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Ten deaths occurred from injuries received. There were twenty-one admissions to Hospital of a Choleraic nature but I do not think any of them were of the Epidemic or Asiatic type for reasons I will give later on.

The total amount of fees received this year was $9805.15 about $500 dollars less than last year. But two private cases, Volunteer Firemen suffering from injuries received while on duty at fires and in the public service, were excused by Government from paying fees for that reason otherwise there would have been an increase of fees of over $1,000 instead of a deficency of $500. One case was eight months in Hospital and I am happy to say the life of a well known and much respected Citizen was spared chiefly owing to the skilful an unremitting attention of Dr. ATKINSON. The severity of the case may be judged when I say that the patient lost a leg and the severe contusions received resulted in numero is abscesses, also that one of the Chinese Nurses in attendance died from blood poisoning his duty in this case costing him his life, he had been twelve years a nurse in the Hospital and bore an exceptionally good character.

SMALL-POX HOSPITAL.

A severe epidemic of Small-pox began in November, 1887 and in the month of January this year (1888) 84 cases were admitted to Hospital. 10 cases in February and 5 more in March, April, and May-99 cases altogether, the largest number ever admitted to this Hospital in the sixteen years I have been in the Colony. Of these 16 died. Very many of the cases were very severe and one who recovered was in Hospital 137 days. No more cases occurred in the Colony from May up to the end of the year, thanks to all the precaution taken as described in my last Annual Report.

Table VIIa. gives the sex, nationality, age and length of detention of the patients admitted to this Hospital very few of whom were children.

PUBLIC MORTUARY.

Table VIII. shews the number of bodies brought to the mortuary for examination and the cause of death. This year 164 bodies were brought in, Europeans 3, Coloured 4, Chinese 113, of the latter 20 were children.

55 were found to have died from disease, 64 were accidental deaths, 31 suicidal and 3 homicidal, 2 causes unrecognizable owing to decomposition.

VICTORIA GAOL.

The following figures give the number of admissions into Gaol and the daily average number of prisoners for the past ten years.

Total No. admitted

Daily average No.

1879,

1880,

1881.

;

1882,

1883,

1884.

1885,

1886,

1887,

1888,

to Gaol.

of Prisoners.

3,665..

576.13

..3,530..

575.25

..4,150..

...666.00

..3,498..

..622.00

..3,486.

.542.15

..4,023.

.552.00

.3,610..

...530.00

.4,600..

.674.00

.4,302.

.584.00

..3,627

..531.00

These figures show a considerable decrease in the number of admissions on the past ten years, but what is of most importance they shew the smallest daily average of prisoners in Gaol in the past ten years.

Table IX. shews the number of prisoners admitted to Hospital the nature of their complaints and the nun.ber of deaths.

Table XI shews the rate of sickness and mortality of prisoners under treatment in the Gaol. There is an increase of 40 in the admissions to Hospital and an increase of 6 in the number of deaths. In 1887 there were in Hospital, 266 cases and 6 deaths, in 1888 there were in Hospital 306 cases and 12 deaths of these there were 16 cases of Choleraic Diarrhoea of which 7 died no such cases have occurred in the last fifteen years of my experience, none of these cases had any connection with the others they were confined to no particular class of prisoners and occurred in different cells, the outbreak only lasted a few days. Besides the deaths in Hospital there was one case of suicide in the cells, and two prisoners were killed in an attempt to escape from the chain-gang.

Table XIb. shews the number of opium smokers consuming one mace and upwards received into Gaol, their weight on admission and their weights in each week of the first month in Gaol or until their discharge.