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the 31st December, 1907, there were 52 deaths from phthisis in Christchurch, as compared with 28 in 1906. It is evident that the notification of tuberculosis by medical practitioners is very incomplete. In many cases the case is only notified in the last stages of the disease, although the patient has often been attended by several doctors previously. Canterbury Sanatorium for Consumptives. As " The Public Health Amendment Act, 1906," which was intended to provide for the combination of Hospital Boards for the purpose of the erection and maintenance of a sanatorium for consumptives, did not apparently fulfil the purpose for which it was intended, the matter was further dealt with in section 2 of " The Public Health Amendment Act, 1907." Unfortunately, the South Canterbury Hospital Board, after having passed many resolutions to the general effect that the Board wished to join with the North Canterbury and Ashburton Hospital Boards for the purpose, decided at the last moment, when the legal machinery was complete, not to join in the scheme. It was to be hoped that local government had so far advanced that a scheme which depended for its success on the amalgamation of local bodies and the sinking of local interests could have been brought to a successful issue. In taking this step the South Canterbury Hospital Board has gone dead against the opinions of the large majority, if not all, of the medical men in the district, and I. have no doubt if the curable consumptives for whose benefit the institution was designed could make their voices heard, they would also regret that the scheme had fallen through. Owing to this action of the South Canterbury Hospital Board the General Committee decided, in preference to going to the public for further subscriptions, which could, no doubt, have been readily collected at the time when subscriptions were first started, but which were not then required owing to the promise of the South Canterbury Board to join in the scheme, to ask the North Canterbury Hospital Board to complete the buildings at an estimated cost of about £4,000, and raise the money out of rates. The buildings, which were' to have been completed according to contract in December, are still far from completion. Infantile Diarrhoea. In January, February, and March, 1907, there were 68 deaths from infantile diarrhoea and gastroenteritis in Christchurch City and Woolston Borough. In January, February, and March, 1908, there were only 14 deaths from the same causes. In this year the drought was more severe and the temperature was quite as high as in the corresponding period last year. It would have been natural to expect that the number of deaths would have approximated the number of last year. The comparatively low death-rate cannot readily be explained. It is true that during this summer the Infant Life Preservation Society had been brought into active existence through the energy of Dr. Truby King and some enthusiasts in Christchurch. It would be a matter of great satisfaction to those concerned if the diminished death-rate could be attributed directly to their efforts. I have no doubt that lives have already been saved by the action of the society, and that some of the diminution of the death-rate is certainly due to their efforts, but, unfortunately, experience shows that one can only draw reliable inferences from statistics extending over a fairly long period. Perhaps in a short time the society maj- have largely extended its functions, and have a much larger influence over the proper feeding of infants, and if, during other hot and dry summers the death-rate from that disease continues to be small, this society may fairly be given the credit for being mainly responsible for the decrease in the number of deaths. Medical Examinations. Two persons were examined for other Government Departments and three for Cambridge Sanatorium. Prosecutions. The contractors for removal of nightsoil in the district of the Riccarton Road Board were fined £1 10s. and costs for allowing accumulation of nightsoil on the section where it was deposited. A person was fined ss. and costs for obstructing an Inspector of the Department. The Christchurch City Council and the Woolston Borough Council respectively obtained orders from the Magistrate against owners of property for failing to pull down houses certified by the District Health Officer as being in a condition unfit for occupation. An order was obtained from the Magistrate by this Department for the destruction of 113 cases of poultry stored in the Lyttelton Harbour Board's cool-chambers at Lyttelton, as being unfit for human consumption. No penalty was asked for. The offensive trade of offal-treating carried on by Clegg, the contractor for the removal of offal from the Christchurch City Abattoirs, having been reported by the District Health Officer as a nuisance under section 72, and the requisition served on Clegg by the Templeton Road Board, the local authority for the district in which the works are situated, not having been complied with, an order was obtained from the Magistrate by the Templeton Road Board requiring the abatement of the nuisance, and specifying works to be done. Buildings unfit for Occupation. Under the Municipal Corporations Act 11 buildings in Christchurch, 2 in Kaiapoi, 1 in Oamaru, and 1 in Lyttelton were certified as unfit for occupation. Offensive Trades. In May, 1907, I drew the attention of the freezing companies in this district to the provisions of the Public Health Act in respect to offensive trades. Very little attempt had been made so far