AN AUCKLANDER ABROAD. (By J.W.)

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 312, 31 October 1888, Page 5

AN AUCKLANDER ABROAD. (By J.W.)

PRIVATE MUNIFICENCE IN MELBOURNE. The principle adopted by the members of the Congregational Church is to be admired. One gentleman purposes giving £50,000 contingent on the like sum being raised for the very excellent purpose of the erection of a University and Grammar School; and as another significant fact of what can be done in marvellous Melbourne, I may mention that another gentleman who had made £50,000 by one transaction, promised to give £5,000 out of it. Another, a lawyer, €2,500 out ot his honest toil ! and several others £1,000 each, and one small tradesman £300.

SOME AUSTRALIAN STATISTICS. The sbabisbics of the colonies from Hay ter show that though Victoria is far ahead in manufactures, it is behind New South Wales in levenue and expenditure, and though Victoria leads the way in imports, C 19,000,000, New South Wales has the lar^e&t export, figuring £18,000,000. Yeb Victoria has> much larger acreage under crops. New Zealand conies next, but South Australia has the largest extent under cultivation, being 2, 750, 000 acres. The population of Victoiia is 1,036,119, while the sister or rather mother colony is 1,042,919, and the latter carries the palm for extent of railways opened, being 2,081 miles, and the former 1,949. New South Wales has the laiger public debt, being £40,000,000, while Victoria Is £33,000,000. The taxation per head of the latter is £2 14s 7d, while the average throughout Australia is t!2 16s 3d, and what may be woith a passing remade, the marriage rate here is 7 62 per 1,000, to New Zealand's 5 "97 per 1,000.

SANITATION. As I wrote you, the sanitation of many of the municipalities heie is bad, and as a cynical visitor, when asked what were his impressions of M elbourne, leplied, " Don't understand impressions, but my chief memories are of stinks in the gutters and dust in the streets.'' In places in some of the various municipalities and in Melbourne proper, the small enclosures of back yards, the leaving of decaying animal and vegetable matter stand in front in the streets till the afternoon in many places, and the habit ot sweeping and throwing offensive matter into the gutters, if not speedily taken in hand by the local Boai ds ot Health and dealt with, will surely be productive of infectious diseases in virulence and freqaency, and the prevalence of typhoid in the autumn, during its periodical visitation, now causes much loss of valuable liie, especially amongst the young. You may remember some years ago that you kindly published two or three letters ot minp dealing with typhoid. Though living in that healthy suburb, Ponsonby, with the Western Park in front, the open estate Surrey Hills at the side, and the reservoir in the rear, my family had typhoid, but not arising from bad drainage, but carried by my second daughter when at the Hospital going into the fever ward, and bieatlnng the genus, and, strange to say, the elder sister that slept with her tor only one night, and was sent to the country 20 miles away, when she returned, after being away 5 a\ eeks, sickened and had the disease, as also the mother that was constantly in attendance ; but, though having a large family, the disease was kepu under through free use of disinfectants. How neces&aiy, then, to adopt the most approved methods of scientific hygiene ; amend our lives in accordance with biological laws, avoid past errois, and save life. Will this be done ? Men, thiough greed of gain, have no more consideration of the value of human life than ot barter or business transactions.