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Dr. STANTON: Only by way of endorsing what the last speaker has said as to the great desirability of study leave and that, if it is possible, when officers are taking leave in the ordi- nary way they should undergo some special course of instruc- tion. In most Colonies, of course, that is the rule, either for promotion or for passing an efficiency bar or the like. They have to take a special course. It is not so in the West Indies, but in West Africa, East Africa, and in the Far East the regu- lations provide for special courses, and study leave is on very generous terms, particularly in East Africa where it is given on full pay and all fees are paid. In the Far East it is on half pay which is not quite so favourable.
Mr. AMERY: Would you say that the East African scale was the right one?
Dr. STANTON: I consider that the East African study leave regulations are the most generous, perhaps they are a little over-generous. The extended leave is on full pay and the fees for courses and examination fees are paid. It is questionable, perhaps, whether that does not err on the side of over-generosity, but the East African regulations for study leave are certainly the best from the point of view of the officer.
Mr. AMERY: Do officers avail themselves of them fully? Dr. STANTON They do. They are very keen to take advantage of these regulations.
Mr. AMERY: And they study keenly?
Dr. STANTON: That is so, Sir.
Mr. AMERY: They do not treat it merely as a holiday?
Dr. STANTON: I think one can say without any reservation that they do not.
Mr. ORMSBY GORE: Do they nearly all go to the London School of Tropical Medicine?
Dr. STANTON: To various places. One East African officer is now in Vienna doing special work. They take a special course in surgery or medicine or in the particular subject about which they are keenest; not all of them take courses in tropical medicine.
Mr. AMERY: Do the Far Eastern officers avail themselves freely of study leave, or does this half-pay regulation rather tend to choke them off?
Dr. STANTON They avail themselves of it less readily than in the Colonies which provide leave on full pay. I think it is reasonable that the leave should be on full pay as it is to the advantage of the Colony that the officer should do this particular work, always provided that the Governor has approved of it in advance. It is, I think, most important that the Governor should have sanctioned study leave for a parti- cular purpose before the officer leaves the Colony: it should not be left to this Office.
Mr. AMERY: When you say the East African scale is perhaps over-generous, I suppose you would not suggest that as a pure matter of business the East African Governments have been unwise in being so generous?
Dr. STANTON: I had in my mind the question of paying fees for higher diplomas which no other Government does. It is to the advantage of the officer himself to acquire certain special qualifications and for that reason no other Government pays all examination fees, I think.
Mr. HARDING: West Africa pays.
Mr. ALEXANDER: The question of private practice comes in. We allow our doctors to have private practice and the more highly qualified they are the better is their private practice, so that we do not feel disposed to be so generous to them as we might be from that point of view. I do not know whether medical officers in East Africa are allowed private practice but even if they were they would not have the same chances of
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