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floor?
Dr. ATKINSON-You visited the Gaol with Dr. MARQUES on the 29th, I think?
A-Yes.
Q-And went round the cases and got a general idea of the routine of the work ?
A-Yes.
Q-What do you think was the cause of blood poisoning in this case?
A-I think he had absorbed the germs through these sloughs.
Q-Through the open wound?
A-Yes.
Q-Do you think it advisable for patients with wounds of that sort to lie on the
A-No, I think they would be better on a mattress.
Q-Do the wards strike you as being overcrowded in the hospital of the Gaol?
A-They are.
Q-The cubical space is insufficient?
A-Yes, I measured them this morning, and they measured 11,000 cubic feet.
Q-For each patient?
A-600 cubic feet for each patient.
Q-600 cubic feet is too small for a hospital. And you think it is advisable to have trained European wardmasters on duty?
at all.
A-Yes. The men are very willing and obliging, but they have had no training
Q-How
many wardmasters are there at present?
A-Two; an Englishman and an Indian.
Q-Do you know their hours of duty?
A-I do not know.
Q-The Englishman is on duty at day time and the Indian at night?
A-Yes; they are both there during the day. One week the Indian takes night duty and if he is called he is there. As far as I gather he does not go round.
Q--Is the wardmaster on duty during the night or does he sleep?
A--No; he sleeps.
Q--You think it would be preferable to have two European trained wardmasters on duty-one on duty there at night?
A-I think so.
Q-Judging by the effects of a flogging on Chinamen what is the maximum number of strokes you think it advisable to administer on Chinamen?
A--I think twenty. There are very few men on whom twenty would not act as a punishment, and I do not think it is safe to inflict more. You can inflict a flogging of twenty strokes five hundred times if you like provided you allow a sufficient interval. I am not in favour of more at one time.
Q--Do you think opium smoking lowers the physique of Chinamen, if they smoke
to excess
?
A--Undoubtedly.