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More than fifty per cent. of the total deaths from chest diseases are due to Phthisis, and the causes of this high mortality from this disease are doubtless those which are found to operate in a similar manner elsewhere, namely, overcrowding, inefficient ventilation and poverty; as observed last year, however, this disease is far more prevalent among the shore population than among the floating population, for while the proportion of deaths from Phthisis is only 47 per cent. of the total deaths from chest diseases among the latter, it was no less than 61 per cent. among the former.

NERVOUS DISEASES.

The deaths recorded under this heading amount to 762, but no less than 655 of these were due to Convulsions, Tetanus and Trismus occurring in infants. I have already referred to these latter deaths in speaking of the infant death-rate of the Colony and need only add that no better evidence could be adduced of the slow but gradual improvement in the sanitary condition of the Colony than the fact that, with our increasing population, the deaths from this cause are gradually diminishing, for in 1895 they were 1,107, in 1896 they were 711, and in 1897 they were, as already stated, 655.

MALARIAL DISEASES.

The total number of deaths among the Chinese from Malarial diseases was 712 as compared with 655 during 1896 and 757 during 1895; this is equal to a death-rate, from this cause alone, of 3.03 per 1,000, the rate in the previous year having been 3.3 per 1,000.

As showed in 1895, although not in 1896, the death-rate for this cause among the boat popula- tion was far greater than among the land population, for among the former it was 4.3 per 1,000 and among the latter 2.8 per 1,000. I am unable at present to explain satisfactorily why the boat popu- lation should have suffered so severely from this cause in 1895 and again in 1897 and have escaped in 1896, although doubtless climate has much to do with the relative incidence of the disease upon these two classes of the population.

There were 173 deaths recorded as due to Beri-Beri during the year, but no less than 52 of these occurred on board vessels in the harbour and in persons who had recently arrived in the Colony. Owing to extensive outbreaks of this disease at the Richmond Asylum Dublin during the years 1894, 1896 and 1897 considerable attention has of late been directed to its aetiology, and although there is much to be said in favour of the theory of its causation by food obtained from countries where Beri-Beri is endemic, yet the general consensus of medical opinion seems at present to be in favour of a "place infection." The disease certainly appears to show a distinct partiality for certain ships and even, it is said, for particular berths; thus one death from the S.S. Zafiro was recorded on January 21st, another on August 31st, and a third on November 18th of last year; one death from the S.S. Cheong Chow was recorded on March 20th and another on October 7th; one death from the S.S. Cheong Fukien was recorded on January 26th and another on March 18th. On the other hand, however, very few houses seem to exhibit these "repeat" cases of the disease, for out of the 121 deaths of Chinese residents in the Colony, from this disease during last year, I found that one occurred at 43 Praya Central on November 30th and another on December 27th, and at 191 Wing Lok Street one death occurred on May 24th, another on June 30th and a third on August 29th; but in these cases the dates of infection may well have been the same for cases in the same house, while all of the remaining 116 deaths occured in separate premises, and not one of them occurred in any of the 103 houses in which deaths from Beri-Beri had occurred during 1896. It would appear therefore that the infection of Beri-Beri cannot be said to cling to domestic dwellings, whatever may be the facts with regard to the retention of infection by ships, and in view of the great probability of successive tenants in any dwelling obtaining their food supplies from different sources, while in ships the suc- cessive crews are more likely to be fed with cereals, etc. froin the same source, the question of "place- infection" versus "food-infection" must, I think, be fairly regarded still as a debateable one, and personally I am inclined to give my adherence to the latter theory.

INFECTIOUS DISEASES.

The total number of cases of infectious disease reported by registered medical practitioners during year, in accordance with the Bye-laws made by the Board for their compulsory notification, was 389, and they were distributed as follows :-

the

Rate per 1,000 of Population.

First Second Quarter. Quarter.

Third Quarter.

Fourth Quarter.

Total.

Bubonic Fever,.....

4

13

4

21

0.08

Small-pox,

200

69

6

18

293

1.18

Enteric Fever,

30

17

13

5

65

0.26

Diphtheria,.

2

Puerperal Fever,

2

3

2

7

0.03

...

Scarlet Fever...

1

1

...