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would not absolve our Hospital for having a death-rate which is far too high. We have a frightful mortality here, I think. That fifty people should die here unnecessarily is something terrible to contemplate. 1290. The death-rate should be something like 5 per cent, you say '?—I think it should be something like that. 129L Is it the same at Seacliff ?—1 do not know anything about that, but it is nonsense to compare our death-rate with Seacliff's. 1292. Is the death-rate of a lunatic asylum higher than that of a hospital?—I think it is very much heavier. I do not care about lunatic asylums, which have nothing to do with this matter. 1293. You have, I suppose, some standard of comparison when you tell me that the death-rate of the Dunedin Hospital is too high ? —Yes. 1294. Will you give us one? —That book of Lawson Tait's will show you. 1295. That is the average rate in the county hospitals that you spoke of the other day ? —Yes, they are very much in the same position as far as I can judge with the Hospital here. 1296. And you have made your comparison with that ? —Yes, but it is a rather unfair comparison. 1297. Unfair to what ?—It is too favourable to Dunedin. Our death-rate being so high is less excusable. The Hospital death-rate should bear a ratio to the district death-rate. Our district death-rate is very low, and I should say that our Hospital death-rate should be proportionately low. 1298. Then we may take it that you have chosen the English county hospitals as your standard of comparison?—Yes, but I think we ought to have a better death-rate than they have. 1299. You think we ought to have better results? —Certainly. 1300. In England the average I find is a little above 5 per cent. In Wellington I see they had 6 per cent, for some years and 8 per cent, in other years ; that would be very bad according to your standard ?—Yes, 8 per cent, is very bad, but I should think that the 8 per cent, was before the new hospital was built at Wellington. I have not the slightest objection to state here that from my reading such a death-rate is far too high, and that it ought to have been seen into. 1301. If Wellington three years ago had a death-rate of 9 per cent., what would you say ? —That it was theoretically bad. 1302. Whereas Dunedin was at 8-45. It follows of course that Wellington was worse than ours ? —Quite so. 1303. And Auckland's stood at 10-99; that I suppose you would attribute to a bad hospital influence?—Undoubtedly. It should be inquired into. All our hospitals want very much closer attention than they are receiving at present. 1304. Then, practically, you condemn a hospital like Wellington if it has a death-rate of 9 per cent. ?—Yes; and I can refer you to very good authority, which says that any hospital that has a death-rate of over 7 per cent, requires very careful looking into. Both in Holmes' and Tait's works the authors make some remarks as to what a hospital should be in this respect. 1305. You condemn a hospital like Wellington, because its mortality is over 8 per cent ?—-Yes. 1306. Would you ever condemn it if the percentage is over 6?—That is high. But you must make some allowance. There might be some epidemic disease which would, of course, run up the death-rate. I think you will admit that they had a large proportion of typhoid there last year. 1307. There was nothing in the way of epidemic there?—I believe there was. 1308. How many people died in Wellington from typhoid ? Were there three ?—I think there were more than that. 1309. How many died in the Hospital ?—In what year do you want to know ? 1310. When the typhoid epidemic you spoke about occurred in Wellington. If it occurred, you would expect the death-rate to be greatly enhanced, would you not ?—I do not know. There are a great many circumstances that come into the question, and therefore I would not like to give you an answer. 1311. But it would be a material circumstance to remember if a typhoid epidemic did occur in Wellington ? —One cannot carry in his head the number of deaths from different causes in different hospitals in the colony. 1312. Then why did you offer the typhoid epidemic as a solution of the death-rate ? —I am willing to admit that I made a mistake. 1313. Are the classes of cases taken into the hospitals of this colony the same as are admitted into the county hospitals at Home ?—I should think that they are almost exactly the same class of cases. I have been in several of the county hospitals at Home. 1314. Name one or two of them that you have been in ?—Colchester, and Ipswich. I have been inside of them and remember them pretcy well. 1315. Can you name any more ?—No. 1316. Do you know any of the other hospitals in New Zealand as well as you know this one ? —No ; I know this one best. 1317. Do you know what is the healthiest part of New Zealand?—I do not. 1318. How does the "West Coast stand for healthiness? —I do not know I am sure. 1319. Is not Hokitika about the healthiest part of New Zealand ? —I do not know. 1320. Would you be surprised to hear that the death-rate of the hospital there is about 12 per cent. ?—What is the size of the hospital ? 1321. It is a small-sized hospital—about one-third of the number of patients ours has ?—You must tell me the number of the beds. 1322. What would be the number of cases in Colchester Infirmary in the course of a year ? Would it be a thousand ? —I do not know, but you-will find it in that book of Tait's. I mentioned it because 1 happened to know that hospital. Colchester has ninety-four beds.