PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O.885
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
21 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
10.
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Dr. Bayon's application will presumably involve some expenditure if acceded
It may be added that there does not appear much immediate prospect of an increase in the funds at the disposal of the Committee as application has recently been made, with success, to the Colonies for the purpose of extending the activities of the Sleeping Sickness Bureau by expanding it into a bureau to cover all tropical diseases
MINUTES.
Present:
Sir WEST RIDGEWAY (in the Chair).
Sir THOMAS Barlow.
Sir JOHN ROSE Bradford,
Sir THOMAS HOLDERNESS,
Sir PATRICK MANSON.
Sir RONALD Ross,
Surgeon General BRANFOOT,
Mr. KEITH (Secretary).
(1.) The minutes of the meetings of the 26th May, 29th May, and the 25th July were approved.
(2.) The reports from the London and Liverpool Schools of Tropical Medicine, the University of London, and Professor Nuttall were received. It was agreed that the reports were all very satisfactory, though Sir Patrick Manson was inclined to think that condensation might be desirable. The other members of the Committee considered, however, that this was unnecessary.
(3.) The reports on mosquito-borne diseases from various Colonies were received. Sir Ronald Ross laid before the Committee a draft analytical table of the returns in question. He explained that he proposed to defer a final report upon the returns until all the returns had been received, when he would be in a better position to give an expression of opinion with regard to their merits. He drew special attention, however, to the unsatisfactory nature of the information supplied in the report received from Uganda, and it was agreed to suggest that the Governor of Uganda should be asked to have the defects in the information supplied made good.
(4.) The reports on research into tropical diseases from various Colonies were received and the Committee expressed the opinion that the reports were excellent and showed that good work was being done and that increased interest was being taken in research.
(5.) Sir Ronald Ross laid before the Committee his proposal that the Royal Society should be asked to appoint a Committee to classify the culicidae. Sir John Rose Bradford explained that he was sure that the Royal Society would do anything they could to meet the wishes of the Colonial Office, provided always that the undertaking was one which they were competent to carry out. He suggested that he should confer with the Royal Society, and that the matter should stand over until he was in a position to say whether or not the proposal was one which the Society could undertake to carry out. To this course of procedure the Committee agreed.
(6.) The Committee considered Dr. Galloway's letter on the subject of the investigation into beri-beri. Sir Ronald Ross explained to the Committee that careful investigation had been made at the Liverpool School with regard to the position of Tsuzuki's researches, and it appeared that Shiga, the leading bacterio- logist of Japan, in an article published in May, 1911, had been unable to confirm Tsuzuki's results and Tsuzuki himself had withdrawn his theory. Sir Patrick Manson stated that there were two views as to the causation of beri-beri. the one theory, the cause was due to malnutrition as the result of the absence in On the food consumed of a sufficiency of some element, though what element was not
#9
precisely certain. The evidence in favour of this theory was very strong, but cases occurred in which beri-beri was found while nutrition was satisfactory, and it was therefore considered by some authorities that the disease was caused by a germ which, normally innocuous, became active, especially in cases of malnutrition. Research had been made and was being made as to the existence of this germ both by Drs. Stanton and Fraser and by Dutch, French, and other observers, so that no need existed for the appointment of a special officer to carry out investigations. The Committee concurred in this view.
(7.) The Committee considered the question whether the Government of the Federated Malay States would be justified in taking steps to discourage the use of rice with less than 4 per cent. of phosphorus pentoxide, with special reference to the case of Malay rice, which has an average of 38 phosphorus pentoxide. Sir Ronald Ross stated that Dr. G. C. E. Simpson, who had been conducting researches on beri-beri at Liverpool, was of opinion that it would be sufficient to discourage the sale of rice of under 38 phosphorus pentoxide content-at least for the present. This might possibly be done by imposing some sort of tax on rice with lower phosphorus pentoxide content, which would result in the average content rising to a figure of 4 or higher. Sir West Ridgeway was of opinion that there was great difficulty in taking any action involving direct interference with the food of the people and that, therefore, the Government should confine any action taken to setting a good example with regard to the use in public institutions of all sorts of rice. Sir Patrick Manson was of opinion that the Government should refrain from using any rice which was likely to be dangerous to health in all Government institutions such as gaols, schools, asylums, and hospitals, and encourage, in any way not involving compulsion, mineowners and others to issue suitable rice to their employees. He did not think it possible to forbid the use of Malay rice, although it was somewhat below 4, and the Committee eventually agreed on a recommendation that the Government of the Federated Malay States would be justified in taking steps to encourage the use of rice with over 4 phosphorus pentoxide, it being understood that they did not suggest that the use of Malay rice should be actively discouraged.
(8.) Dr. Bayon's application was considered. Sir Patrick Manson stated that Dr. Bayon had got some interesting results, and the Committee agreed that there was no reason for not encouraging him to carry on his investigations.
(9.) The report on the treatment of yaws in Grenada was read with interest. (10.) The allocation of the funds for 1912 was then considered. Sir Patrick Manson laid before the Committee a letter from Dr. Leiper in which he explained the grounds for the request for the renewal of the special grant for £200 made respect of 1911 for the purpose of providing him with an assistant. Sir Ronald Ross explained that a donation of £10,000 had been made to the Liverpool School, and in giving it the donor had desired to make a formal condition that the grant was subject to the understanding that the Liverpool School would receive as favourable treatment from the Colonial Office as the London School. At his request the donor had withdrawn the condition, but he expressed the hope that equality of treatment would be accorded. Without pressing for exact equality he asked that he should be given a grant of £200 to defray the cost of employing a chemist in 1912. The Committee considered that both the requests of the London and Liverpool Schools of Tropical Medicine should be acceded to and that the grants to the Schools should, therefore, be fixed for 1912 at £1,533 6s. 8d. and £1,200 respectively, but the Schools should be warned that no promise could be given that it would be possible to repeat the grants in 1913. The Committee also agreed to recommend that a grant of £350 should be made to Professor Nuttall, while the grant of £750 to the University of London was formally approved. The total grants recommended were thus £3,833 6s. 8d., which would leave the fund with rather more than £1,000 in hand at the close of the year 1912.
Sir West Ridgeway reminded the members of the Committee of the retirement of Sir Charles Lucas from membership in consequence of his retirement from the Colonial Office, and the Committee unanimously placed on record their appreciation of his unfailing interest in the work of the Committee and of the assistance which he had rendered.
Page 330ΤΟ
ANNEXURE.
DRAFT analytical table of the returns for mosquito-borne diseases, 1910.
(Malarious Colcnies only.)