Page
April 18, 1888.]
Mr. EDE-That necessarily involves the in- spection of people coming from there.
The CAPTAIN SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE -Yes, it must.
The PRESIDENT said they had certain in- formation before them, and in the face of that information he thought Kowloon should be de. clared an infected port.
The DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS said they all know it to be infected. That was not the question for the moment. The question was whether it would be a good thing to declare it an infected port.
Mr. EDE-The question is whether we shall succeed in doing any good by this medical inspection; I doubt it myself.
The PRESIDENT said that as the general opinion seemed to be against the motion he would withdraw it, and in place recommend the
·Board to advise the Government to communic- ate with the Viceroy at Canton in order to as- certain whether any precautions could be taken to prevent plague cases from Chinese Kowloon from coming over into this colony, and to prevent visitors from the plague hospital there coming back to Victoria.
Mr. EDE seconded, and this was carried. The PRESIDENT-The next business is "to consider the regulations to be enforced control ling the removal of plague patients from this colony."
The PRESIDENT said that this matter was considered in 1896, and certain regulations were drawn up by the Sanitary Ecard. Personally he thought every opportunity should be given to plague patients to leare the colony, for the more who left the colony the better as far as we are concerned. He moved "that the regulations
enforced in 1896 be enforced this
year.
The DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS-I undor- stand that those regulations were found to be unworkable.
Dr. CLARK seconded the motion. The CAPTAIN SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE opposed the motion. He had made enquiry and found that only four applicatious were made in 1896, though over 1,200 cases of plague occurred in the colony. That seemed to him proof positive that the regulatious were so distasteful to the Chinese that they would not adopt them. It seemed ridiculous for the Board to renew a set of regulations which had been proved by ex- perience to be of no value whatever. It seemed to him that what they wanted to do was not to bottle up a lot of plague in this place, and have it running through a sieve, but to find out how much plague they had got and where it occurred. Until they did that they were simply living in a fool's paradise. They thought they had only 14 cases of plague a day, and they had not got the least idea whether 14 or 40 occurred. If they were going to allow plague patients to go out the colony at all let them make such regula- tions that plague patients would avail them- selves of them. Then they would find out where their patients had gone to and where they had come from. He begged to move as an amendment, That the removal of plague patients from the colony be permitted by the Board from certain specified wharves where officers of the Board shall be on duty to obtain the names and addresses of the patients removed, no other movement to be allowed until the address has been verified, mat sheds to be erected on the wharves for the temporary ac commodation of such patients."
Mr. EDE seconded, on the mover consenting to delete the words, no other movement to be allowed until the address has been verified."
The MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH and the DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC Works were against the amendment, which, however, was carried on being put to the meeting, the President and Dr. Clark voting against it, and the Captain Superintendent of Police, the Registrar-General, and Mr. Ede voting in favour. The Director of Public Works did not vote.
The PRESIDENT said there was another matter which he should like to refer to, and that was these bodies found dead in the streets. There were eight or nine or ten a day at the present time. He thought the Board should recommend some measure to stop this if possible. Personally he was strongly in favour of recommending the Government to allow them to cremate the bodies, that was the bodies which were picked up and which no one ohaimed, which were thrown out surrepti-
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
tiously. If this precaution were taken they would have fewer cases.
The DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS-I am strongly in favour of that.
The PRESIDENT made a motion to this effect and
The DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS seconded. The CAPTAIN SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE opposed the motion. He thought it would be a serious thing to adopt such a measure as that. It would be opposed to all the time-honoured | customs of the Chinese. Of course it was very distressing and very disagreeable to have these bodies put into the streets. He had done his utmost to prevent it but had met with but little success. He himself was well aware of one method by which the putting into the street of theso bodies might be prevented. In the year 1894 there was nothing like the same trouble about bodies being thrown into the streets and the reason was not far to seek. He was not go- ing into that reason now, as it was not before the Board.
Mr. EDE-If you know of a method by which this is to be prevented you ought to mention it. The motion was then put and carried, the President. the Director of Public Work, and Mr. Ede voting for it and the Captain Super- intendent of Police and Mr. Brewin against it, Dr. Clark did not vote.
The proceedings then terminated.
THE PETERINARY SURGEON'S ANNUAL REPORT.
C.
The following is the report of Mr. V. Ladds, Colonial Veterinary Surgeon, for
1897
IMPORTATION OF LIVE STOCK,
I here quote an extract from my. annual report for the year 1892 :--
11
There is nothing to prevent a similar out- break in Hongkong sooner or later unless something is done to provide a proper inspection lair to which all cattle should be driven directly upon landing, there to remain at least 12 hours before being inspected and passed into the per- manent depots, or elsewhere. This is the method adopted in the United Kingdom and other countries, and even then occasional cases of discaso escape detection and so cause wide. spreading, outbreaks which are difficult to check- hence it will be easy to understand the risk which is run here, with no inspection lair at all. I reported to the Board upon the danger thus incurred as far back as 1888."
DEPÔTS.
With the exception of the outbreak referred to above, the health of the animals housed in the depôts was good. The total number of cattle admitted into the depôt at Kennedytown was 19,357; of these 147 head were rejected as unfit for slaughtering purposes, whilst at the Kowloon cattle depot 2,243 animals were ad- mitted, and 119 rejected.
In the swine depôt at Kennedytown 125,650 animals were admitted, and at the Kowloon depôt 12,726 were passed in. 25,977 sheep were also housed at Kennedytown depôt during the year, and 592 at Kowloou.
SLAUGHTER HOUSES.
Victoria and Kowloon.-These two buildings are both in a good state of repair and amend- ment and will meet all requirements for some time to come.
temporary matshed erection, although as far Shaukiwan.-This slaughter-house is still a
back as 1890 I recommended that a suitable build- ing be erected in accordance with the provisions During the year no cases of contagious dis-of Section 8 of Ordinance No. 17 of 1887. ease amongst animals were noticed until the month of November when a serious epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease broke out at the Dairy Farm Company's premises at Pokfulum, and. spreading rapidly, very soon all the cow-sheds and cattle depôts in the colony became infected.
As the disease appeared in the different sheds these premises were declared infected areas by the Board under the provisions of Bye-laws Nos. 12 and 13 of Schedule A of Ordinance No. 17 of 1887, and the removal therefrom of any ani- mal, carcase, fodder, litter, utensil, or other thing therein was prohibited unless with the sanotion of the Board.
over
the
Simultaneously with the outbreak in the colony, the disease appears to have become general upon the mainland-all Canton district. In the colony the disease assumed a comparatively mild type, but amongst the native cattle upon the mainland reports reached me that in many cases it was most virulent, numbers of animals losing their hoofs, and many dying.
I was not, however, able to confirm these reports, and coming as they did from native sources it is very probable that the numerous deaths referred to were due to rinderpest, and not foot-and-mouth disease at all.
How the disease became conveyed to Pokfu- lum there is no evidence to show, but possibly in straw, which is procured in large quantities from the mainland.
In the case of the outbreak at the cattle depot it was most likely introduced by infected cattle being landed from Canton whilst in the incuba- tire stage of the disease.
Under the present system 11 cattle which are imported for slaughter are, upon being landed, driven direct to the permanent depôts, and though apparently healthy, they may yet be in the incubative stage of disease and so commu- nicato it to all the rest of the animals which may be already housed therein. Whereas a quarantine period of at least 12 to 24 hours would give latent disease time to develop, and thus reveal its existence, or in any case show that the animal was not in perfect health, and so lead to its further detention for observation. Hence the importance of having proper in- spection lairs at the landing-place in which cattle could be isolated for at least 12 to 24 hours previous to their inspection and possible admittance into the permanent cattle depot. I have repeatedly urged the necessity of such lairs from time to time, but regret that so far nothing has been done to give effect to my recommendatione.
Aberdeen-is still without a proper slaughter- house, yet in my report for 1890 I remember recommending that a permanent building be erected at Aberdeen to meet the requirements of this place, Aplichan, and Little Hongkong.
The total number of animals slaughtered for the year ending December 31, 1897, at Kennedy Town, Kowloon, Shaukiwan, and Aberdeen was as follows:-
**
District of Slaughter- Number of Number of Number of
house.
Cattle. Sheep.
13,634
2,124
Kennedy Town... 17,970 Kowloon.... Shaukiwan... Aberdeen
592
Swine,
119,463
12,726
3,783
1,776
137,748
Total 20,094 14,226 In order to show the large increase in the number of animals slaughtered each year since I took over the charge of these places in 1887, 1 insert a list giving the total number for the past 10 years.
The decrease in the number of swine killed during the year 1894, I attribute to the plague epidemic of that year, and it will be seen that its effects may also be traced into the two following years.
From the number of swine slaughtered during the past year it may be inferred that the native population has considerably increased of late.
Annual list of animals slaughtered for the past ten years, from 1888 to 1897-
Year.
Cattle. Sheep. Swine. 15,972 9,420 117,432
1888
1889
17,863
10,110
119,856
1890
18,519
10,091
123,833
1891
18,218
9,673
122,942
1892
18,180
11,571
126,766
1893
17,806
11,770
131,298
1894
16,898
10,937
125,725
1805
19,218 12,592
129,035
1896
19,546 14,693 129,103 20,094 14,226 137,748
1897
Total 182,37 115,083
41
COW-SHEDS.
1263,738
With the exception of foot-and-mouth dis- ease which broke ont in nearly every ców-shed in the colony, and is referred to previously in this report under the heading "Importation of Live Stock," no cases of infectious or contagious disease have occurred in any of these places.
Although as far back as 1889 I recommended that no cow sheds be licensed by the Board * This refers to an ontbreak of rinderpest at Kobe
when the milk supply of that settlement was entirely out