xviii PROCEEDINGS, MAY. 



fatal progeny. To check, and ultimately even to stop this raultipiication, 

 is what we all wish, and the only way to do this is to sterilise our 

 surroundings — in the country as well as in town — by keeping our water 

 supply clean and unmixed with our sewage or surface drainage, our air 

 unpolluted by accumulation of filth, animal or vegetable, which 

 should be removed by proper sewers — in the former case at once, and 

 in the latter by a regular system of carts at frequent intervals, as 

 recommended by Mr. Johnston. The isolation and registration of 

 all cases of infectious or contagious disease, and not of deaths merely, 

 should also be rigidly carried out, and the plague spots in the town 

 being known, they should be severely cauterised until the sore was 

 healed. The opponents of a system of underground drainage for Hobart 

 make a great outcry about the formation of sewer gas, but ignore the 

 more or less close resemblance of that made on the premises for home 

 consumption. Parkes, in his " Hygiene," says : " There are several cases 

 on record in which typhoid has constantly prevailed in houses exposed 

 to sewage emanations, either from bad sewers or from the want of 

 them, and in which proper sewerage has completely removed the fever." 

 Eef erring to a town in Devonshire, he says: "It used to be always 

 liable to outbreaks of typhoid fever, but after the drainage of the 

 place the fever disappeared.'' Without multiplying instances, here, 

 surely, is a sufficient encouragement for us set to work with a will, taking 

 care to keep our sewers, when we get them, well ventilated, but wholly 

 unconnected with the inside of our houses, lest a worse thing befall us. 

 Ml. Ward went on to say that in The Mercury he was was reported 

 to have said that the mixing of good water with bad water had 

 diminished its power of doing harm. That was true enough under 

 certain conditions, but supposing typhoid germs to be present in the bad 

 water, the statement amounted to saying that 50 of them in a pint were 

 bad, whereas 50 in a gallon were good. Of course they would under- 

 stand that he had nointentionof saying anything of that sort. (Applause). 



Mr. E. C. NowELL pointed out that when in estimating a death-rate 

 they took the people of all ages together, they mixed two things 

 which were utterly antagonistic. They had a measure of disease, and 

 at the same time a measure of health. In the younger ages deaths, 

 no doubt, were a criterion of disease, while those which occurred 

 at greater ages were, of course, a measure of health, because if they 

 had not been healthy persons they would not have lived to such a 

 period. T)r. Parkinson had suggested that a greater age than 60 should 

 be taken. He (Mr. Nowell) would submit whether the age might 

 not be taken at 65. According to the life tables showing the average 

 expectation of life, a person might expect to live till 65. Then as to the 

 deaths under one year ; they stood out as quite peculiar. The most 

 dangerous time of life was the first year. It was just worth con- 

 sideration whether in giving the general death rate of the whole 

 country, not only the ages over 65 should be excluded or placed by 

 themselves, but also whether the same should not be done with the 

 deaths under one year. That, no doubt, would be favourable to 

 Tasmania, because deaths of children under one year were very much 

 less here than in the other colonies. As to the influence of cosmical 

 and other causes, he thought that did modify the death-rate. When 

 they saw the fact before them that this outbreak of typhoid fever 

 extended over all the group of Australian colonies, they could have very 

 little doubt but that it was influenced by a certain condition of the 

 atmosphere. If they could analyse the air it would be an immense 

 assistance to investigation in tnis matter. He did not see why that 

 should not be done. At the same time it was to be remembered that 

 while the condition of the atmosphere might influence diseases, there 

 was no doubt they were not caused by it. It could not be too strongly 



