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As population in Britain and her self-governing colonies shows a tendency to decrease, it is all the more necessary—apart from sentimental reasons—to take all possible measures to protect the lives of our infant population. One of the many recommendations made by the Commission with a view to lower the infantile death-rate (admittedly higher than it ought to be) was that the milk-supply should be placed under a rigid supervision, and all possible means taken to insure that this, the staple food of young children, should be collected, stored, brought into town, and distributed under the very best possible conditions. Again, in a discussion on physical deterioration recently held in the Old Country, it was unanimously agreed that one of the chief causes of such deterioration was due to the polluted milk supplied to children. (2.) An Infantile Death-rate largely due to Diarrhoea! and Dietetic Diseases. A glance at the vital statistics of the colony will show that the mortality-rates are very low as compared with those of other countries. Whereas the death-rate for the last decade in the United Kingdom was 16 per 1,000 living, it was only 10 per 1,000 living in New Zealand. The infantile deathrate of the colony is also comparatively low. In the United Kingdom during the decade 1894-1903 the infantile mortality was 143 per 1,000 births against 80 per 1,000 births in New Zealand during the same decade. So far, so good. But when we come to compare the infantile mortality of our chief centres with those of the larger towns of England the comparison is by no means favourable. Attached is a table showing the infantile mortality of our chief centres during the decade 1894-1903. It will be seen that Auckland heads the list with a mcrrtality-rate of 134 per 1,000 births, followed by Christchurch with 112, Wellington with 105, and Dunedin with only 74. Compare these with the death-rates of some of the larger towns of the United Kingdom. In London for the same decade the death-rate was 158. In 1903 it was only 131 in that city. In Bristol it was only 116. When the natural advantages of the colony as to climate and social conditions are taken into consideration, it must be admitted that the infantile death-rate of our cities is far too high. A glance at the two following tables will show approximately the causes of death in infants under one year. For the decade 1894-1903, of 15,667 deaths, 17 per cent, were due to diarrhceal diseases and 12 per cent, to atrophy, debility, and inanition—practically 31 per cent, to dietetic disease.

Infantile Deaths: Average per 1,000 Births for Ten Years, 1894-1903.

Deaths of Children under Five Years for the Ten Years 1894-1903 from the Undermentioned Diseases.

Year. Auokland and Suburbs. Chriatchuroh and Suburbs. Wellington and Suburbs. Dunedin and Suburbs. .894 .895 .896 .897 .898 .899 .900 .901 .902 903 139 141 162 125 151 141 128 99 140 121 103 116 128 112 91 143 108 110 117 101 94 124 96 98 131 117 73 100 130 93 70 60 72 63 80 92 79 79 89 62 Mean total for ten years ... 134-7 112-9 105-6 74-6

Nature of Disease. Auokland. Wellington. Christohuroh. Dunedin. Total. Inflammatory diseases of the digestive tract Dietetic diseases Tubercular ... Premature births Bronchitis and pneumonia Accident From other causes 821 380 371 207 1,779 485 101 188 196 49 395 329 119 262 185 53 302 347 75 251 161 58 235 192 48 239 169 56 179 1,353 343 940 711 216 1,111 Total deaths ... 2,235 1,630 1,498 1,090 6,453 Average for ten years 223-5 163 149-8 109 645-3 Note.—" Inflammatory diseases of catarrh. " Dietetio " inolude marasmus the digestive traot and dietetio diseases : four centres, 48-53. the digestive ti i and convulsioi Auckland, 58-4 •act" include c is. Percentage 3 ; Wellington liarrhcea, chole: i of deaths oaus 42-88; Christc ra, enteritis, an ied by iuflamma jhurch, 47-93; I d acute gastrio itory diseases of )unedin, 36-60: