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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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Reference :-

C.O.885

19 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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

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No. 69.

COLONIAL OFFICE to PROFESSOR RONALD ROSS.

[Answered by No. 84.]

Downing Street, 11 December, 1908. TH reference to the letter from this Office of the 14th of August,* I am y the Earl of Crewe to inform you that your letter to Colonel Secly of f Julyt was laid before the Advisory Committee for the Tropical Diseases Fund at their second Ordinary Meeting on the 27th of November.

he Committee have informed his Lordship that they are not prepared to I the criticisms contained in your letter, as they consider that great allow- be made for local conditions, and that much consideration is due to the epartments in the respective Colonies, the members of which often work ed and under great difficulties.

hey have also pointed out that you appear in some cases to have been tly informed. For instance, in the first case which you cite, viz., that of Nigeria, you state that "the Government of the Colony could easily have the Secretary of State, had it taken the trouble to do so, regarding such points as the general spleen rate of the children in the Colony, the number f malaria treated in the hospitals and dispensaries, the administration of school children and others, the number of men employed on anti-malarial whereas the actual facts are that the area of the Protectorate is about quare miles, approximately equal to the area of Great Britain and France the population is about 9 millions, and the number of medical officers is re never all simultaneously in the Protectorate, and whose time is very ipied in looking after the Government officials, the native troops, &c. as yet no general hospitals or dispensaries in the Protectorate, and on cannot be given as to the administration of quinine to school children, as there are no school children-Northern Nigeria not having as yet been with Government schools.

he Committee have further laid stress upon the fact that in such a case f Barbados, which you have also cited, the Secretary of State is not in a o dictate to the local Legislature as to what measures are to be taken in d that in all cases, without exception, there is a danger that repeated for statistical information involving considerable labour with inadequate meet it may result in retarding rather than promoting the hearty co-opera- will agree is the prime essential for carrying out the sanitary which are so earnestly desired.

ch you

At the same time the Committee, while neither accepting all your conclu- concurring in all the terms employed, readily admit that much remains he, and gladly acknowledge the public spirit which is embodied in your 3, and they have expressed the opinion that it is desirable that every effort nade to secure that all medical officers appointed to tropical Colonies duly te the importance of the measures referred to in your letter for combating and other tropical diseases.

I am, &c.,

FRANCIS J. S. HOPWOOD.

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(Papua), requesting to be furnished with observations upon the reports from the Tropical Schools at London and Liverpool, and from the Colonial Laboratory at Hong Kong, which were laid before the Tropical Diseases Research Fund Advisory Committee on the 11th June last, I now have the honour to forward herewith a copy of a memorandum upon the subject, which has been prepared by the Acting Chief Medical Officer, Papua.

I have, &c.,

Enclosure in No. 70.

THE HON. THE GOVERNMENT SECRETARY,

DUDLEY,

Governor-General.

WITH reference to the circular from the Colonial Office of 13th July, it should be noted that there is a wide and untouched field in Papua for the investi- gation of human and other parasites by anyone who has made such parasites a special study.

cases

The suggestion in page 7 of the Hong Kong report (October, 1907, to February, 1908) of the research at the public mortuary that beri-beri includes more than one disease is interesting in the light of my experience at Port Moresby. On page 64 of the British New Guinea Annual Report for the year ended June, 1905, the occur rence of acute cases of cardiac failure is noted. These cases, if they had occurred in a district where beri-beri is common, would have undoubtedly been classified as beri-beri.

no In 1905 I had seen

of ordinary beri-beri; during the last two years beri-beri has become fairly common among the prisoners, I have myself seen and cases have occurred among imported labourers. some two dozen cases, yet these have all been of the paralytic form with the legs mainly affected. I have never seen a single case with noticeable edema. On the other hand, I have seen no more cases of acute cardiac failure during the last two or three years.

Accounts which have been given of cases of sudden deaths in the Northern Division suggest that cases do occasionally occur there.

W. M. STRONG,

16 September, 1908.

Acting Chief Medical Officer,

EXTRACT from British New Guinea Annual Report for Year 1904-5. Page No. 64.

Gaols.

There were 11 deaths this year, being the same number as last year. The following were the causes:-Five dysentery; scurvy and debility, one; venereal disease followed by dysentery, one; cardiac failure from an unknown cause, four. The last four were all suffering from a similar disease. As described by Dr. Strong: There was a short period of indefinite symptoms followed by cardiac failure and alterations in the cardiac sounds but no bruit." Death occurred in 24 to 48 hours. There were no signs of beri-beri, except the cardiac ones referred to. In a post- mortem performed by Dr. Craigen, slight pleural and pericardinal effusions were found, but nothing else definite. The disease is peculiar to mountain people.

*

*

*

40327

No. 70.

AUSTRALIA.

HE GOVERNOR-GENERAL to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

267.)

D,

(Received 12 December, 1908.)

Commonwealth of Australia, Governor-General's Office,

'Melbourne, 2 November, 1908. EFERRING to your Lordship's circular despatch, dated 13th July, 1908

‡ No. 41.

• No. 44.

↑ No. 42.

No. 71. PAPUA.

COLONIAL OFFICE to CAPTAIN MUIRHEAD COLLINS (COMMONWEALTH REPRESENTATIVE IN LONDON).

SIR,

Downing Street, 12 December, 1908.

WITH reference to the letter from this Office of the 10th of November,* I am directed by the Earl of Crewe to inform you that the Advisory Committee for the Tropical Diseases Research Fund had under their consideration at their Second Ordinary Meeting, held on the 27th of November, the memorandum by Dr. W. M. Strong containing certain observations and suggestions for a scientific expedition to Papua for the purpose of investigating tropical diseases.

• No. 53.

† See No. 52.