183
No. 48
1886.
HONGKONG.
CORRESPONDENCE RESPECTING DEATHS IN ITALIAN AND FRENCH CONVENTS.
Presented to the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government,
on the 10th December, 1886.
Dr. Hartigan to Secretary, Sanitary Board.
HONGKONG, November 24th, 1886.
SIR,
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, No. 223, and inclosures therein referred to.
The latter I have submitted to the authorities of the Italian Convent, and now forward for your perusal, the Very Revd. G. BURGHIGNOLI's Memorandum thereon.
As to the means of reducing the infant mortality in the Italian Convent, I am of opinion, from observation, that very little, if anything, can be effected in this direction so long as the present system of indiscriminate admission prevails.
By far the greater number of infants are moribund prior to their reception, this condition being the result of previous insanitary surroundings, insufficient or improper food, and general neglect.
I think, that were it possible to divide the infants on admission into two classes, viz.: "healthy and unhealthy," it would be found that as large a proportion of the healthy class survive as is usually found in similar well-managed Institu- tions in Europe.
The report is slightly inaccurate in stating that medical aid "is only requisi- tioned when any of the Sisters or Boarders are sick." I visit all serious cases whether occurring amongst the Community, Boarders, European or Chinese Orphans.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
H. MCCALLUM, Esq.,
Secretary Sanitary Board.
WILLIAM HARTIGAN.
Memorandum by the Very Revd. G. Burghignoli.
HONGKONG, 30th November, 1886.
The large infant mortality in the two Convents is more apparent than real. Such mortality is only confined to infants: the mortality among the inmates of the Convents is very low.
To give the large number of deaths, without giving the larger number of admissions, I think is not fair.
From these statistics, one can see that the percentage of saved children is · more than 10 per cent. just as in similar Institutions in Europe.
It is not correct to say that a certain number of the children are received suffering more or less from disease.” Almost all are brought in in a hopeless dying state in most of them the marks on their bodies show that they were under some medical treatment, and that they were taken to the Convents, only when they had no more hope to save them. Many die the same day, others in two or three days.