Dendt. — On Moriori Belies. 123 



Thus, on the whole, there was during the period a very 

 gratifying falling-off in the ravages made by this insidious 

 disease. 



Conclusion. 



It is somewhat beyond my province to attempt to com- 

 ment on the figures I have brought forward from a point of 

 view that should be left to the medical expert. My only 

 object has been to present the statistics of the three diseases 

 in the manner in which I think they should be presented, and 

 one that leads to the possibility of sound and not fallacious 

 inference. My only regret is that I have not been able, from 

 lack of material, to extend the investigation to other popula- 

 tions than that of our own colony. If others with the avail- 

 able material to hand will take up the work, I am convinced 

 they will succeed in obtaining results of supreme interest to 

 all who are interested in statistics so closely concerned with 

 the health and welfare of the race. 



Art. VIII. — On some Belies of the Moriori Bace. 



By Arthur Dendy, D.Sc, F.L.S., Professor of Biology in 

 the Canterbury College, University of New Zealand. 



[Read before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 2nd, October, 



1901.] 



Plates V. and VI. 



The Moriori race is already on the verge of extinction, and at 

 the time of my visit to Chatham Island, in January, 1901, 

 there were only about a dozen pure-blooded individuals re- 

 maining, some of whom were of great age, while the youngest 

 was a lad of about sixteen. Under these circumstances it 

 must be considered as extremely fortunate that any reliable 

 record of this interesting people has been preserved. That 

 such is the case is due chiefly to the energy and enthusiasm 

 of Mr. Alexander Shand, who for more than thirty years has 

 lived amongst the Morioris, and has made a special study 

 not only of that race, but likewise of their Maori conquerors. 

 Mr. Shand, whose acquaintance I first had the pleasure of 

 making at his home on the island, has published a series of 

 very valuable papers on the subject in the Journal of the 

 Polynesian Society, from which, as well as from my personal 

 intercourse with the author, much of my information has been 

 derived. 



