Jan. 29.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 365

The death-rates for the metropolitan areas for the five years 1915 to 1919 are—

Deaths per 1,000 of Population.

Auckland Metropolitan Area .. .. 9·05 .. 9·58 .. 10·45 .. 18·07 .. 10·68
Wellington Metropolitan Area .. .. 9·71 .. 9·45 .. 9·37 .. 15·71 .. 11·14
Christchurch Metropolitan Area .. 9·01 .. 10·77 .. 11·04 .. 15·47 .. 10·77
Dunedin Metropolitan Area .. .. 11·03 .. 11·73 .. 11·58 .. 16·20 .. 11·32

If the number of deaths of infants under one year be excluded, the mortality among the rest of the population is found to have been for 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, and 1919 in the following ratio to the 1,000 living :—

Auckland Metropolitan Area .. .. 7·39 .. 8·39 .. 9·29 .. 16·81 .. 9·92
Wellington Metropolitan Area .. .. 8·19 .. 8·06 .. 8·14 .. 14·06 .. 10·09
Christchurch Metropolitan Area .. 7·80 .. 9·28 .. 10·14 .. 14·41 .. 9·95
Dunedin Metropolitan Area .. .. 9·23 .. 10·70 .. 10·93 .. 15·34 .. 10·70

The degree of infantile mortality is perhaps best shown in the proportion of deaths of children under one year of age to every 100 births. For 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, and 1919 the proportions at the chief centres were—

Auckland Metropolitan Area .. .. 7·17 .. 5·92 .. 6·10 .. 5·77 .. 4·92
Wellington Metropolitan Area .. .. 6·28 .. 6·51 .. 5·65 .. 7·12 .. 5·96
Christchurch Metropolitan Area .. 5·42 .. 6·67 .. 4·93 .. 5·28 .. 5·18
Dunedin Metropolitan Area .. .. 7·23 .. 5·47 .. 4·02 .. 4·60 .. 4·54

Again, the percentage of deaths of children under five years to the total number of deaths is—Auckland, 12·39 ; Wellington, 14·90 ; Christchurch, 12·31 ; Dunedin, 12·08.

Excluding suburban portions, and dealing with the deaths at all ages in the four cities only, the figures for five years are as follows :—

Deaths per 1,000 of Population.

Auckland City .. .. .. 9·99 .. 11·10 .. 12·36 .. 21·40 .. 11·85
Wellington City .. .. .. 10·02 .. 9·73 .. 10·05 .. 16·59 .. 11·50
Christchurch City .. .. .. 9·58 .. 11·14 .. 12·13 .. 17·15 .. 11·53
Dunedin City .. .. .. 11·58 .. 12·37 .. 12·23 .. 16·40 .. 11·87

Omitting the deaths of infants under one year, and calculating the rate on the population of one year of age and upwards, the rates for the last five years are as follows :—

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

Auckland City .. .. .. 8·38 .. 9·60 .. 11·02 .. 20·07 .. 10·99
Wellington City .. .. .. 8·73 .. 8·26 .. 8·73 .. 14·90 .. 10·50
Christchurch City .. .. .. 8·53 .. 9·87 .. 11·22 .. 16·23 .. 10·74
Dunedin City .. .. .. 10·23 .. 11·29 .. 11·58 .. 15·54 .. 11·21

Subjoined is a table showing the rates of infant mortality in the four cities for each of the past five years, together with the means of those years :—

Deaths of Children under One Year to every 100 Births.

Auckland City .. 8·08 .. 7·41 .. 7·11 .. 6·11 .. 5·34 .. 6·81
Wellington City .. 6·24 .. 6·91 .. 6·30 .. 7·58 .. 5·92 .. 6·59
Christchurch City .. 5·62 .. 6·48 .. 5·01 .. 5·19 .. 5·03 .. 5·47
Dunedin City.. .. 7·88 .. 5·80 .. 4·19 .. 5·08 .. 4·95 .. 5·60

Census and Statistics Office,
Wellington, N.Z., 26th January, 1920.

J. W. BUTCHER,
Acting Government Statistician.

STATEMENT showing Discount-stamp Transactions in the several Postal Districts of the Dominion of New Zealand during the Quarter ended 31st December, 1919.

General Post Office, Wellington, 27th January, 1920.

W. R. MORRIS, Secretary.