519
13. Assistant warder AHMED was granted four months' leave and his post was temporarily filled by turnkey Townsend. Warder FLORES had to go away for a week, owing to sickness. It was a matter of no little difficulty to find a person able to supply the vacancy thus caused. Dr. Lowson, the Acting Superintendent of the Government Civil Hospital, kindly sent Wardmaster MCKILLOP. On resignation of turnkey ToWNSEND, turnkey JOHNSSEN was appointed in his place.
I think it would be advisable to train one or two turnkeys so as to have competent men to replace the Hospital warders when necessary. Their duty is not so easy as it is commonly supposed to be.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
Dr. PH. B. C. AYRES, C.M.G.,
L. P. MARQUES,
Medical Officer.
Colonial Surgeon,
&c.,
&c.,
fc.
Enclosure 3.
Report of the Government Analyst.
GOVERNMENT LABORATORY,
HONGKONG, 4th June, 1895.
SIR, I have the honour to submit a statement of the work done in the temporary laboratory of this Hospital during the year 1894.
TOXICOLOGICAL.
2. Under this head six investigations were conducted. In two of the cases a decoction of coffee was the substance submitted for analysis. Aconitine in considerable quantity was detected in one enquiry; in the second case no unwholesome ingredient was found. This is, I believe, the first case of poisoning by aconite in the criminal annals of Hongkong, and its use by the Chinese for an unlawful purpose is of interest to the toxicologist in that it adds another to the many points of similarity between the agents used in criminal poisoning in India and South China. The small quantity of the beverage forwarded for analysis unquestionably contained enough of the poison to kill a human being; and the escape from death of those to whom it had been served can only be attributed to the post- prandial habit of sipping the liquid instead of swallowing it at a single gulp. The tingling sensation on the tongue characteristic of aconite was noted immediately the coffee was tasted, and suspicions being aroused the remainder of the beverage was rejected. It is to be regretted that the criminal was not tracked down in this case. Poisoning by acorite is quite another thing to drugging by datura, and death frequently results therefrom.
3. The contents of a bowl of curried fowl were analysed at the request of the Principal Medical Officer, Army Medical Staff, and found to contain 84.38 grains of orpiment, the yellow sulphide of arsenicum. The curry had been prepared for one of the Lascar Artillerymen. Whether the incorpo- ration of the orpiment was due to accident or design is uncertain; there was no evidence to support a charge before the Magistrate.
4. A basin of rice suspected to contain noxious material was examined on the requisition of the Superintendent of Victoria Gaol and found to contain a considerable quantity of the aniline dye methyl-violet.
5. Post Mortem Case.-The contents of the stomach of a European male adult were analysed at the request of one of the surgeons of this Department. Chloroform, and a resinous substance similar to that derived from Indian hemp, morphine, oil of peppermint-constituents of chlorodyne-were detected.
6. Datura.—- An alkaloid indistinguishable from the active principle of the Chinese drug Nau Yeung Fa (Flower of Datura Alba Nees.) was isolated from the contents of a small packet found on the person of a young Chinaman who was subsequently sentenced to six years' imprisonment with hard labour.
"THE MORPHINE ORDINANCE, 1893."
7. In three prosecutions under this Ordinance, eight exhibits were forwarded by the Police Magistrate for examination. In two out of the three instances the exhibits were found to contain hydrochlorate of morphine.
MILK.
8. Ten analyses of samples of milk supplied under contract to the Government Civil Hospital were made during the year. The results of the analyses were in every instance satisfactory, No samples were sent by the Sanitary Board during the period under review.