Onclosure No. 1. to Governor's Despatch No. 345601
Daily Press. 19. June 1981.
MEDICAL INSPECTION OF PASSENGERS. Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce.
Hongkong, 1st June.
SIR,
In July 1897, this Chamber, in response to a request by the Government for its opinion on the subject of the medical inspection of shipping entering the waters of this Colony, made the suggestion that, in view of the steady increase of the tonnage in this port, it was becoming necessary for the Health Officer to give undivided attention to his shipping duties, adding that, whenever the post should fall vacant, its next occupant should not be allowed to engage in private practice.
Since those suggestions were thrown out, and in spite of the fact that the trade of the port has continued to increase, while the recurring outbreaks of plague in various ports have added greatly to the work of the Health Officer, no further assistance has been allotted to that official, with the result that steamers are not infrequently detained through his inability to board them promptly on arrival. The annoyance to passengers and the loss to ship-owners consequent on those detentions have been growing more and more pronounced; and in illustration thereof I am instructed to forward, for the information of the Government, the enclosed copy of a letter recently received from the Superintendent of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company on the subject.
This letter has been submitted by the Chamber to all the Shipping Firms and Steamship Agencies in the port, who unanimously concur in the suggestions made therein as promising temporary relief pending the appointment of a second or assistant Health Officer.
There is ample work for two doctors in this department. The tonnage of the port has doubled within the last twenty years, as will be seen by the following figures, taken from the Harbour Master's annual returns of the shipping trade of the Colony:--
Vessels entered... 1880, tons. 1899, tons. Vessels entered... 4,185,845 9,052,501 Vessels cleared... 4,174,149 9,048,808 8,359,994 18,101,809Yet the machinery for medically inspecting the shipping remains on the same scale now as it was in 1880, and the expenditure on the Department is practically, allowing for advance in prices, unaltered. In the opinion of the Committee there should be two Medical Officers permanently employed, and giving the whole of their time to the work, unless perhaps the right of private practice among the shipping be conceded to them.
Since, however, the medical staff of the Government is now already much undermanned and the exigencies of the public health demand the exercise of all their energies, the Committee agree with Mr. Ritchie that temporary measures might be adopted for the moment. They strongly endorse his suggestion that the master of any vessel carrying a duly qualified surgeon, provided such master is prepared to sign a certificate (countersigned by the surgeon) if required, that there is no sickness of an infectious nature on board, should thereupon be permitted to proceed to his berth or moorings. This would materially help, under present circumstances, to prevent much unnecessary delay and consequent loss to the shipping.
I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
R. CHATTERTON WILCOX,
Secretary.
The Acting Colonial Secretary.
DEAR SIR,
(Enclosure.)
Peninsular and Oriental S. N. Co.,
17th May, 1901.
I beg to draw the attention of the Chamber to the pressing need there is for improvement in the manner in which the medical inspection of shipping visiting this harbour is carried out, in the hope that the Committee will urge on His Excellency the Governor the necessity which exists for the revision of a system which is entirely inadequate for the present-day requirements of this important centre of commerce.
The main defect in the system is the fact that, notwithstanding Hongkong has attained the distinction of ranking as the third port in the World in point of tonnage, the duty of Boarding Medical Officer still remains in the hands of a private practitioner. I am as anxious of disclaiming any intention of casting a reflection on the present incumbent as the Secretary of the Chamber was in his letter to the Colonial Secretary, dated 19th July, 1887, pointing out how necessary it was for the Boarding Health Officer to give undivided attention to the shipping duties, a necessity which increases with the growth of the port, but the disadvantages of the present arrangement are manifest. A Medical Inspecting Officer with private practice, however conscientiously he endeavours to perform his duties, must at times neglect either his private patients or his harbour work.
During the time quarantine was recently imposed on arrivals from Singapore, there were several instances of avoidable and wholly unnecessary detention to mail and other steamers and their passengers through the failure of the Medical Inspecting Officer to board the vessels on anchoring in the quarantine ground. The Government, realising that the delivery of Mails was liable to delay from this cause, notified the Agents of the Mail Lines that the Mails and the Post Office Officials, who take charge of the Mails from Singapore, were to be allowed to land before arrival of the Health Officer, provided the Medical Officer of the steamer certified that the latter were well and free from infectious disease.
The cases of the Royal Mail steamers Coromandel and Ballarat illustrate forcibly the evils and possibly very serious consequences caused to Mail steamers at this port of call, where every hour is precious, through delay on the part of the Boarding Health Officer in attending to his duties.
The Coromandel with the outward Mail, passed Gap Rock at 4.16 a.m. on April 13th, showing Mail signal-lights, which were duly acknowledged. At 7.18 a.m., the vessel anchored in quarantine ground with the yellow flag flying, as there was a case of suspected chicken-pox, which is both contagious and infectious, on board. Not until 10.6 a.m., did the Health Officer board the Coromandel. As the Health Officer was doubtful whether the case, which was landed and sent to the Civil Hospital, might not prove to be small-pox, he insisted on all passengers being Vaccinated before disembarkation, much to their dissatisfaction. After diagnosis at the Hospital the case was declared to be impetigo contagiosa (a form of ring-worm), and at 2.30 p.m. the Coromandel was granted pratique, but it was not until 5 p.m. that she was able to commence discharge at the wharves. By dint of working all through the night the vessel succeeded in completing her discharge and continuing her voyage at 3.10 p.m. on Sunday, April 14th. The limit of time according to Mail Contract for arrival of the Mails at Shanghai was 2 p.m. on Wednesday 17th April. The Coromandel fortunately was favoured with fine weather and succeeded in saving her time, but had she encountered fog it would have been impossible to have done this, and the Company would have been liable to a fine of £500, and, what is a matter of more serious moment to them, their reputation for punctuality in the delivery of His Majesty's Mails would have been impaired. Had the Health Officer boarded the Coromandel immediately on anchoring and granted pratique she should have been alongside the wharf by 10 a.m., and could have proceeded at daylight on the following day, working up to midnight only. There were 13 passengers for the Coast, sailing at noon on the 13th April, several of whom were unable to proceed owing to the detention, and a Military Officer for Tientsin missed his passage per transport Formosa, which sailed in the afternoon.
The case of the Ballarat is as follows:-The vessel's signals were answered from Gap Rock Station at 5 a.m., on the 26th April, and she anchored in the quarantine ground at 7.25 a.m., but was not visited by the Health Officer until 8.35 a.m.
The Ballarat had had a mild case of small-pox on board, a native fireman who had been taken sick before the vessel arrived at Colombo, and was, I am informed, convalescent. This man was landed into hospital and the vessel was...