85
150
28240.
No. 120.
COLONIAL OFFICE to the AFRICAN TRANS-CONTINENTAL TELEGRAPH COMPANY and the EASTERN TELEGRAPH COMPANY.
SIR,
[Answered by Nos. 128 and 131.j
Downing Street, December 3, 1898.
I AM directed by Mr. Secretary Chamberlain to inform you that, after correspon- dence with the Royal Society, it has been decided to send a scientific commission, con- sisting of three experts, to Africa for the purpose of conducting a thorough investigation into the causes and cure of malaria.
2. These experts will proceed in the first place to Blantyre, in the British Central Africa Protectorate, where there are good opportunities for studying the disease, and afterwards to West Africa. It is expected that the inquiry will extend over a period of about two years.
3. It is possible that circumstances may arise in which the Commission will desire to communicate at once with this Department or with the Royal Society upon matters connected with their work, and it has been suggested to Mr. Chamberlain that in such cases your Directors may be inclined to allow the messages to be sent over their line free of charge.
4. The Royal Society is only able to make a small grant towards the cost of the Commission, and the contributions from many of the colonies--especially those most interested cannot, owing to their financial condition, be large; it is therefore desired to reduce the expenses as far as possible.
5. Anything which may be done to improve the conditions of life in the malarious districts of Africa cannot fail to favourably affect the commercial corporations which have interests in those parts, and Mr. Chamberlain therefore hopes that your Directors will support the present scheme by granting the desired facilities, on the understand- ing that the privilege, if given, should be sparingly used.
6. I am to add that the African Lakes Corporation have generously offered to assist the Commissioners by giving them free passages on the Corporation's steamers during their visit to the British Central Africa Protectorate.
7. A similar letter has been addressed to the
Eastern Telegraph Company.
African Trans-Continental Telegraph Company.
27007.
SIR,
No. 121.
I am, &c.,
R. L. ANTROBUS.
COLONIAL OFFICE 10 FOREIGN OFFICE. [Answered by No. 129.]
A
Downing Street, December 3, 1898. I AM directed by Mr. Secretary Chamberlain to inform you, with reference to previous correspondence, that Dr. Stephens and Dr. Christophers, the two members of the Malaria Commission who are leaving this country for the British Central Africa Protectorate in the Castle Line steamer of the 8th inst., are taking with them certain. scientific apparatus which will be required in the course of the Commission's investiga- tions.
Mr. Chamberlain would be glad if the Marquess of Salisbury would cause tele- graphic instructions to be sent to the Commissioner of the Protectorate to admit this apparatus free of duty.
I am, &c.,
C. P. LUCAS.
27820.
Sm,
No. 122.
TREASURY to COLONIAL OFFICE. (Received December 6, 1898.)
[Answered by No. 133.]
Treasury Chambers, December 5, 1898. In reply to your letter of the 25th ultimo,* in which Mr. Secretary Chamberlain asks for the immediate payment of the Imperial contribution of £1,775 towards the School of Tropical Medicine, the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury desire me to express their hope that the Secretary of State will consent to payment being deferred until Parliament has provided the money upon a Supplementary Estimate for 1898-9.
Payment in anticipation of the Parliamentary Vote, in the case of an entirely new service, such as this, could only be justified by circumstances of more urgency than My Lords have any evidence of at present.
I am to add that the Civil Contingencies Fund, from which the advance would have to be made, is now at a very low ebb.
27700.
No. 123.
I am, &c.,
FRANCIS MOWATT.
KING'S COLLEGE to COLONIAL OFFICE.
DEAR LORD SELBORNE,
(Received December 8, 1898.)
[Answered by No. 151.]
King's College, London, W.C., December 5, 1898.
I MUST thank you on my own and on Professor Crookshank's behalf, for the very kind way in which you heard us on Thursday last. I now beg, in conformity with your suggestion, to recapitulate the main points of what I urged with regard to the bacterio- logical work of this College.
To begin with, I would repeat the assurance contained in my letter of the 22nd ult.,t and of the 28th of July, 1898‡ of the cordial desire of my Council to co-operate in the efforts of the Secretary of State to improve and render as complete as possible the instruction of candidates for medical service abroad in all matters relating to tropical disease.
In the circular letter of the Colonial Office, dated November 9, 1898,§ paragraph 1, I read that the Secretary of State is endeavouring to give to Colonial medical officers special clinical instruction in tropical medicine. In paragraph 2 of the same letter I read that the arrangements for this purpose have been made by the erection, with Government aid, of new buildings in connection with the Hospital for Seamen. In paragraph 3 I further read that in future selected candidates will be sent to the above hospital for a period of two months at least to be trained there, and that in estimating the respective merits of candidates on the Secretary of State's list, regard will be had to the fact whether or not they have already received instruction in tropical medicine.
The above paragraphs, so far as the Seamen's Hospital is concerned, appear to have in view clinical instruction. In our interview, we had in view instruction other than clinical, and I venture to submit that what we ask is not only entirely consonant with the scheme announced in the letter of November 9th, but is calculated very ma- terially to forward its declared purpose.
We ask that in the rules to be adopted for ascertaining whether a selected can- didate has gone through a complete course of instruction in tropical diseases, pro vision should be made for the full recognition of a course of bacteriological training in any laboratory of public standing and established reputation, adequately staffed and equipped for bacteriological teaching and research.
We do not make this request solely on our own behalf. We would wish to see a list of institutions, to be thus recognised, officially drawn up-and, of course, subject to modification from time to time.
No. 116.
No.: 105
No. 47...
§ No. 95.
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O.885
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO