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of Vaccination in the district, operated successfully in 873
primary cases, and 2 re-vaccinations; in all 875.
Inquests.—During 1875 the Coroner held enquiry as
to the cause of death in 30 cases in this Sub-district. The
following were the verdicts :—
Natural Deaths (3,Heart disease) 7
Accidental do.: —
Asphyxia in bed (Infants) 5
Scald 1, Burn 2 3
Killed on railway 5
Drowned 8
Do. (Suicide) 2 10
30
Uncertified Deaths. — The number of cases in which
death is registered without a medical certificate of the
cause of death, or an enquiry held into its cause by the
Coroner, were 16 in the year 1875. It is satisfactory
to find that the numbers are steadily diminishing,
but every such case is a reproach to our boasted high state
of civilization. A formal Coroner's inquest might probably
not he absolutely essential in each instance where no medical
certificate is forthcoming, but some skilled Medical Officer
should have the power to make preliminary enquiry into
every such case, after which it should be his duty
either to supply the registrar with a certificate, or other
information, stating what was, in his opinion, the cause of
death, or if there were legitimate suspicion of wrong, to
call upon the coroner to hold an inquest on the body.
If such a preliminary enquiry took place in every
case of death where no medical attendance had been previously
received, a very large proportion of the present
number of inquests would be dispensed with, leaving the
Coroner sufficient leisure to thoroughly investigate those
more important cases in which there were great difficulties