CO882-(6-8) — Page 407

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

TLC.O. 882

سالسا

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

54

addressed to me on the 11th August, 1905, by Sub-Lieutenant Skrydloff, of the Imperial Russian Navy, making certain complaints with regard to the treatment of the Russian sailors from the former torpedo boat destroyer "Burni," together with copies of a letter I caused to be addressed on the subject to the Imperial Russian Consul here and of Monsieur C. de Bologowskoy's reply.

2. I have requested the Officer Commanding the Troops to cause Sub-Lieutenant Skrydloff to be informed that, after enquiry and consideration, I saw no grounds for giving any fresh directions as to the treatment of the Russian sailors at Kowloon.

3. I have thought it advisable to place you in possession of copies of the corre- spondence above referred to in case any question in connection with it should be referred to you by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

Enclosure 1 in No. 101.

I have, &c.,

M. NATHAN,

Governor, &c.

THE OFFICER IN CHARGE OF THE CREW OF THE TORPEDO BOAT DESTROYER "BURNI" to GOVERNOR, Hong Kong.

YOUR EXCELLENCY,

Kowloon, Hong Kong, August 11, 1905. WHEN you visited the Russian camp on the 5th instant, I expressed to you a wish to write a letter, in which I would lay clear all the inconveniences which we have in Hong Kong, and also to say a few words about the sick men of my command to which I have received your consent.

2. As Your Excellency is aware, our houses are built of bamboo and palm leaves, which are easily penetrated by the sun, in consequence of which the heat in the rooms is insupportable. In the extreme heat there is no small piece of ground where the men can shelter during the heat or from the rain, in consequence of which they have to pass all their time in the bungalows. Besides this, in case of fire, there are no means which could save the structures; in a twinkling all would disappear.

3. One can say the same as regards a typhoon, although this latter has been anticipated for by the conveyance of my men to the artillery barracks.

for.

4. But what will become of our own belongings? This has not been provided

5. As regards the sanitary state of the camp, I can say as follows: The sewer pipe which we have very often gets obstructed, with the consequence that all filth goes out on the road, where it putrefies and gives off a very bad odour. Such an inconvenience may easily be remedied by putting a hermetic lid on the adjoining receptacle so that it cannot become clogged up.

During the dry season the conduct pipe does not convey water into camp. Notwithstanding several requests made by us to the officer who superintends the water supply affairs, through Major J. J. O'B. Sexton, to place a tap below the camp, this has not been placed to this day, or if placed, the spot has not been pointed out to us, as a consequence of which my men have to get water in the town and await their turn amongst the Chinese.

8. About the health of my men I can say this, that more than two-thirds of the whole crew are sick and sick with such illnesses as anaemia, fever, rheumatism and neuralgia. For such sicknesses a tropical climate is very injurious and in general every doctor recommends non-residence in the tropic.

9. As Your Excellency is already aware, I have had a doctor's certificate recom- mending that 19 of my men be sent from this climate, but I do not know for what cause Your Excellency did not credit this certificate and ordered a medical board to examine them a second time. I must say that this wounded me exceedingly.

10. Did not Lieutenant Pini and one sailor, Michael Dityatieff, go away on the certificate of this same doctor who gave his certificate for the 19 sailors, without a second examination by military doctors?

11. The result of this examination was thus:--out of 19 really sick men, only one was declared sick, and he the least sick of the lot. All this result took place on account of my personal relations with Captain Gibbs. Already when my men were brought up for the second examination one could unmistakably say its result-such as in fact turned out.

55

12. I must say that I, in general, have very little confidence in military doctors. The following cases have occurred amongst my crew: a sailor with a bad foot was treated for shyphilis, which in reality did not exist. Another sailor had his jaw so broken that when I took him to a dentist, the latter was astounded and agitated.

Of this I have documental data.

13.

At the very commencement of our sojourn in Kowloon, the sick sailors were taken by us to Victoria Hospital. But there they fared very badly, as the English soldiers indulged themselves in every sort of laughter and jeering at the sailors, which forced us to send the men of the crew to the Civil Hospital, so as to avoid disagree- ableness and to defend our men from jeers.

14. In consequence of the above-cited two cases of such careless treatment of the sick sailors by the military doctors, I invited Dr. Rennie, for which reason also I do not now make use of the Civil Hospital, as there is no need of it.

15. From the result of the military doctor's examination, I perceive they are extremely dissatisfied at my refusal of their services and that their personal bearing as regards myself has been transferred to the sailors, at which I am to the highest degree astonished and agitated that innocent people should suffer for personal feelings. 16. At my request at the Military Hospital at Kowloon to give me an extract of the treatment of the man sick in the foot but who had been treated for shyphilis, Doctor A. A. Gibbs refused, while not denying the fact.

SIR,

ALEXANDER SKRYDLOFF,

1st Sub-Lieutenant,

Enclosure 2 in No. 101.

Imperial Russian Navy.

Colonial Secretary's Office, Hong Kong, August 29, 1905.

I AM directed to enclose a copy of a letter addressed to the Governor, with His Excellency's permission by Sub-Lieutenant A. Skrydloff, of the Imperial Russian Navy, on the 11th instant, and received by His Excellency on the 28th, with the report of the Officer Commanding the Troops in South China on the various subjects of complaint.

2. With reference to paragraph 2 of the letter, as you are aware, the sailors from the torpedo boat destroyer "Burni" are housed in matsheds. These are not in them- selves unhealthy structures, and it is not unusual for British officers in the Colonial Service to occupy such buildings for considerable periods of time. They are certainly cooler than tents. The sailors at Kowloon are permitted to move about freely in the neighbourhood of the cantonment where there are trees affording good shade. It is certainly true that the buildings could easily be destroyed by fire as would also wooden structures. As they are not surrounded by other buildings the likelihood of fire is not, however, considerable, while the means of egress from the matsheds are such that there can be no fear of men not being able to leave at once if a fire actually broke out.

3. As Lieutenant Skrydloff states in the 3rd paragraph of his letter arrange- ments have been made for temporarily housing the men under him in the event of the destruction of the matsheds by fire or typhoon.

4. These arrangements would take effect as soon as warning was received of the near approach of a typhoon. The sailors would no doubt take with them to the Gun Club Hill Barracks, where they would be temporarily accommodated, their personal effects which presumably are not very bulky. The complaint in the 4th para- graph of Lieutenant Skrydloff's letter appears to His Excellency to be somewhat of a frivolous character.

5. The report that has been furnished on the subject of the 5th paragraph of the letter shows that a nuisance occurred at one time owing to the grating at the entrance to the drain, which took sullage water from the cook-house and ablution- room in the camp, having been allowed by the persons there to become choked. A further nuisance due to the choking of a manhole below the camp has long since been remedied.

6. Paragraphs 6 and 7. A private supply of water for the camp was provided at the level of the road below it in February last. There appears, however, to have been some delay in pointing out its position to Lieutenant Pini, then senior officer at

56.