646
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 22

By omitting the deaths of infants under one year, and calculating the rate on the population of one year of age and upwards, the death-rates for each of the four principal boroughs are found to be higher in 1901 than in the previous year.

Deaths per 1,000 of Population, excluding Infants (under One Year of Age).

1898. 1899. 1900. 1901. Auckland (excluding suburbs) .. .. 9·86 .. 9·53 .. 9·72 .. 9·93
                        Wellington " .. .. 9·18 .. 8·39 .. 7·65 .. 8·12
                        Christchurch " .. .. 8·85 .. 9·16 .. 8·22 .. 10·69
                        Dunedin " .. .. 10·87 .. 11·59 .. 10·64 .. 10·88

Subjoined is a table showing the rates of infant mortality in the four cities for each of the past five years, together with the mean rates for the period.

Deaths of Children under One Year to every 100 Births.

1897. 1898. 1899. 1900. 1901. Mean of Five Years.
                              Auckland (excluding suburbs) 12·80 .. 17·14 .. 14·47 .. 14·49 .. 11·57 .. 14·09
                              Wellington " 10·59 .. 13·71 .. 12·26 .. 6·65 .. 10·43 .. 10·73
                              Christchurch " 12·50 .. 10·00 .. 19·71 .. 11·99 .. 11·35 .. 13·11
                              Dunedin " 6·22 .. 9·66 .. 10·20 .. 8·37 .. 9·07 .. 8·70

Specific Febrile and Zymotic Diseases.—The mortality from these diseases at Auckland and Dunedin, with their suburbs, was lower in 1901 than in the previous year. The total deaths in this class were 214 for 1900 and 209 for 1901 at the four centres.

Deaths from Febrile and Zymotic Diseases.

Auckland and Suburbs. Wellington and Suburbs. Christchurch and Suburbs. Dunedin and Suburbs. Total.
1900 .. .. .. 93 .. 37 .. 43 .. 41 .. 214
1901 .. .. .. 70 .. 46 .. 54 .. 39 .. 209

Of the above, influenza caused most deaths in 1901 at the four centres taken together, the total number being 74. Diarrhoeal diseases came next with 57 deaths, diphtheria 13, typhoid fever 24, whooping-cough 4, measles and scarlet fever 2 each, and other zymotic complaints 33.

Comparison of the deaths for each city shows,—

Zymotic, &c., Diseases. Auckland. Wellington. Christchurch. Dunedin.
1900. 1901. 1900. 1901. 1900. 1901. 1900. 1901.
Diarrhoeal Diseases .. 57 31 .. 11 10 .. 11 10 .. 14 6
Influenza .. .. 10 14 .. 5 14 .. 9 25 .. 14 21
Typhoid Fever .. .. 8 11 .. 8 5 .. 3 6 .. 2 2
Measles .. .. .. .. .. 1 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2
Scarlet Fever .. .. .. 1 .. .. .. .. 1 1 .. .. .. ..
Bubonic Plague .. .. 1 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Diphtheria .. .. 5 2 .. 6 7 .. 7 2 .. 3 2
Whooping-cough.. .. .. 1 .. .. 1 .. 6 1 .. 2 1
Chicken-pox .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 .. .. .. ..
Other Zymotic Diseases .. 12 10 .. 6 9 .. 6 8 .. 6 5

Parasitic Diseases.—Hydatids were fatal at Wellington (3 deaths), Christchurch (1 death), and Dunedin (2 deaths).

Dietetic Diseases.—These numbered 28, 12 being due to want of breast-milk, or malnutrition, 15 to alcoholism and delirium tremens, and 1 to exposure.

Constitutional Diseases.—The deaths at the four towns numbered 471 in 1901. The first in importance of these diseases, and of all causes of death, is tubercle. The figures for 1900 and 1901 show 266 and 263 deaths for each year respectively.

Phthisis and other Tubercular Diseases.

Phthisis. Other Tubercular Diseases. Phthisis. Other Tubercular Diseases.
1900. 1901.
Auckland .. .. .. 47 .. 15 .. 41 .. 9
Wellington .. .. .. 57 .. 12 .. 55 .. 25
Christchurch .. .. .. 47 .. 7 .. 43 .. 11
Dunedin .. .. .. 53 .. 28 .. 68 .. 11
—— .. —— .. —— .. ——
204 .. 62 .. 207 .. 56

The mortality from tubercular diseases for 1901 is 11·56 per cent. of the total deaths at the four boroughs from all causes.

Deaths from cancer rose at the chief towns from 145 in 1900 to 154 in 1901. The latter number is 6·77 per cent. of deaths for the year from all causes.

The number of deaths from cancer at the four chief towns and their suburbs for each of the last five years was as under :—

1897. 1898. 1899. 1900. 1901. Auckland and suburbs .. .. 30 .. 25 .. 40 .. 32 .. 32
                              Wellington " .. .. 29 .. 43 .. 27 .. 36 .. 38
                              Christchurch " .. .. 36 .. 43 .. 40 .. 32 .. 41
                              Dunedin " .. .. 34 .. 49 .. 44 .. 45 .. 43
                              —— .. —— .. —— .. —— .. ——
                              129 .. 160 .. 151 .. 145 .. 154

Diabetes shows 24 deaths in 1901, against 15 in 1900.

Developmental Diseases.—There were 227 deaths in this class, of which 93 were from premature birth, 115 from old age, and 19 from other causes.

Local Diseases.—Deaths in this class were 107 more than in 1900, the figures being 1,125 against 1,018. Diseases of the respiratory system show 308 deaths for 1901, or more than one-fourth of the whole mortality in the class, against 182 in the former year. Bronchitis, pneumonia, congestion of lungs, pleurisy, and allied diseases form this group. The large increase in deaths from these complaints accounts for more than the total increase in the class as a whole.

Under the head of “Diseases of the Digestive System” there were 192 deaths at the four centres, including 59 from enteritis; peritonitis, 19; gastritis, 25; cirrhosis of liver, 9; jaundice, 7; and dentition, 10.

Diseases of the urinary system caused 73 deaths. The remaining deaths were—244 from nervous diseases, 1 disease of organs of special sense, 260 of organs of the circulatory, 10 of the lymphatic, 24 of the reproductive system, 7 of the organs of locomotion, and 6 of the integuments.

Violent Deaths.—There were 119 violent deaths, 94 of which were classed as accidental. Four of these latter were caused by fractures, and 9 by falls. In 10 cases deaths resulted from the deceased being run over by a cab, cart, wagon, or train. Thirteen deaths were from burns or scalds, 24 by drowning, 6 by suffocation, 1 by poisoning, 5 by misadventure with morphia or chloroform; besides 8 from accident at birth, and 14 others.

Two deaths were returned as homicidal.

Of 23 suicides, 5 were by shooting, 6 by cutting throat, 2 by poison, 4 by hanging, 2 by drowning, 1 by placing himself on the railway-line, 1 by strangling, 1 by throwing himself from a bridge and 1 from a window.

E. J. von DADELSZEN,
Registrar-General.

Registrar-General’s Office,
Wellington, 28th February, 1902.