r
Hongkong,
14th September, 1910.
595
MY LORD,
I am given to understand that as the result of the investigations of a Com- mission which has enquired into the sanitary condition of the Crown Colony of Mauritius, it is probable that a British medical officer, with special experience of Plague, Malaria and other tropical diseases, will shortly be required as Principal Civil Medical Officer of the Colony.
If this is so, I have the honour to request that my name may be considered in connection with the proposed appointment, if it is intended to attach a salary of about £1,000 a year thereto.
I qualified in 1886 and after holding various Hospital appointments 1 decid. ed in 1890 to take up public health work.
In 1891 I obtained the Diploma in Public Health of the University of Cambridge and in 1892 I was appointed Assistant Medical Officer of Health for the river Tyne port and was allotted special duties in connection with a severe epidemic of Cholera which had broken out în Hamburg and neighbouring ports,
In 1893 I was appointed Medical Officer of Health for the borough and port of Lowestoft and Medical Superintendent of the Infections Diseases Hospital.
In 1895 I was offered by the then Secretary of State for the Colonies--the Right Honourable the Marquis of Ripon-the appointment of Medical Officer of Health of the Colony of Hongkong, the outbreak of Plague having necessitated the appointment of an experienced sanitarian. After considering the matter for some weeks I decided to abandon whatever prospects I had of success in the public service of England and accepted service under the Colonial Office in the hope that I should ultimately benefit thereby. That this hope has not yet been realized is I think obvious from the fact that the salary of a Medical Officer of Health of any city or metropolitan district of England, having more than 30,000 inhabitants ranges from £500 a year in the smaller to £1,200 a year in the larger cities, while my total emoluments as Medical Officer of Health and Superintendent of Statistics of this Colony, which has a population of about 350,000, amount to £750 a year, with all the risks and penalties attaching to life iu a sub-tropical climate superadded,
To
The Right Honourable,
The Secretary of State for the Colonies.