PARLIAMENT.

Greymouth Evening Star, 8 October 1908, Page 3

PARLIAMENT.

THE BIRTH RATE.

REPORT OF THE CHIEF HEALTH OFFICER. (Our Parliamentary Reporter.) : /„! ■ r-.'V. WELLINGTON, This Day. “The average number of children to a marriage is still on the decline,” says the Chief Health Officer in his annual report. “Last year the proportion of births to every marriage ’solemnised in the preceding year was 3.21 while for 1907 it was 3.15. Whatever we may think of this almost 'universal decline in the birth rate I confess I see no way in which the State can interfere to check-.iiU.on.Comu ■missions have sat iu various parts of the world and discussed tho subject in all its phases. To my mind tho remedy is not to be found iu reports but in a national awakening and an increase in patriotism. All sorts of •cures have been advocated such as grants of land to parents having over a certain number of a family. I have little faith in such remedies but if .the loss to the State through the lessened advent he outside practical politics the conservation of tho health and strength of tho children born is not so. Much has been done both by the State and private associations but still the awful waste continues. INFANTILE MORTALITY.

The death rate among children was very heavy last year. Ninety-seven : out of every 1000 males born and eighty of every 1000 females died hc- , fore attaining the age of one year. ' “If,” says Dr Mason, “wo group these death due to dirrhcoa and enteric which is much the same along iiavith marasmus which often spells nothing more than bad feeding, we have 861 out of a total of 1811 duo to ignorance, want of care and impure milk. Replace these with knowledge love and a clean milk supply and ’biuch would have to bo subtracted from this awful toll.” INFLUENZA. • Influenza claimed 223 victims in 1907 as against 132 in 1906. VACCINATION. Dr. Mason again makes a protest against the lack of observance of the vaccination law. Only • eight out of every hundred horn in 1907 would, he says, appear to have been successfully vaccinated. Soon New Zeala.nd will have the unenviable distinction of being the least protected of all the countries. NOT WANTED. During the past year twelve persons >iri*w Wtfussd admission to tho ion on account ol elth-#? manM infects, fluberculocid, 00 syphilis. ’ •’ THE birth rath. 'Dealing further with the birth rate question Dr Mason says; ‘Taking the number of married women in New Zealand at what may be considered the child bearing ages (from 15 to 45 years inclusive) as shown by eadi census since 1878 and for the same years the number of legitimate births registered the birth rate pei 1000 married women of the above stated ages is easily found and is shown to be steadily declining. In 1878 the rate was 335 per 1000; in 1896 it had fallen to 252 ; in 1901 to 244 and in 1906 to 228 or in other words in 1878 one married woman of ages specified in every three gave birth to a child while in 1906 tho rate was loss than one in four. ILLEGITIMATE. The births of 1157 children were illegitimate, thus 46 iu every 1000 children born were born out of wedock against 47 in 1906. The propor- ' iou was less than in any of tho Aus--1 Italian States except South Australia and Western Australia.

1 MARRIAGES. The number of marriages during '1907 was 8192 or 600 more than in 1906. The marriage rate rose from 8.48 per 1000 persons living in 1906 to 8.91 in 1907. Fifty-three divorced men and 75 divorced women were /married during the year. DEATH RATES. The death rate for last year was 10.95 in every 100,0 persons living as against 9.31 in 1906. This is the highest rate experienced since 1883 when the deaths v/ore 11.45 of the population. PATENT MEDICINES. “I am glad to say,” reports Dr Mason, “that the amendment to the Postal Act which was passed recently continues to offer an effectual bar .against the gentlemen for ,whom it ’-in---no wayi ninter‘in 'bonosb mod- ■ r’’jlre’ss ■ i£ 1 bow' tine of' tho> ‘cleanest from djqiiack'hhfidici^ctpqjpD/, of view. The only offenders arc some it»f thp.i:§ipaU country, r papers, ~^'hcy, ■ foo will soon drop them when the advertiser ceases to pay as assuredly he 'will do when he finds that his mail matter will not bo carried through the post. INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS. On the subject of medical inspection of school children, the Chief Medical Officer again urges that the scheme of inspection outlined by him should be undertaken either in whole or in part. MALES AND FEMALES. “The results of three censuses in respect of tlie number of bachelors of twenty years and upwards in the dominion and spinsters of 15 years and .upwards show some interesting features,” remarks the Chief Health officer in the course of his annual re■port. “In 1891 there was an excess ■of bachelors over spinsters amounting i to- 3497 men but in 1896 not only had < the preponderance of the male element been lost but an excess of spinsters over, bachelors was reported (amounting to 1786 women while in 1901 this excess had risen to 3572 woimen.' The census of 1906 disclosed a > considerable excess of bachelors 'amounting to 9633. : ‘-'‘This result,” says the Chief Health Officer,” “is no doubt largely due to the arrivals from abroad of numbers of young men who have settled down in New Zealand. Canterbury and Otago he shows lost large numbers of bachelors by departures to the North Island. Marriages by the registrar fell from 16.69 in 1900 to 15.23 per cent in 1907.