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granted lor instruction in Birth Control measures to be given at
Welfare Centres, and the Ministry has ruled that legislation would
be necessary before the Welfare Centres can be used for this purpose.
The Ministry of Health is quite unable to prevent any
medical practitioner from giving information under any circumstances
where that information is necessary for the prevention of
disease, but those who advocate that Birth Control instruction
should be given at the Centres wish this to be done as a routine
measure, the end in view being the limitation of population not
Dnly as regards the feeble-minded and degenerate—who do not
attend Welfare Centres—'but of the nation generally.
The decision of the Ministry of Health that the Centres cannot
be used for this purpose is most welcome, because it is
desirable that instruction in Birth Control, if it can be shown that
jropaganila directed towards limiting the population of the country
s necessary or desirable, should be carried out separately from
the Maternity and Child Welfare Scheme. It would be most unfortunate
to hinder in any way the work of the Welfare Centres in
their purpose of preventing disease and death.
Tuberculosis.
The Tuberculosis Death-rate shows a slight increase, the
mortality being 1T3 per 1,000 of the population, as compared
with 105 for 192®, the number of deaths being increased by 18
in 1923, and there were 72 more primary notifications as compared
with 1922.
One of the outstanding features of the tuberculosis service .
is the extremely unsatisfactory conditions under which the treatment
of advanced cases is carried out. These cases are permitted
to remain at home to infect other members of the family, there
Wng- no adequate provision for the institutional treatment of
advanced pulmonary tuberculosis and no means by which young