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teething, quin zy, gastritis , ent eritis , hepatitus ,jaundice, the numb ers
were above the London rate. On the other hand, in syphi lis , fever ,
consumption, bronchitis, asthma , peritonitus , diseases of the kidneys ,
rheumatism, di seases of the bones , joints , premature births and debility ,
the numbers were less .
observations ;
In the course of his comparisons , Hal l offered some signifi cant
measles , scarlatina and whooping cough were epidemic in
nature and caused many deaths ; croup , though not found in country areas ,
was a terrible scourge to Hobarton ch ildren , the rate of death being
four times greater than in London .
11Formidab le, indeed, 11 too , was the
number of deaths , 78, in Hobarton in 1855, from convulsions .
Hall
strongly believed this was due either- to the inhalation of an atmosphere
charged with tobacco smoke at the earliest periods , to the usually impure
air of the ill-ventilat ed lying-in chamber , or to the reckless exposure
of infants to the widely varying changes of the atmosphere .
Diarrhoea
also caused death at a rate 12 1;2 times greater to population than in
London .
Influenza was not an epidemic disease in 1855 , wh ilst the
incidence of cancer was also slight ;
in Tasmania than in London .
heart dis ease was somewhat higher
Of all maladies , intemp erance, either
directly or indirectly formed a very large portion of adult deaths .
Hall, himself, was particularly interested in his findings on
"consumption".
It appears from the most pains-taking research for three
years , that the native born of Tasmania are exempt to a
very surpr1s1ng extent , from the ravages of a disease , which
is by far the most fatal of all caus es of death in England .
. In fact , in Hobarton, a smaller mortality in comparison with London was
'
noticeable from all di seases of the lungs and other organs of respiration ,
due no doubt to the drier climat e. Hal l's words were jubilant :
To have established such a glorious fact in favour of
Tasmania, I think an amp le reward for the time and
trouble I have taken to ascertain it .... Until I
brought this matter under the notice of my Medical
brethren, none of them had been aware of it , and many
doubted wh ether it would be confirmed by a more
extended examination . Had any of them felt desirous of
investigating the question for themselves , the official
data were so obs cure and uns atisfactory, that only
those labouring under the cacoethes statisticum would
have had the courage and patience to have explored and
arranged the records .