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96
was carried out during the past year is shewn in a Return
made by the Vaccination Officer at the beginning of the
present year respecting the vaccination of children whose
births were registered during the year 1883; from this it
appears that of 915 children born, 801 were successfully
vaccinated, 3 were returned as" insusceptible," 55 died
unvaccinated, and 11 were postponed on account of sickness,
leaving 45 or 4.9 per cent who either could not be found, had
removed to places unknown, or were otherwise unaccounted
for; the number unaccounted for in the whole Metropolis
was 6.6 per cent.
Inquests; Violent Deaths; Uncertified Deaths.—Thirtytwo
inquests were held during the year. The number is less
by seven than that of the year preceding; the deaths from
violence were 19 or two more than in the previous year.
There were 17 unattested deaths all of which were referred
by the Registrar to the Coroner, who decided that a medical
investigation of the causc of death was unnecessary. The
deceased were, with one exception, all very young infants
the oldest of whom did not exceed one year of age, and
the assigned causes of death derived from the statements
of relatives, neighbours, or nurses—usually the latter—were
Bronchitis 1, Brain fever 1, Premature birth 2, Debility 3,
and Convulsions 10.
The preliminary inquiry by the Coroner implied in the
registration of these reputed deaths doubtless prevents the
cost and trouble of holding many unnecessary inquests, but
inasmuch as his decision as to the necessity or othetwise of
holding an enquiry is derived from the hearsay statements of
persons unqualified to form a judgment it is submitted that
the preliminary investigation ought to be a scientific one
and employed in all cases in which the cause of death has
not been certified by a Registered Medical Practitioner.
(See Reports for 1865 and following on this subject.)