972
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 20

The degree of infantile mortality is perhaps best shown in the proportion of deaths of children under 1 year of age to every 100 births. For 1906 and 1907 the proportions at the chief centres are,—

Auckland (including suburbs) .. .. .. .. .. .. 8·58 .. 9·72
Wellington " .. .. .. .. .. 7·19 .. 11·78
Christchurch " .. .. .. .. .. 7·44 .. 12·62
Dunedin " .. .. .. .. .. 7·26 .. 9·54

Again, the percentage of deaths of children under 5 to the total number of deaths is—Auckland, 32·83; in Christchurch, 32·71; in Wellington, 35·98; in Dunedin, 24·65.

Excluding suburbs, and dealing with the deaths at all ages in the four cities or central boroughs only, the rates for 1907 are found to be higher than in the previous year. The figures for five years are given:—

Deaths, 1903. Deaths, 1904. Deaths, 1905. Deaths, 1906. Deaths, 1907
Per 1,000 of Per 1,000 of Per 1,000 of Per 1,000 of Per 1,000 of
Population. Population. Population. Population. Population.

Auckland (excluding suburbs) .. 12·97 .. 11·11 .. 12·15 .. 12·51 .. 13·38
Wellington " .. 11·30 .. 10·75 .. 10·55 .. 9·45 .. 11·45
Christchurch " .. 11·39 .. 10·50 .. 10·76 .. 11·12 .. 14·72
Dunedin " .. 14·77 .. 13·59 .. 11·13 .. 12·70 .. 12·98

Omitting the deaths of infants under one year, and calculating the rate on the population of one year of age and upwards, an increase on the previous year is shown at three of the four centres.

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

1903. 1904.     1905.     1906.     1907.

      Auckland (excluding suburbs) .. 9·45 .. 9·24 .. 9·39 .. 9·84 .. 10·57
      Wellington " .. 8·84 .. 8·42 .. 7·80 .. 7·68 .. 8·43
      Christchurch " .. 8·83 .. 7·87 .. 8·46 .. 9·34 .. 11·10
      Dunedin " .. 13·61 .. 11·90 .. 9·64 .. 10·76 .. 10·74

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.

1903. 1904.     1905.     1906.     1907.     Mean of
                                                              Five Years.

      Auckland (excluding suburbs) .. 12·08 .. 6·93 .. 10·13 .. 9·92 .. 10·55 .. 9·92
      Wellington " .. 9·28 .. 9·55 .. 10·02 .. 7·11 .. 11·85 .. 9·56
      Christchurch " .. 10·49 .. 10·36 .. 8·60 .. 7·24 .. 12·99 .. 9·94
      Dunedin " .. 7·27 .. 8·74 .. 7·21 .. 7·76 .. 9·77 .. 8·15

Specific Febrile and Zymotic Diseases.—The mortality from these diseases was much higher at each of the four centres in 1907 than in the previous year. The total deaths in this class were 133 for 1906 and 395 for 1907.

Deaths from Febrile and Zymotic Diseases.

Auckland and Wellington and Christchurch and Dunedin and Total.
Suburbs. Suburbs. Suburbs. Suburbs.

1906 .. .. .. 42 .. 22 .. 23 .. 46 .. 133
1907 .. .. .. 103 .. 110 .. 110 .. 72 .. 395

Of the above, diarrhoeal diseases caused most deaths in 1907 at the four centres taken together, the total number being 111. Whooping-cough came next with 104 deaths, influenza 64, measles 36, diphtheria 23, scarlet fever 11, typhoid fever 9, bubonic plague 1, and other zymotic complaints 36.

Comparison of the deaths for each city, including suburbs, shows,—

Zymotic, &c., Diseases. Auckland. Wellington. Christchurch. Dunedin.
1906. 1907. 1906. 1907. 1906. 1907. 1906. 1907.
Diarrhoeal Diseases .. 16 19 .. 2 23 .. 8 47 .. 3 22
Influenza .. 11 10 .. 6 17 .. 9 13 .. 7 24
Typhoid Fever .. 5 6 .. 4 .. .. .. 2 .. 5 1
Measles .. .. 17 .. .. 15 .. .. 4 .. 10 ..
Scarlet Fever .. 2 1 .. 1 9 .. 1 .. .. .. 1
Diphtheria .. 2 8 .. 5 9 .. 2 5 .. 4 1
Whooping-cough .. .. 36 .. .. 28 .. .. 29 .. 12 11
Bubonic Plague.. .. .. 1 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Other Zymotic Diseases .. 6 5 .. 4 9 .. 3 10 .. 5 12

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

Dietetic Diseases.—These numbered 15, 3 being due to exposure or want of breast-milk, 8 to alcoholism, and 4 to delirium tremens.

Constitutional Diseases.—The deaths at the four towns numbered 582 in 1907. The first in importance of these diseases, and of all causes of death, is tubercle. The figures for 1906 and 1907 show 232 and 289 deaths for each year respectively.

Phthisis and other Tubercular Diseases.—

Auckland and Suburbs .. Phthisis. .. Other Tubercular Diseases. .. Phthisis. .. Other Tubercular Diseases.
1906. 1906. 1907. 1907.
40 12 46 20
Wellington " .. 49 .. 11 .. 45 .. 24
Christchurch " .. 28 .. 14 .. 52 .. 25
Dunedin " .. 59 .. 19 .. 49 .. 28
—— —— —— ——
176 56 192 97

The mortality from tubercular diseases for 1907 is 9·3 per cent. of the total deaths at the four boroughs and their suburbs from all causes.

Deaths from cancer rose at the chief towns from 217 in 1906 to 235 in 1907. The latter number is 7·59 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:—

1903. 1904.     1905.     1906.     1907.

      Auckland and suburbs .. .. 37 .. 45 .. 35 .. 49 .. 50
      Wellington " .. 47 .. 44 .. 47 .. 53 .. 50
      Christchurch " .. 33 .. 38 .. 49 .. 60 .. 76
      Dunedin " .. 62 .. 57 .. 60 .. 55 .. 59
      —— —— —— —— ——
      179 184 191 217 235

Diabetes shows 27 deaths in 1907, against 36 in 1906.

Developmental Diseases.—There were 330 deaths in this class, of which 127 were from premature births, 183 from old age, and 20 from other causes.