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STATE OF HER MAJESTY'S COLONIAL POSSESSIONS. *121:
were cleared of 20,000 inhabitants, under the superintendence of Dr. Duncan, the medical officer of health. The last epidemic preceding the clearance carried off 500 of these people; while the cholera, which broke out during the time the forced change in residence was in progress, slew the comparatively small number of 94.
Vague conjectures deduced from immediate impressions on the mind, and the fruit of startling occurrences, receive too often more credence than statements suggested by a careful examination of facts. Some sudden death, or the rapid succession of deaths in a small community, where every event is patent, creates impressions of insalubriousness, which the best digested and most striking record of opposing facts fails to eradicate; while fair instances of longevity are, by the same vague rule, pointed to as evidences of local and sanitary perfection. The truths that come out of a statistical inquiry show the apparent evidences of evil to be but a rapid and temporary succession of generally infrequent events, and of the good, a paradoxical and almost invariable contradiction of themselves. It is found—as if there were a special compensating tendency in nature in this respect—that the most striking instances of longevity occur in communities in which the average duration of life is the shortest.
The following Tables afford the Colonial Surgeon's statistics of disease and death in Hong Kong for the year 1849.
TABLE No. 1.—A monthly numerical Abstract of Disease and Death in the Police of Hong Kong in 1849.
Months Europeans Indians Chinese Total of Sick Total of Deaths Number of Sick Number of Deaths Number of Sick Number of Deaths January 13 15 1 29 0 February 15 21 1 37 0 March 4 22 0 26 0 April 11 9 0 20 0 May 9 20 0 29 2 June 8 17 0 25 0 July 10 10 0 20 0 August 6 14 0 20 3 September 3 9 0 12 3 October 2 10 0 12 0 November 7 13 0 20 1 December 9 7 0 16 0 Total 9The foregoing Table exhibits every quarter as presenting throughout the year a pretty uniform rate of sickness, the last being numerically the most exempt.
In January the prevailing diseases were intermittent fever, common catarrh, and acute rheumatism.
In February the character of disease was very variable, yet intermittent fever prevailed; it was of a very mild type, and very amenable to treatment.
In March and April there was a considerable abatement in the number of cases of fever; and diseases were again very mixed in character. In the former month the records of the civil hospital account for three deaths amongst Chinese found destitute in the streets.
In May there was a slight recurrence of intermittent fever, and a few cases of continued fever occurred; both of a very mild and curable type. There were in this month two deaths; one from empyema, and the other from peritonitis; both policemen.
In June intermittent fevers again prevailed. There was one case of small-pox, and dysentery began to show itself.
In July remittent fevers prevailed; there were also cases of acute hepatitis and splenitis, showing the commencement of visceral diseases destined to terminate their career in dysentery. The month of August was remarkable for the number of cases of dysentery; from which there were three deaths; in every instance the victims of this disease had previously suffered from, and been under treatment for, either remittent or intermittent fever.
In September remittent fever was the prevailing disease. In this month one European died of delirium tremens, and an Indian and European of dysentery.
In October acute rheumatism, remittent fever, and dysentery prevailed.
In November and December remittent fever, dysentery, and common catarrh were the diseases of the most frequent occurrence. At this time every form of disease began to abate in the severity of its character, and fresh cases became less numerous. One Indian policeman, under treatment during October, died of valvular disease of the heart in November.
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