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175
by D. E. Wilkie, he declared that 33 deaths from croup in 1856 ·.out of a
population of about 23 , 000 was fearfu lly great in comparison even with
London.
Were the diseases in Hobarton only as fatal as in London ,
at most 4 deaths should have taken place instead 'of 33.
For very shamesake, our governing authorities will not be
able much longer to ig n ore and disregard such facts as
thes e. The neglect of sanitary precautions by which the
excessive mortality of Hobarton and Launceston is kept up,
so far behind the rural districts , will ere long make
Tasmania the scoff and scorn of every other civilized
community. ·
Towards the end of February Hall's increasing impatience was becoming even
more apparent.
In a letter to the Daily News on · ''Vital Statistics" he
praised the tabling in Parliament of the "Returns" of deaths for every
district in the island.
The minutely detai led returns .... wi ll still further
corroborate the salient points in our mortuary statistics
which I have so long struggled to enforce upon pub lie
attention . Such documents having the weight of official
authority will not be open to the frivolous and vexatious
cavi ls of jealous , incompetent or apprehensive ob jectors .
They will form a standard of compar ison for medical and
sanitary investigation of great weight and value. By
their means the sanitary defects of many pub lic
institutions can be usefully subjected to fearless and
honest criticism. 5
Undoubtedly these quiet words conveyed an ominous note of warning from
a very determined man.
Yet , not all of Hall's efforts were in vain and, herein , gleamed
a ray of hope for the future which pleased and encouraged him.
puildings , such as the new building behind the Fema le Hospital in
Liverpool Street, the Catholic Church of Jerusalem, and the Wesleyan
Chapel in Brisbane Street, his opinion on ventilation was sought and
In public
considered.
When the Houses of Legislature were equipped with gas
lighting, he was asked to give evidence before the "Ventilation
Committee" , and many of the ideas he had suggested as far back as his
lecture on "Respiration" in 1855, were adopted. 6 Although the systems
of ventilation installed in these buildings were, in his opinion, to some
extent imperfect, it was a beginning in the right direction; further
·
5
6
Daily News , February 3, 1857.
Daily News , February 23, 1857.
H.A.P. , 1856/33.