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Enclosure 1.
Report of the Acting Superintendent of the Civil Hospital.
GOVERNMENT CIVIL HOSPITAL, HONGKONG, May, 1895.
SIR, I have the honour to forward the Annual Report on the work done in the Government Civil Hospital, the Lunatic Asylums, and the Epidemic Hospitals during the year 1894.
1. Before speaking on these institutions in detail a few remarks are called for on some matters of general interest to the Medical Department. At the present moment there is no necessity to dwell particularly on the fact that 1894 has been the most important year that the Medical Department has gone through, and to my mind it will be some considerable time, if ever, before we are called on to face such difficulties again. Some of these difficulties I have mentioned in my report on the Epidemic of Bubonic Plague already published. Others, although interesting and peculiar from a personal point of view, do not come within the scope of this report. I would suggest, however, that the Government consider whether the following officers should receive at least a bonus for work done during that trying time:-
Steward, Mr. R. CHAPMAN. Wardmaster,-Mr. L. E. BRETT.
Apothecaries' Assistants,-Mr. U I KAI and Mr. Chan Kam-TSUN. Clerks, Mr. LEUNG FU-CHU and Mr. LEUNG PING-FAI.
Wardmaster, Lunatic Asylums,-Mr. D. G. CUMMING.
2. I have already mentioned the Steward's work in my plague report. The other servants men- tioned above all bad excessively long hours of work-work which in the early days of the epidemic was about as filthy and disgusting as could well be imagined and more revolting than most civilized people can have any idea of The clean and well conducted hospitals which visitors saw during the latter days of June gave the ordinary medical globe-trotter the idea that plague work in Hongkong was rather interesting and almost luxurious. What that work was in the middle of May is only known to a select few who, I daresay, don't want to have any more experience of it. Honour and duty entered largely into the matter with superior officers, but to some of those who have little or no promotion to look forward to I consider that money remuneration is necessary. If this is not given in such cases much ill-feeling is engendered, as our outside helpers were paid very large salaries for less than half the work done (generally not so well) by our subordinates, who in most cases got no extra remuneration. Many a time we could only get work done by "flogging the tired horse with the inevitable result that the tired horse became permanently injured.
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3. After the plague had been satisfactorily got rid of a Medical Commission was appointed to con- sider certain matters in this Department. Their report has not yet been made public, but I must say that some of the questions submitted for their decision were questions which are generally left to the executive officers alone. Delay in many things often leads to one being unable to carry out schemes which may frequently be carried to success before anything is known about them by outsiders. It is satisfactory to know that from report there is a strong probability of the Medical Department being largely increased to meet the extra demands that for the last year or two have been put upon it. important matter which might have received attention is the present unsatisfactory state of the Pension Rules in the Civil Medical Service. Rules similar to those of the Army and Navy are the very least that ought to govern the question of pension to those who have to serve their whole time in the Tropics. The radical improvements in this matter in the Army and Navy were brought about by the agitation of the British medical papers, and it is to be hoped that no such agitation should be necessary in cases where it is apparent to any one that the conditions of life in the Public Service are of a much more arduous and enervating character. To take an example: before I can claim a pension here, I will have to serve for 33 years-pleasant prospect in this salubrious island! I would also point out that Army medical officers here draw much larger salaries-there is no necessity to talk about the relative amount of work; it is well known.
4. The subject of alcoholism and venery I pay more attention to under the heading of the Govern- ment Civil Hospital. The great monthly increase up till the 1st of September still proves that the British public is still subject to panic, and I regret to be one to have to announce this. The statis- tics I give show the increase, but give only a faint idea of the amount of alcoholism which pervaded the Colony during the plague period. At that time many who are returned under other headings- principally Digestive"-were alcoholic on admission, whilst, for the first time in my experience here, two deaths have to be recorded under the heading "alcoholism". There is no doubt that a great deal of the drinking was brought about by the scare caused by the appearance of the disease and that it was not a coincidence but a consequence. The increase of venereal disease during the first nine