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PUBLIC

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TILLC.O. 885

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20 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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for the establishment of an Institute of Research at Lagos are approved, scientific investigations into the chief diseases of horses and cattle could appropriately be carried on in that institute.

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Enclosure in No. 141.

HONOURABLE Colonial Secretary,

I have, &c.,

W. EGERTON,

Governor.

No medical man can be made to undertake veterinary studies. All, however, are interested in pathological changes in the lower animals that bear at all on human pathology apart from veterinary practice.

2. Any medical officer who cares to take out a course of veterinary surgery, &c., is encouraged to do so (as in the case of Dr. Macfarlane), and his fees paid. Not many, I fancy, have, however, that particular bent.

3. I note that the enclosed despatch applies to veterinary officers-veterinary departments-not to medical. If our suggestion re local research laboratory and farm be accepted, diseases of animals would be studied there.

March 26, 1907.

17423

No. 142.

H. STRACHAN,

Principal Medical Officer.

EAST AFRICA PROTECTORATE.

AND THE SOCIETY COLONIAL OFFICE to THE EDITOR OF "THE FIELD”

FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE WILD FAUNA OF THE EMPIRE. Downing Street, May 22, 1907.

18701

[ Published as No. 23 in [Cd. 4472], January, 1909.]

No. 143.

SIERRA LEONE.

ACTING GOVERNOR HADDON SMITH to THE EARL OF ELGIN.

(No. 174.)

MY LORD,

(Received May 27, 1907.)

[Answered by Nv. 200.]

Government House, Freetown, Sierra Leone, May 10, 1907. WITH reference to your Circular despatch of the 26th of February, 1907,* I am entirely in accord with Your Lordship, for the reasons given in the 2nd para- graph of your circular, that steps should be taken by this Colony to employ some well-qualified man to make an examination of the diseases of animals required for food and transport purposes, with the object of stamping out such diseases, and to take the necessary steps to guard against the introduction of fresh diseases.

2. At the present time the War Office have appointed a Specialist Sanitary Officer to the Sierra Leone Command. Captain F. Harvey, R.A.M.C., the officer in question, is, I believe, quite competent to undertake the investigation, and I should say would come up to the requirements as laid down in paragraph 5 of the circular.* 3. I would therefore suggest for Your Lordship's consideration, and in order to avoid any large expenditure at the start :-

(a) That arrangements may be made with the War Office for the reports of

their Special Officer to be transmitted to the Colonial Office.

89

the reports of his investigations that this Colony should provide him with free transport.

(c) Your Lordship on the receipt of the reports may consider the advisability of granting a bonus from the funds of the Colony to the officer for his work.

I am unable to recommend that the remuneration suggested by Captain Harvey in his letter to the Principal Medical Officer referred to in paragraph 5 of this despatch should be granted, as I am of opinion that as Captain Harvey is a Govern- ment officer the Colonial Government should have the advantage of his reports without being called upon to pay a fixed salary as suggested. The grant of free transport would relieve the War Office of expenditure under this head.

4. After the reports have been received this Government would be in a posi- tion to decide whether it is advisable to incur the expenditure of a specially employed veterinary officer. If it should be decided that such an appointment is essential, I am of opinion that the selection should be made from the list referred to in paragraph 10 of the circular, although I doubt if a veterinary officer could be procured for this Colony at a smaller salary than £600 a year.

5. I have consulted the Principal Medical Officer, Dr. Forde, on the subject of the circular above referred to, and suggested to him that he should confer with Captain Harvey, R.A.M.C. I attach a copy of a minute from Dr. Forde and the letter to which he refers.

6. Captain Harvey has lately been on a visit to the Karene District, and also on the railway as far as Baiima, and he has at my request kindly furnished me with a report on those visits, which I transmit in original with the photographs,* as I am sure that the report will be of interest to Your Lordship.

I have, &c.,

G. B. HADDON SMITH,

Acting Governor.

Enclosure 1 in No. 143.

Honourable COLONIAL SECRETARY,

I HAVE perused these papers and have consulted Captain Harvey, R.A.M.C., Specialist Sanitary Officer, Sierra Leone Command.

It would be a very good thing for this Colony to establish a veterinary depart- ment for the study of its animal diseases, as it is now fully established that tsetse fly disease prevails over a large area in the Protectorate, and horses and cattle do not thrive. The military authorities have during the past few years taken up the study of this subject (diseases of animals) in this Colony and have been sending out officers of the Royal Army Medical Corps specially trained for the work, and I would suggest that the veterinary survey of this Colony, mentioned in the Secretary of State's circular, paragraph 14, be carried out by Captain Harvey, whose services could, I think, be arranged for with the military authorities, and when these pre- liminary investigations have been completed, the information required in para- graph 17 can be forwarded and permanent arrangements for the continuance of the work entered into.

March 28, 1907.

R. M. F.

P.S.-Letter from Captain Harvey attached, in which he makes certain pro- posals as to his being engaged for the above work. This would, I think, be a much more economical arrangement than sending a special man out from England.

R. M. F.

April 3, 1907.

(b) That arrangements should be made for this officer to travel through the Protectorate in order to complete his investigations, and in return for

SIR,

Captain F. HARVEY, R.A.M.C., Specialist Sanitary Officer, to the PRINCIPAL CIVIL MEDICAL OFFICER, Sierra Leone. The Laboratory, Tower Hill, Freetown, March 28, 1907.

on the stock diseases of Sierra WITH reference to the "preliminary survey

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• No. 93.

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