662 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



deterioration at some subsequent year of life. For instance^ 

 taking the figures for males at 30 and 31 years — 



. „„ New New South Wales -n, „■, ^ 



Age- Zealand. and Victoria. England. 



30 .. .. .. .. 7,897 7,221 6,300 



31 .. .. .. .. 7,851 7,165 6,241 



— it does not follow immediately that the year of age 30-31 is 

 most favourable in the first country. To ascertain which pro- 

 vides the best chance of life it is necessary to know the number 

 surviving the year out of the same number at risk for the year 

 in each case. Thus, if instead of 7,897, 7,221, and 6,300 at 

 age 30 there are ten thousand at this age in each country, then 

 9,941, 9,922, and 9,906 would survive the year. Hence at this 

 particular age New Zealand again ranks first. Tables III. 

 and IV., shown graphically in Plate LXI., have been prepared 

 to bring out the comparison at each age. For the ages 16 

 and 17 (Males— Table III.) New South Wales and Victoria 

 are as healthy as New Zealand, but at no other age are those 

 colonies so healthy ; while at ages 12, 13, 14, and 16 (Females 

 — Table IV.) New South Wales and Victoria reach New Zea- 

 land's high level ; and at age 15 females in New South Wales 

 and Victoria have a better chance of living a year than those 

 in New Zealand. At only one age is the mortality in England 

 so light as in any of the colonies under discussion — at age 67 

 (Males — Table III.), where the English mortality is lighter 

 than New South Wales and Victoria, but not so light as New 

 Zealand. 



The figures for New Zealand are taken from the paper 

 previously referred to. Those for New South Wales and Vic- 

 toria were compiled by W. E. Dovey, F.F.A., whose paper, 

 "The Bates of Mortality in New South Wales and Victoria," 

 was published in the Sydney Becord, June, 1893, and relates 

 to the period 1881-91. Another investigation into the mor- 

 tality of New South Wales and Victoria, by A. Duckworth, 

 for the same period — 1881-90 — it was not possible to use, as 

 the sexes are not separated. The English figures for l^ are 

 from the last English life-table, No. IV. (J. I. A., vol. 29, p. 

 30), and are for the period 1871-80. The values of p^ were 

 specially calculated, as they are not given in the English 

 table. 



