regard to whalers not employing Europeans, he on his part could prove that captains sailing from here will not take New Zealanders when they can get Europeans. He had been associated at the universities in Scotland, and also at the medical schools in London, with numbers of colonial youths, and the opinion formed by professors there was that the colonial students were not able to do the same amount of study as the English youths—they had not the same amount of stamina. Altogether, he did not consider that anything had been said to disprove his theory.
The Chairman said that, in spite of Dr. Newman's able defence, he thought he had not made good his case, although in one or two points he was quite prepared to agree with him. Since last meeting he had looked up one or two figures, and found, with regard to atmospheric pressure, that the mean barometer reading for New Zealand was only 0·126 of an inch below that of London, or equal to about 110 feet of altitude; while the pressure in Sydney and Melbourne is actually in excess of that in England. On referring to the valuable volume of statistics prepared by the Registrar-General, which is spoken of in the highest terms by statisticians in England as being among the most concise and intelligible works of the kind produced in any country, he found that the death-rate in New Zealand for 1874 was 16 in 1,000, as against the well-established death-rate in Great Britain of 22 in 1,000. On investigating the cause of the increase of mortality for last year, he found that while, in the towns, the mortality was as follows—Auckland 35, Wellington 26, Nelson 27, Christchurch 30, Dunedin 22—that of the country districts was still only 12. This increase in the towns is still more impressed on us by the fact that, in 1874, 14 per cent. of the children born did not survive a year, and, in 1875, the proportion was nearly 18 per cent. It is thus within the towns that the death-rate is high, and it has nothing to do with the general climate as Dr. Newman supposes. Our towns, until they are properly supplied with sanitary appliances, are little better than crowded camps. The remedy is, to a great extent, in our own hands, and it will be our own fault if we lose the high reputation that New Zealand holds for salubrity of climate. He considered that Dr. Newman deserved the thanks of the Society for having drawn attention to this all-important subject.
2. "On the Civilization of the Pacific," by Coleman Phillips. (Transactions, p. 59.)
The author, in his elaborate paper, recounted the history of the discovery and acquisition, by European nations, of the different Pacific Island groups, and described the ethnology of the different races, concluding with a discussion on the future prospects of our being able to civilize the dense population scattered about those beautiful islands. In the course of his remarks the author quoted a recent work on New Guinea, which described a rich gold-field where no less than 500 Natives are at work, and where the precious metal is found in extraordinary abundance. Mr. Phillips, however, seemed somewhat doubtful of the truth of this report.
The Chairman said that the lateness of the hour prevented any discussion on this interesting and important subject. The thanks of the Society were recorded to Mr. Phillips for contributing so valuable a paper to its Proceedings.
