185 (18) --
152. The Colony is indebted to Dr. PEARSE for the exposure of the inutility of fumigation with chlorine. Shortly after his arrival, he pointed out that Chinese houses could not be rendered sufficiently airtight, but at the time this advice was disregarded.
153. It does not appear in this case any more than in the case of Carbolacene that the Medical Officer of Health made any experiment to determine the value of chlorine as a disinfectant. No tests as far as we are aware were made of the effect- of chlorine in a Chinese house, in order to ascertain whether the necessary proportion of gas could be maintained long enough to render it effective.
154. As late as 1903, fumigation and lime washing of infected houses formed a part of plague procedure, and it was not abandoned until Dr. PEARSE pointed out its uselessness as a germicide. The lime washing was carried out at the expense of the Government, at contract prices nearly 100 per cent. higher than those paid Pages 1605, and 1606. by private individuals. The waste of money thus entailed can be well imagined.
See Dr. Pearse's evidence.
155. The plague procedure has latterly been very sensibly modified. Cleansing with soft soap and diluted Jeyes' Fluid has been substituted for fumigation and Government lime washing, and a general cleansing of Chinese houses has been carried out regularly every year, at a cost of only a few thousand dollars. The big gangs of coolies and the large labour bills have disappeared, and the work is done by the Chinese themselves. But it must not be thought that we see no reason for still further changes.
156. In the general cleansing as in the disinfection of infected houses, too much power is left to the foremen. The inspector makes a few notes and gives a few orders, the Medical Officer of Health gives far too little supervision, the foremen and coolies have too much their own way and pay no regard to the wishes or feelings of the poeple whose houses they invade. Furniture must be removed into the street, that might have been left where it was. Articles washed must be washed again, resulting in much needless friction. These men have been known to march into peoples' houses and extort money by threats of the trouble they would put the inmates to, if their demands were refused. In the disinfection of houses, their behaviour is characterised by insolence, rudeness, and frequently violence, which of course adds to and to a great extent accounts for the hostile feeling of the Chinese towards the Board.
157. Supervision by the superior officers of the Department, and sympathy from the inferior officers, are what are urgently called for to remove the present feelings of fear and hostility.
158. In combating the plague, too little attention has been given to the importance of enlisting the co-operation of the Chinese. Taken on the whole, it' must be admitted that the Chinese are ignorant of the most elementary principles of sanitation, and are antagonistic to all measures which interfere with their home life, but it was amply proved by SIR HENRY BLAKE in the epidemic at West Point in 1903, that if they were approached in a friendly and sympathetic way, the Chinese could be induced to co-operate with the Sanitary Board in taking measures against the spread of plague.
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159. The formation of street committees to supervise disinfection and the establishment of free dispensaries also point the same way. It has frequently been asserted that the opposition to Sanitary measures was not genuine, but was a movement promoted by the upper classes. The lamentable frequency with which the bodies of Chinese are thrown out into the street proves beyond a doubt that the feeling of repugnance to the present methods of combating plague is deep seated and wide spread.
160. This antipathy cannot be removed, except by re-establishing confidence in the reasonableness and sympathy of the Sanitary Department. This will be a matter of years, so deep seated are the fears and hostility left, by the harsh and at times ill considered administration of the Ordinances, as a legacy to the community.. To secure the end so much desired (the co-operation of the Chinese) we commend to the favourable consideration of Your Excellency the following suggestions.