360
27. I have stated that one of the two observers in this instance, viz.: Dr. Low, was sent by the London School of Tropical Medicine, holding a travelling scholarship, which was established by Mr. J. G. Craggs, M.V.O., in connexion with the school for three years from the 1st of January, 1900. Dr. Low subsequently visited the West Indies and Uganda, carrying out research work in connexion with filariasis and sleeping sickness, and making recommendations of practical value as to the sanitary conditions of the places which he visited. I understand that he is held to have conclusively demonstrated that Filaria Nocturna, like the malaria parasite, is conveyed by mosquito bite. This reference to Dr. Low's work is made in order to illustrate the fact that the services of the London School of Tropical Medicine have not been confined to teaching, but have also included research of a valuable kind. Encouraged by these and similar researches, the Committee of Management now desire to found two Travelling Scholarships with a salary of £300 a year each, so that investigations can be carried on continuously in more than one direction. Í should mention here that a laboratory for the investigation of tropical disease has been established at Kuala Lumpor in the Federated Malay States, and that the Federal Government have provided the necessary funds for the salaries of a Director and two assistants. An arrangement has been inade by which the Medical Superintendent and Tutor of the London School and the Director of the laboratory at Kuala Lumpor are to replace each other for certain periods, and there is every reason to hope that this system of interchange will be attended by good results as regards both teaching efficiency and research.
28. Having thus alluded to some of the research work which has been carried out under the guidance of the London School, I now wish to call attention to the work which has been done in this respect by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. The answer to my first circular letter to the principal medical schools of the United Kingdom, which was received from the Dean of the Medical Faculty of the Victoria University, Liverpool, pointed out that there were exceptional facilities in the hospitals of Liverpool for the study of tropical diseases, and stated that arrangements had been made for the delivery of special lectures on this branch of medicine. At the beginning of 1899 I was advised that a Liverpool School of Tropical Diseases was being established in connection with University College and the Royal Southern Hospital in that city, and was asked that, in addition to formally recognising the certificate given by the School, Government should contribute an annual grant towards its maintenance and a lump sum towards a building scheme. It was explained in reply that, as Imperial and Colonial subscriptions had been recently invited for the London School of Tropical Medicine and the Malarial Investigation Commission, it would not be possible at that time to invite further subscriptions for similar objects in Liverpool. I was then pressed to consent that the specified course of training for newly-appointed Colonial medical officers might be given indifferently in either London or Liverpool, thus placing the Liverpool School, as far as Government recognition was concerned, on exactly the same level as the school in London. As already stated, I declined at first to modify the existing scheme, which had been carefully thought out before being approved, preferring to wait until it had been in actual working for a short time. Subsequently, in July, 1900, assured of the excellent work which had been done in Liverpool, and of the peculiar advantages which that great seaport offers for the study of tropical diseases, I was glad to make the desired concession.
29. The Liverpool School was opened on the 21st of April, 1899, and at the end of the following July a research expedition, organised in connection with it and headed by Major Ross, was despatched to Sierra Leone. The Committee of the school applied to the Colonial Office for a grant in aid of this and similar expeditions, but the only possible answer was that such funds as were available were required to cover the cost of the Malaria Commission which the Royal Society had helped to organise.
The Governor of Sierra Leone was, however, asked to give Major Ross's party every assistance; and the expedition resulted in identifying the particular species of anopheles mosquito by which malaria is conveyed in that district. This expedition was succeeded by others sent not only to West Africa but also-in connection with yellow fever-to Brazil; an expedition to the Gold Coast, which started in October last, being the eleventh enterprise of the kind, which had been organised by the Liverpool school. Appreciation of the work of the school has been publicly expressed by more than one West African Governor, and its equipment has recently been brought up to date by the opening of a large laboratory specially devoted to the study of Tropical Medicine.