598
'ग य 'ग'।
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
10980
SIR,
72
No. 78.
SIERRA LEONE.
COLONIAL OFFICE to THE LIVERPOOL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL
MEDICINE.
Downing Street, March 27, 1902. I AM directed by Mr. Secretary Chamberlain to request you to inform the Committee of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, with reference to the letter from this Office of the 7th of December last,* that the Governor of Sierra Leone has now-reported on the subject of their suggestion that the Colonial Government should increase the number of the workmen lent by them to the Malaria Expedition, which is now working at Freetown under the superintendence of Dr. Logan Taylor.
2. Sir C. King-Harman states that he is, naturally, anxious to give every possible assistance to Dr. L. Taylor in the useful and important operations which he is conducting in Freetown, but that, after consultation with him and with the Prin- cipal Medical Officer, he has decided that the best form in which that assistance can be given is for the Government to undertake by degrees the surface drainage of those parts of the city which are most infested by mosquitos. In this proposal Dr. Taylor cordially concurs, recognizing that such work cannot be adequately performed by his staff, and that the result cannot fail, not only to relieve him of engineering re- sponsibility, but also to effect a permanent improvement in the sanitary condition of the infested areas.
3. Arrangements have accordingly been made for the immediate surface drainage of a swampy portion of the Grassfields district, in which Dr. Taylor has already operated to a considerable extent. The cost of the work is estimated at £460, and the amount has been readily voted by the Legislative Council.
4. Mr. Chamberlain has approved of the Governor's action, and has sanctioned the expenditure of the vote of £460.
73
Owing to the scarcity of the rainfall in this Protectorate, and especially on the coast, there are practically no standing pools or collections of water favourable to the development of mosquitoes. It is true that after one of the rarely-occurring tropical showers, owing to the flat and low-lying situation of the native town, a few rain-water pools are formed, but these quickly evaporate in the course of one or two days.
The European quarter is situated on higher ground, and at a distance of three- quarters of a mile from the native town. It is reserved entirely for Europeans, their servants, and a few native officials. The latter are under our immediate supervision, and there should be no difficulty in seeing that their houses are kept in a proper sanitary state.
Two new houses for Europeans have recently been erected half-a-mile to the west- ward of the European quarter, and these will be completely isolated.
The higher situation and sandy nature of the soil on which the European quarters stand renders it impossible for water to collect, but the overflow of two tanks forms a standing pool close to the sea-shore, and flooded by sea water at high tide. It is not known whether mosquitoes breed here, but the pool is unsightly, and might be removed by carrying the water in pipes as far as low-water mark. I understand that this pro- ject has been under consideration for some time, but the absence of fall has hitherto been an insuperable objection to its execution. I will again take the opinion of the Consulting Engineer with a view to overcoming the difficulty.
With regard to the water tanks at Dubar, it is to be observed that these tanks are 8 miles distant from Berbera; no Europeans, and only a small police guard are stationed there. Further, I am inclined to think that the surface of these reservoirs, on which we are entirely dependent for our water supply, should essentially be exposed to the purifying action of the sun and air. It would be difficult to cover them in so completely as to exclude mosquitoes, to whom the darkness and shelter afforded by the covering would offer an ideal breeding place.
I have, &c..
H. E. S. CORDEAUX.
I am, &c.,
R. L. ANTROBUS.
:
C.O.885
7
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC. COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
13065
SIR,
FOREIGN OFFICE to COLONIAL OFFICE.
No. 79.
(Received April 4, 1902.)
Foreign Office, April 3, 1902.
I AM directed by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to transmit to you, to be laid before the Secretary of State for the Colonies, the accompanying copy of a despatch from the Acting Consul-General in Somaliland enclosing a Report by the Medical Officer in that Protectorate on the Prevention of Malaria; and from Dr. Manson on the subject.
of a letter copy
A
I am, &c.,
Enclosure 1 in No. 79.
CLEMENT LL. HILL.
Acting Consul-General CORDEAUX to the MARQUESs of Lansdowne.
(No. 2.) MY LORD,
(Received January 27.)
Berbera, January 4, 1902.
I HAVE the honour to transmit copy of the Medical Officer's Report on the pre- vention of malaria, as called for in Foreign Office despatch, No. 59, of the 22nd May,. 1001.
There would seem to be little difficulty in carrying out the recommendations con- tained in the Report of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, as far as the segre- gation of Europeans and improvement of surface drainage is concerned.
* No. 67.
SIR,
Dr. LANE to Acting Consul-General CORDEAUX.
Medical Office, Berbera, Somaliland Protectorate,
December 9, 1901.
IN returning accompanying Circular despatch I have the honour to offer the following observations and practical suggestions, with a view to diminishing the risk from malaria to health and life in this Protectorate:-
(a.) A complete extinction of the species appears to me not quite so impracticable as would at first sight appear, since the conditions favourable to the development of mosquitoes in great numbers-a well-watered country-do not obtain anywhere in this Protectorate. It is owing to the presence of "avoidable" pools and collections of water here that conditions favourable to their development and multiplication exist. No more destructive agent in reducing their numbers could be wished for than the "khariff" wind, which commences some time in Mayand continues during the months of June, July, August, and September, by the end of which time no mosquitoes can be discovered, and mosquito curtains are considered superfluous. In my annual Report I advised the "covering in" of the water tanks at Dubar; my reasons for doing so were twofold: firstly, to obtain a cleaner and purer water supply; and, secondly, to prevent the propagation of mosquitoes, which such open collections of water encourage. There can be no dubiety about the numbers of mosquitoes at Dubar-the men of the Camel Corps stationed there last year suffered most severely from malarial fever.
I again take this opportunity of repeating my advice:
(b.) The surface drainage of the whole of Berbera is extremely bad, and before we can expect any material improvement in the health of Europeans, the "drainage system" will have to be thoroughly gone into. I would suggest, in view of the importance of the matter, that a capable engineer be consulted with as little delay as possible.
It is my firm conviction, to which I wish to give emphasis, that a good drainage system will render malaria a comparatively rare disease in this Protectorate.
(c.) Failing the possibility of improving the drainage system, I would suggest the building of residences some miles inland, on the adjacent hills. This suggestion is an excellent one, and is in accordance with what the Committee recommends, as there
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