PL—3l

10

Mongonui County. —A serious outbreak of enteric fever occurred in Mangonui in May, 1904. In 1901 typhoid had been here, and no doubt gave rise to this recrudescence. Fifteen cases were notified, three of these ended fatally. Inspector Winstanley had the whole matter in hand, and with the local constable succeeded in having many insanitary features altered or removed. Tlobson County. —ln all twenty cases of typhoid occurred, pakeha and Maori, mainly the latter, among the Kaihu River settlements, beginning from Kaihu itself at the upper end. The causation of this outbreak was undoubtedly by case-contacts. Ignorance of the most common-sense principles of the prevention of the spreading of infectious disease was widely evident. Dr. Pomare made a detailed investigation of the outbreak. Having regard to the reason for the many persons affected, it was not deemed necessary to go to the many extremes advocated by some of the inhabitants for the preventing of such an outbreak in the future. Dargaville is now a progressive and growing town, and it is the intention to urge the initiation of the various sanitary systems necessitated by the increase of population. Much local jealousy exists between the several towns on the Wairoa River, and this renders it difficult to advise the course to be adopted. For though it is obvious what is needed in Dargaville may never be required in Aratapu, yet for the reason above stated all these towns expect to be dealt with on similar lines, otherwise little is likely to be accomplished. One way out of the difficulty would be that Dargaville be constituted a local authority separate from the Hobson County Council. The Hobson County Council is the sole authority in the county ; there are no Road Boards ; the population is about five thousand. This may be contrasted with Manukau County and its twenty-eight struggling units for a population of about 12,500. Whangarei Borough. —The drainage scheme has not been proceeded with. I have hopes that if this be attempted in sections, it may be possible to report greater progress next year. Thames Borough. —The older part of this town is in a very dilapidated state. Most of these buildings are unused. It is only in the event of a " boom " that they may be suddenly desired for human habitation. Steps will be taken to prevent their being used unless the most thorough repairs have been previously made. Waihi Borough. —The population is rapidly increasing here. A new water-supply has been obtained, and reticulation is almost completed. The sanitary services are not satisfactory. A report on the sewerage of the town is being prepared. Plans have been prepared for the municipal abattoirs, the question of the disposal of offal is a matter for much consideration. Ohinemuri County. —Much time has been given to an endeavour to solve the problem of a more than usually offensive boiling-down works on the Paeroa-Karangahake Road. The owner having purchased a larger allotment it will now be possible to move his works to a site less objectionable to his neighbour and the users of the road. Paeroa. —It is anticipated that this town's population will remain stagnant once the railway runs through to Waihi. It has appeared to me wiser therefore to postpone any recommendation to the Council to engage upon a necessarily expensive drainage scheme for the town. Te Aroha. —An extension of the drainage scheme is being proceeded with under the superintendence of the Department of Public Works. Hamilton Borough. —Mr. Boylan, C.E., has been instructed by the Council to prepare a drainage scheme for a portion of the borough. The amount to be spent has been limited to £2,000. A " separate " system of sewerage is to be constructed, terminating in a centrally placed septic tank, the effluent of which shall discharge in the Waikato River at a point 3 ft. below lowest summer flow. The amount of tank-effluent to be discharged in proportion to the volume of fresh water in the Waikato at this pointis comparatively trifling ; " aeration by dilution " in such a large volume will be complete in a very short course of the river ; nevertheless, I have advised the Council that the tank and effluent-pipe pipe shall be built in such a position that, at any future time should it be thought desirable, the effluent can be taken in a pipe-line farther down the river and there subjected to natural or artificial filtration before being consigned to the Waikato River for final purifying and disposal. A nightsoil service by contract was attempted ; owing to inefficient by-laws and an early defeat in the law-court in an endeavour to compel the acceptance of the service, the system has completely failed. The inauguration of the service will be again attempted, when it is to be hoped the Council will concur with the Departments' advice —not to leave the performance of the work to a contractor. Cambridge Borough. —This year a nightsoil service was installed. Mainly as the result of the attention to the minutest detail by His Worship the Mayor, Mr. Wells, this service has been satisfactory from the very beginning, a noticeable fact being that many householders accepted the service who were not otherwise compelled to do so. I have not yet seen anywhere in the colony, Rotorua excepted, a sanitary service so well performed as here. It has become stock advice with me to urge other local authorities to " see Cambridge " before they propose to enter upon a similar municipal enterprise. Many consumptives, and in all stages and with varying symptoms of the disease, come to this town by reason of the celebrity it has held for years past as possessing meteorological conditions well suited to produce permanent improvement in those subject to tubercular ailments. Something is necessary to prevent a continuation of the present slipshod way in virtue of which one sees the unfortunate sufferers lodged indiscriminately in all parts of the town, even in hotels and boardinghouses. Unfortunately the Cambridge people have emphatically indicated they prefer either of two manifest extremes to any fair and human mean. These extremes are : (1) the past and present routine by which the consumptive is housed anywhere, and under any conditions ; (2) that asked for in a petition from the borough—namely, that all and every consumptive who desires the comfort and care of a properly conducted home must seek such beyond the confines of the borough. " The first extreme is unfair to the healthy members of the community, and is undoubtedly damaging the reputation of Cambridge as a holiday resort; the second is uncharitable, inhumanly selfish, and quite unwarranted, since consumption is not an intensely infectious disease, and is one which does not affect the unfortunate sufferer for a day or a week but mayhap for years. The happy mean in my judgment, proposed by