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5
HEALTH AND SANITARY CONDITION OF THE
ENTIRE DISTRICT.
The year 1876 has been distinguished by no very
remarkable outbreak of disease, and no relative increase
in the deaths or death-rate. Yet we have the misfortune
to report the occurrence of one disease at least in an epidemic
form, and an increase in most of the diseases of the
Zymotic class. But, leaving the consideration of these
details for a future page, we will, as usual, introduce our
report with the preliminary statistics.
Population.—In giving an estimate of the population
of a rapidly increasing District such as ours, it is necessary
to say that we are compelled to adopt the official method
of obtaining it; namely, by calculating the rate of increase
since the census of 1871, as the same as that of
the previous ten years. It is evident that such a method
must result in very much underestimating our population,
and so, in unduly increasing our death and birth-rate,
especially in the later periods of a census decade, and
must materially affect our position as compared with districts
having a stationary or decreasing population. As
will be shown subsequently, the discrepancy between the
official and the (probably) actual population has become