The working of this establishment has been exceedingly good under the able superintendence of Dr. WHARRY, and also, during his absence on three months leave, of Dr. W. C. S. CLAPHAM.
With the Wardmasters, considerable trouble has been experienced. Two were dismissed for drunkenness, and one resigned after serving his probationary term, dissatisfied with the appointment.
I drew special attention to these appointments in my last Report, as I considered them underpaid, And therefore not likely to attract the class of men required. The work is arduous and disagreeable and requires a great amount of patience and tact. As a rule, the newcomers are perfectly ignorant of their duties, and it is for the interest of the Establishment and the confort of the patients that changes in these appointments should be rare, and the holders a superior class of men. The other sub- ordinates have worked well. I desire specially to mention tlie Apothecary, Mr. A. A. BOTELHO, who All the books, has served in his present capacity over 20 years, and, I think, he is much overworked. accounts, &c. are kept by him, in addition to his duties in the Dispensary, and though he has done his work exceedingly well, much improvement is to be desired in the keeping of the Hospital Records, &c. This cannot be obtained unless a clerk is allowed, and I would recommend that a Chinese Jerk should be obtained, for it is quite impossible for any one man to do the work required of Mr. BOTELHO with the efficiency to be desired, work as hard as he may.
The number of admissions to the Hospital has somewhat decreased this year, being 829 as com- pared with 952 in 1873. Of these, 18 cases were moribund when brought to Hospital. The decrease in the number of admissions is specially worthy of notice, as it is owing entirely to the decrease of adinissions from the Police Force, which I have before brought to notice. The number of patients ad- mitted, exclusive of Police and venereal cases, was 431, as compared with 404 in 1873; these numbers represent seamen, destitutes, and paying patients.
The increase in the Table IV. shows the varieties of disease and their relative frequency. number of deaths being chiefly due to Phthisis, Fever, Intestinal Affections, and Surgical Injuries. Five of the deaths set down under the head of Chinese from Remittent Fever, and two under the same head from Typhoid, were wonen brought from the licensed brothels and occurred at the beginning of the year; these I shall refer to hereafter.
One class of patients that contribute largely to the death rate are the colored destitutes, some of whom earn a precarious livelihood as watchmen, they are usually miserably clad and half starved, and are therefore more than ordinarily liable to disease, and when it does come less able to resist it.
The case of Small-pox that died was a European engineer of a steamer, who contracted the disease in Shanghai in the month of June.
The two fatal cases of Typhoid among Europeans were brought from off a schooner (that came into this Port after the Typhoon) by my orders, while I was doing duty for Dr. ADAMS, who was un- well, and the other European cases were brought from Manila, Whampoa and Shanghai,
The number of dead bodies brought to Hospital for examination during the year was 150, four of them Europeans, and three colored persons; many of these were brought in after the Typhoon.
The amount paid into the Treasury on account of paying patients was $3,036.73, compared with $2,440.08 the amount paid in 1873.
On the night of the 22nd September, 1874, this Colony was visited by a terrible and most destruc- tive Typhoon. The old Civil Hospital suffered severely, it was more than half unroofed, the back verandah of the upper floor which was supported by large stone pillars was blown down, and also the outer walls of one of the rooms. The inner walls bulged and cracked fearfully, and the whole building rocked and shook with each gust in the most frightful manner; to add to the troubles of the inmates, the gas went out, and the alarm of the patients can better be imagined than described. Dr. W. C. S. CLAPHAM was then in charge, and it is entirely due to his courage and presence of rind and his adini- rable arrangements that no fatal accident occurred, for the panic among the patients was so great that at one time some of thein tried to leave the buikling, which if they had succeeded in doing, it is more than probable that they would have been killed or severely injured by the falling masonry. However, under Dr. CLAPHAM's superintendence, the patients were all removed into the lover rooms, most of them into his own quarters, and he went round them the whole night quieting their fears and making them all as comfortable as circumstances permitted, though he himself was at the time suffering from a most painful affection of the knee joint. I visited the Hospital early next morning and arranged for the removal of the patients into the Lock Hospital, of which four of the largest wards were given up to them. Fortunately the number of patients in the Lock at that time was small, and this was done without inconvenience. Arrangements being made so that the inmates of the Lock were completely cut off from the part of the Hospital made over to the patients brought from the Civil Hospital, and before night all was comfortably settled, though the accommodation was barely sufficient owing to the number of cases of injury, &c. that were brought in during the day. This arrangement continued till the middle of November. Meanwhile a block of buildings near the Central Police Station, formerly
■ Hotel, had been hired by Government and was being fitted up and repaired, and, as far as possible, arranged for a temporary Civil Hospital until the new one is built. Under Dr. Claritas's superia- tendence, on the 13th of November the patients, stores, &c. were removed from the Lock and old Civil Hospital to the new buildings, and with much trouble every thing was, in a few days, got into working
order.