H.—3l

29

Plural Births. There were 300 cases of twin births (600 children) and 2 cases of triplets registered in 1911. The number of children born was 26,354 ; the number of mothers was 26,050 : thus, on an average, one mother in every 86 gave birth to twins, against 89 in 1910, 99 in 1909, 90 in 1908, and 102 in 1907. The proportion of plural births per 1,000 of all births during the past five years was, — w , Plural Births Year. All Births. i.,? 1 per 1,000 of Buths all Births. 1907 .. .. .. .. .. .. 25,094 244 9-72 1908 .. .. .. .. .. .. 25,940 286 11-03 1909 .. .. .. .. .. .. 26,524 266 10-03 1910 .. .. .. .. .. .. 25,984 290 11-16 1911 .. .. .. .. .. .. 26,354 302 11-46 Illegitimacy. The births of 1,078 children were illegitimate : thus 41 in every 1,000 children born were born out of wedlock, against 45 in 1910.

Proportion of Illegitimate Births in every 100 Births.

These figures show the proportion of illegitimate births to every 100 births for New Zealand to be fairly steady during the period 1901-10. Births and Birth-rates in the Four Chief Cities and their Suburbs. The total number of births registered as occurring in the four chief centres and suburbs in 1911 was 7,473, as against 7,221 for the previous year. The birth-rates for last year were, — Birth-rates per 1,000 of Mean Population. Auckland City ... ... ... ... ... 30-03 „ and eight suburban boroughs ... ... 2725 Wellington City ... ... ... ... ... 26-67 „ and four suburban boroughs ... ... 26 08 Christchurch City ... ... ... ... ... 28-45 „ and four suburban boroughs ... ... 26-84 Dunedin City ... ... ... ... ... 27-45 „ and six suburban boroughs ... ... 26-52 By the inclusion of the suburbs the rate is lowered in the case of all four centres. Excluding the suburbs, it- will be observed that Auckland has the highest rate, Dunedin next highest, Christchurch and Wellington following. The birth-rate for the Dominion last year was 25-97 per thousand, so that each of the four centres is above the average. The birth-rates for the four central boroughs last year are higher than those of 1910. In Auckland the rate rose from 27-75 to 30-03 ; in Wellington from 24-13 to 26-67 ; in Christchurch from 27-10 to 28-45 ; in Dunedin from 27-22 to 29-45. The rates for five years, 1907 to 1911, are,— , Births per 1,000 of Population. > 1907. 1908. 1909. 1910. 1911. Auckland (without suburbs) ... 29-63 30-56 29-73 27-75 30-03 Wellington „ ... 27-53 27-60 26-62 24-13 26-67 Christchurch „ ... 30-47 28-43 28-55 27-10 28-45 Dunedin „ ... 25-69 25-48 28-34 2722 2945

I Year. Queensland. New South Wales. Victoria. South Australia. Western Australia. Tasmania. New Zealand. .901 .902 .903 .904 .905 906 .907 .908 .909 .910 5-93 6-04 6-79 6-90 6'97 7-68 7-68 7-54 7-05 6-39 7-16 6-60 6-71 7-12 7-37 7-04 6-92 6-80 6-44 6-28 5-58 5-51 5-73 5-74 5-61 5-58 5-62 5-76 5-92 5-59 3-96 4'35 4-16 4-02 4-35 4-00 4-09 4-47 4-22 4-38 3-88 396 4-70 4-36 4-19 4-78 3-86 4-35 3-95 443 5-94 6-12 5-61 5-82 5-52 5-78 5-78 5-24 5-45 5-33 4'57 4-46 4-55 4-52 4-57 4-67 4-61 4-26 4-61 4-47