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In February, Inspector Paull, who had been previously in the service of the Department, was appointed as Special Plumbing Inspector in the Timaru Borough and as G-eneral Sanitary Inspector for Levels County. Under these arrangements cases of infectious disease can be more quickly visited and stricter precautions enforced against the spread thereof. The sanitary inspection of the district is being very much more efficiently carried out. Several of the local bodies have expressed themselves as being very pleased with the arrangement. It is to be hoped that during the next year complete schemes to provide for the whole sanitary inspection of the district will be able to be made under section 83 of the Hospitals Act. Inspector Middleton has continued to do good work as Sanitary Inspector in Westland. There are greater difficulties in administering the Health Act in Westland than elsewhere, partly owing to geographical and climatic reasons. Some of the local bodies are interested in the public health of their district, but others are not sufficiently progressive in these matters. Special Reports. Among the special matters dealt with by myself were —Inspection and report on the occurrence of diphtheria in Kaitangata, and the general sanitation of the town ; the depots used for the disposal of nightsoil in Christchuroh and district; the planning and construction of the shelters at the Sanatorium ; the ventilation of the Otira tunnel; the occurrence of adulteration of vinegar and lime-juice ; report to Chief Health Officer on private charities and homes in Christchurch ; report to Chief Health Officer on the medical inspection of the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Standards at the East Christchurch School. H. E. Finch, M.8., D.P.H., District Health Officer.

PART D.—OTAGO AND SOUTHLAND DISTRICT. Invercargill District. Inspector Cameron supplies the following matter : — Plans are being prepared for a sewerage system. Disinfection. —Seven public schools and one Roman Catholic school were disinfected after cases of infectious disease had occurred among children attending them. Disinfection of no one of them was absolutely necessary, but, the local committees concerned being anxious to have it carried out, we got the local inspectors to comply, especially as, even on only general grounds, all schools are the better of being disinfected at least once a year. Water-supply, Invercargill. —The present water-supply is pumped by steam from a well 100 ft. deep in one of the municipal reserves, up through aerating sprinklers emptying into reservoirs ; thence pumped again into a large tank on top of a tower 110 ft. high, from which it is reticulated to consumers in the main borough only, the supply being insufficient for any of the suburbs. Bores are now about to be sunk near the present well, to see if a further supply can be obtained. If not, probably an effort will again be made to get the sanction of the ratepayers to borrow £100,000 to bring in a first-class gravitation supply from the Oreti River at Dipton, thirty-six miles away. A poll on the question was defeated three years ago. This, however, was prior to the amalgamation of Invercargill and suburbs, which took place last year, making now the total population 14,000. RIVERTON. After many days the Borough Council at last has undertaken a nightsoil-removal service for the more thickly populated portion of the borough, and the service is proceeding fairly satisfactorily. The system, however, is the primitive open-pan method. Bluff. Drainage connections into the new sewers for liquids only are being enforced. Once the new bylaws are adopted, the work will be gone on with systematically. The sealed-pan system has been instituted, and excellent work is being done. The nightsoil is emptied from the pans in a closed shed into a septic tank. The purification done is not sufficiently effectual, owing to the tank-capacity being rather large and the filter being too small. These defects are to be remedied. Gore. The first-class sewerage system laid several years ago to serve all the then thickly built-on streets now needs to be extended to a number of other streets. The matter is to be considered shortly by the Borough Council. Otautau. The arrangements necessary to start a sealed-pan service are nearly completed. When this service commences, a service will be in operation in every borough and town board district in Southland. When the Department was inaugurated, only one borough had a service ; there are now fifteen services,

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