality was caused by phthisis, from which there were 119 deaths, against 112 in the previous year. Cancer contributed 66 deaths to the total, a decrease of 5. From tubercular meningitis there were 26 deaths, and from tabes mesenterica, or tubercular peritonitis, 21. One death took place at Dunedin from "supposed leprosy," the victim being a Chinaman.

LOCAL DISEASES.

The total of deaths in this class was 533 in 1892 and 622 in 1891, or a decrease of 89 for last year. Referring to the orders that composed the class,—

Diseases of the Respiratory System demand attention first. The deaths were 132, distributed as under:—

Diseases of Respiratory System.
Bronchitis. Pneumonia. Others. Total.
1891. 1892. 1891. 1892. 1891. 1892. 1891. 1892.
Auckland .. .. .. .. 20 27 14 10 14 17 48 54
Wellington .. .. .. .. 22 15 17 8 18 4 57 27
Christchurch .. .. .. .. 6 5 9 7 8 5 23 17
Dunedin .. .. .. .. 17 14 18 10 10 10 45 34
Totals .. .. .. .. 65 61 58 35 50 36 173 132