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who has been largely instrumental in placing the Department upon its present basis, and only those who really know can appreciate what that means. When one realizes that he is responsible for the establishing of one district hospital at Aleipata—besides fifteen out-stations in the two islands of Upolu and Savai'i, of which the former is staffed by a European Medical Officer with a Native dresser and two trained Native nurses, and the latter by Native medical practitioners or trained nurses, the value of his work can be appreciated. In addition, child welfare has been placed upon a sound basis, and campaigns against hookworm and yaws have resulted in a great reduction in these diseases. The above is but a very brief summary of Dr. Ritchie's work. PUBLIC HEALTH. The benefit of the intensive campaigns against hookworm and yaws commenced in the year 1923, is now being felt, a-nd is reflected in the health of the community. During the past year, apart from a small outbreak of dysentery on the east coast of Savai'i, the health of the inhabitants of the Territory has been exceptional. Such being the case, this should be a record year in regard to natural increase of population, with a diminished death-rate and a correspondingly increased birth-rate. Actual figures, however, do not show such results, there being a decided diminution in the natural increase of population as compared with last year, and this can probably only be accounted for by a deliberate failure to register births and deaths. It is evident that the Native movement known as the " Mau," which has been organized to oppose Government officials and all Government orders and instructions, has operated to prevent registration, this fact becoming very noticeable when the returns for the past six to nine months from certain districts are compared with those of the previous year. This matter will be referred to again under the heading " Vital Statistics." The situation is further complicated by the fact that the activities of the Mau have not ended with a ban on registration of births and deaths, but, unfortunately, they have also caused all the women's committees under the child-welfare scheme to cease to function, and, worse still, owing to their action nearly all sanitary control in the various villages has been lost. This means that a very large proportion of the villages in Upolu and Savai'i have gone back to the conditions existing before sanitation was introduced and enforced by Government officials. Whilst the activities of the Mau have had no appreciable effect on the attendances at the hospitals and out-stations of both islands from the clinical point of view—the attendance at the main hospital in Apia naturally showing a big increase owing to the large number of Natives assembled in Apia for some months on end —the great setback has been the inability to carry out any supervising work during the year in the shape of medical malagas round the islands. It is probably difficult for non-residents in Western Samoa to appreciate the practical impossibility of trying to reach and treat Natives in their own villages round the islands without their friendly co-operation. Without this co-operation very little can be done, and the result is only a waste of a good deal of time and money, apart from the probability of meeting with personal insult to the European Medical Officers in charge of malagas. In spite of the fact that only a very small proportion of taxable Natives have paid their medical taxes for over a year, free treatment has been continued, and no case has so far been refused, a fact which is emphasized by the large numbers treated. As mentioned above, the attendance at the Apia Hospital has been very large, a considerable portion of those receiving treatment being obviously not supporters of the Government. As in last year's report, Map No. 1 shows the centres at which treatment is available. It has not been found possible to open new out-stations under existing conditions, though it had been planned to place a Native medical practitioner at Ealelima, on western end of the south coast of Savai'i, and also a trained nurse on the Island of Manono. The map accompanying this report shows the centres at which treatment for Natives can be obtained. It will be seen that the population of the two islands, Upolu and Savai'i, is unevenly distributed, that of Upolu being practically double that of Savai'i, and also that the Apia Hospital area caters for about two-thirds of the whole population of Upolu. In the account which follows the numbers refer to districts on the map. UpOLXJ— Area. Population. Districts included. (a) Apia Hospital area . . .. 16,963 1, 2, 3, 4, and western portion of 10. (b) Aleipata Hospital area .. .. 5,162 6,7,8. (c) Lefaga-Safata area .. .. 2,806 9 and eastern portion of 10. \d) Fagaloa Bay . . . . . . 817 5. SAVAI'I' — (e) Tuasivi Hospital area .. .. 6,026 1, 2, 7a, 6b'. (/) Safotu Hospital area . . . . 3,699 3a, 3b, 4. (g) Salailua-Asau area .. .. 3,742 sa, sb, sc, 6a, 7b. (a) Apia Hospital Area. —This area, which contains 66 per cent, of the population of Upolu, is easily reached by fair motor-roads extending from Mulifanua on the west to Falefa on the east of the north coast. It contains the main hospital at Apia, where there are four European Medical Officers, nine European nurses, two Native medical practitioners, six cadets in training, besides twenty-four Samoan nurses, of whom fifteen are trainees. In addition there are five Samoan cadets at the Suva Memorial Hospital in Fiji undergoing a three-years course of training to become Native medical practitioners. The Apia Hospital is well equipped, being electrically lighted, with an X-ray plant and separate European and Samoan maternity departments. The laboratory is the largest

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