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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
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mmimmimCO
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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8 December, 1919.]
COLONIAL MEDICAL SERVICES COMMITTEE.
LIEUT.-COL. R. E. DHAKE-Brockman, D.8.0., M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P.
30/60ths; half of what I joined at; that is about £250, I think.
867. £250. Bo that would be considerably less than the £1 a day that a man would get from the Navy? -I think it is the worst paid of all the services.
858: The men of course know that, I suppose; do they?--Oh, yes.
859. Do you think that weighs with them, as a question of taking up the Colonial Service?--I am certain it does, men who have no other reasons for going into the Colonial Service. Many men go into the Colonial Service because they are interested in search work in the Tropica, quito a large number apply for that reason, and also for Natural History, in which they are interested. One officer was telling you about just now has gone out to East Africa and takon up land instead of taking up the post of Medical Officer. He has gone there because he is a very keen Zoologist, he has just qualified from Glasgow. He has taken land, and will probably make more at Zoology than at Medicine.
860. Was Carpenter after you?-I do not know about Carpenter; he is in East Africa or Uganda. I never met him; I know his name.
861. How did you find opportunities out there for doing any work?-Extra work? I think they were fairly good. In a place like Somaliland it was not very easy; one is kept on the move. I was attached
to a Cainel Corps, politicals and troops; I was kept on the move a great deal. For instance, from August, 1914, to September, 1916, I did over 8,000 miles on horseback or camelback. You have not much opportunity and time.
862. Can you make any suggestion as to how oppor- tunities for research could be improved, apart from having a much larger staff-Woll, all the best research, as far as I can see, is done by individuals on their own, because a man who gets an opportunity, especially like I had, can get about the country. I had opportunities for research of a kind, and I had free socess to practically the whole country, and that is why I preferred the job in the interior. I asked the Commissioner for that particularly, because I could get about the country and see things for myself instead of having to take everything from either natives or people unqualified to report.
863. There is the very difficult question to which you referred in which a man might go on serving for years, and his salary does not rise, because there happens to be no vacancy above him. Supposing that man's salary rose with the term of service, although he did not have any higher appointment, do you think that would be likely to niske men slack, fooling that they had only got to sit tight, and their salary would rise anyhow? Yes, I think it would. I think the man who gets promotion as it comes to him, who knows that it is sure to turn up in the course of years, simply sits down to do nothing at all.
864. You think it would do more harm really than justice. Then, there is another question to which you referred, which is rather difficult, and that is reports written about an officer and he does not know what is said about him; he is, perhaps, in a false position. On the other hand, put yourself in the position of the man who is writing these Reports; you are writing a Report about me: you know that I am to see it; would it not tend to make your Report rather colourless?-I do not think so. I was acting A.D.M.8. in France and I had to write re- ports on every single medical officer in the Division. wrote what I considered the beat report on the officer and his work, although I knew he was to see it.
804A. What happened in the case of an officer who was unsatisfactory: you toned it down?-I used to send for him and tell him straightaway: "I am very sorry I cannot give you a good Report, and I have good reasons for it."
866. And you think that would apply to other men? -Yea
866. Chairman: You showed him the actual Beport? Yes, everything; they had to initial it at
[Continued.
the Front. I think it is far and away the fairest way. There are officers who would not have the courage of their opinions and might tone down the report when they knew the officer, but as far as I was concerned, it did not worry me the least bit, I told the officer straightaway what I intended to write, and I asked him whether he had anything to say.
867. What is your feeling with regard to the general repute of the Colonial appointments; are you in a position to judge that?-I am not in a position to express an opinion upon that.
868. In the first instance, did you go into the Colonial Service for family reasons, or because you thought you would have the opportunity of working out some new job or post?-I applied before I served in the South African War for
a post under the Foreign Office. During the war out in South Africa, after I had accepted a Commission in the R.A.M.C., I received a cable from Lord Salisbury to proceed to Uganda. I resigned my Commission and went straight to Uganda. I wanted to go into the Foreign Office Service, partly to prosecute research work, and partly owing to a predilection for natural history, and I thought there would be an opportunity of getting it there.
869. You knew good deal about the Indian Service, for example; you know what the monetary rewards were? Yes, I knew all the Services pretty well. I have had relatives in most Services.
870. You really chose the Colonial Service because of the opportunities for seeing things? I chose the Foreign Office Service. Really, my idea at that time was getting one of the Embamies. That is the post I actually put in for, but when they offered me Uganda I accepted it at once. I had heard of Uganda, but I did not know it was being run by the Foreign Office at that time,
871. Mr. Fiddian: I think you said that you thought the interchange of medical officers should extend to all the tropical Dependencies?-I think
90, yes.
872. That involves a uniform system of pay?—Yes. 873. Regardless, that is to say, of the financial position of each colony? Yes, absolutely regardlces; do not think our salaries ought to depend on that. 874. You think the Medical Department should ha taken out of all others and paid on a uniform system? --Yes.
875. Do you think that would cause a little friction with their comrades who are not treated so well?-- No; after all we are scientific men, and they are not. 876. There are other scientifio men, veterinary officers, educational officers sometimes consider they are scientific man? I know nothing about them. They will have to look after themselves, so far us ko
are concerned.
877. The ordinary administrative man would not mind? Would not mind in the least.
878. We have had administrative men who have minded. You would not take into account the question of private practice at all in fixing a man's emoluments! I would not allow private practice, because I consider that there is sufficient work for them to do in the Government Service, and if a man was worth anything at all, it would induce him to take up research work.
879. What would happen to the unofficial resident in East Africa, for instance, who wanted a doctor?-. There are certain cases, I suppose, where you would allow a man to go and see them.
889. You would allow them, but not allow them to charge for it? You would have to come to some arrangement about that.
881. We have been trying to come to some arrange- ment for twenty years; I should like to have your ideas?--For instance, the fee could be paid to the Government.
882. You do not think the medical men themselves would object to that?-Not if they were continually
8 December, 1919.]
MINUTES OF EVIDENCE.
LIEUT. COL. R. E. DRAKE BROCKMAN, D.S.O., M.R.C.S., L.B.C.P.
changed about the place. If one an hand 追门 enormous number of settlers to look after, and another man had no settlers to look after, and he had the extra work thrown on his shoulders and got no remuneration for it, ho might kick and say:
Let somebody else have a bit,"
889. It would be necessary to remove them to some other place, regardless of Government work on the station? I do not think Government work would suffer in any way.
881. You do not think, on the change of a medical officer, the Government work suffers in any way? No.
885. Not from the sanitary point of view, or any? -No, I am allowing you are getting a good class medical man in.
886. Oh, certainly, we are assuming all medical men are of good class?—Yes.
887. Just one other point: Were there not some difficulties of raco and language to be encountered? Do medical men ever learn the languages of the places they are in P-Very rarely.
888. In some colonies they do require them to learn them?--In some parts of East Afrícu; Swahili is onay to pick up.
889. A man transferred to the West Indies; that is gone; no good at all?-Quite.
890. If he is transferred to Cyprus he would require to learn Turkish or Greek, or both? He could pick up sufficient in a very short time to carry on. If it were a difficult case he would have to have an inter- preter, of course, but the majority of these languages that I have come across are not difficult to learn a smattering of.
801. You know, of course, that the majority of the Medical men in Cyprus aro Greeks?-I know nothing about Cyprus at all.
892. The great majority of the Medical men in Ceylon are natives of Ceylon?--Yes.
893. You would not bring them into this system of interchange P-I would not
894. In the West Indies a very fair proportion of the Medical Service of the West Indies is recruited locally from Medical men who have studied in the Colony, and the West Indies chose them for Medical appointments. Would you bring them into it too?- I would not.
895. That would rather interfere with the uniformity of your system, would it not?-It would to a certain extent, yes.
man
896. When you say here" interchange on promotion or for health considerations," you do not see any practical difficulty when you promote a taking him out of Somaliland, say, and putting him in the Falkland Islands? The problems would he much the same, and the experience of the man would be equally valuable?—Yes, I think after a certain time, if he keeps up his tropical medicine.
897. Why should he want that in the Falkland Islands?--I know nothing about the conditions in the Falkland Islands, but I should think he would require a certain amount.
808. "Or for health considerations;" what exactly does that mean? You say interchange for health con- Biderations? The health of the officer.
899. You mean to say if an officer is invalided, ho should be kept?-He should be given a chance, he fore being turned out of the Service on a miserablo pension, he should be given a chance of promotion.
900. Or promotion?-Promotion, or some position equal to the position he has occupied.
901. Are you sure the Governors and the Principal Medical Officers in the various Colonies would be quite satisfied to have their places surrounded
with
crocks "They need not necessarily be "crocks"; many a man is invalided from the Service because hé cannot live on in that particular country. I can live in the Falkland Islands, but I cannot live any longer in tropical Africa.
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[Continued.
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902. My experience has not been that men from Tropical Africa have done well in the Falkland Islands? I do not know the conditions in the Falkland Islands.
908. You think any medical man should be at liberty to take any amount of study leave?-Ho should be allowed study leave, provided the Principal Medical Officer of the country considers that he ought to have it; it resta with the Principal Medical Medical Officer; on his recommendation.
904. On what principle is that given; on what principle does a Principal Medical Officer decide such a question; that a man wants to get his F.R.C.S.?— The Principal Modical Officer has to consult whether he can spare him.
905. It would partly depend on that?-It would partly depend on that, and he might grant the leave when he could spare him. He could tell the Officer, "I cannot spare you this year, but I might be able to spare you next year."
906. Would you recognise any discretion among the objects of study leave; that some are more directly valuable to the Government than others, for in- stance --Oh, yes, I think that is a question for the Principal Medical Officer to decide.
907. Each Principal Medical Officer should devide on his own, you would not have any uniform regula- tions?—I should not lay down any regulations.
933. None at all?-No, except that study leave is permitted under certain circumstances.
909. That does exist in some places. I rather thought from what you said that you approved an adequate system of confidential reports, leaving the Secretary of State to make decisions on the basis of those reports as regards promotion-Yes. My point is this: That the officer should see his confidential report; then he knows how he stands. If he is a young man, he can just pack up his kit and retire from the Service, saying, "There is no scope for me in the Service any longer; I will go and try and get on somewhere else," but he does not want to be kept in the Eervice for years and years and years; when he does not know what is hanging over his head.
910. What I want to get at is, whether you regard this Central Advisory Board as essential-I should think so, yes.
011. You think so. You think, with these confi. dential reports, the Secretary of State could not act without the advice of a body of medical men ?--I think he could not.
912. How would you constitute the Board?-I should have on the Board leaders of tho profession at home, as well as those who have distinguished themselves in the Colonial Medical Service, who know the condition of affairs in the countries.
913. And would they judge by the reports, or would they see the officers themselves? They would see the officers; they would have to take everything into consideration.
914. They would have to interview them periodi- cally?--Yes.
915. Do you not think their work would be rather cut out; they would have to interview a great many officers, surely?-Well, I do not know; I do not think it would arise too often.
916. I think you condemn incremental scales of salaries, do you not? I do not know what the incre- mental scale is. Is it from £400 to £500?
917. £400 rising by annual increments of £20 to £500 after six years' service; £500 rising by annual increments of £25 to £600?—I do condemn that, I think it is too small.
918. I thought you condemned the principle of increment? I never came under that. I was for a long period under £500 a year; I never came on to that increment up to £600, nor do I think any of my colleagues in Somaliland did.
919. You said it tended to make a man slack. I thought it was the incremental system of salarien that made man
alack? Yes, the incremental
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