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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5277, 22 February 1878, Page 2

The Inspector of Nuisances, in his report which was laid before tee City Council last night, says that bearing in mind the number of inhabitants of this city as calculated by the city valuer, the health of the city will bear favorable comparison with most other places in new Zealand. The Hegistrar-Geneial estimates the population, of the city at 18,638. On this basis the death-rate for January was 2’43 per 1000. But, assuming the inhabitants to number twenty-two or twenty-three thousand, the death-rate for Wellington would still be higher than in any other centre of population in New Zealand. Nevertheless, the Registrar-General’s figures do not convey a fair idea of the general health .of the city. Of the 45 deaths reeorded in January, 40 were of infants under eighteen months old, or 87.5 per cent, ; so it will be seen that the deaths above that age amount to only 12’5 per cent., whereas 33’86 per cent, of deaths in the various cities were of persons above five years of age. What is.clearly to be gathered from the vital statistics for January is that Wellington is the healthiest city in New Zealand for persons above eighteen months old, but below that age the mortality has been very heavy through the prevalence of whooping cough. ■