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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O. 885

[COPYRIGHT PAVISAI

DAPHIC-1

BE REPRODUCED

20 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE

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148

No. 89.

FEDERATED MALAY STATES.

THE ACTING HIGH COMMISSIONER to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(No. 281.)

(Received 3 July, 1911.)

[Answered by No. 106.]

Government House, Singapore, 7th June, 1911.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, Miscellaneous, of the 22nd March,* transmitting papers showing the nature of the work which is being carried on by the African Entomological Research Committee, and enquiring whether it would be desirable for the Federated Malay States to co-operate with the Committee.

2. I enclose a copy of a memorandum by Dr. A. T. Stanton, showing what has already been done in connection with the study of entomology in the Federated Malay States. The suggestions made in the last three paragraphs of the memo- randum have the support of the Principal Medical Officer, and the Chief Secretary is of opinion that the best method of giving effect to them would be for the Com- mittee to select an officer who would study in the field "the life histories, habits, and habitats of the ticks and insects collected" by Dr. Stanton, with the assistance of several officers of the Medical and Veterinary Departments.

3. I should be glad, therefore, if the Committee could be requested to send out such an officer. It is suggested that he should be placed under the orders of the Principal Medical Officer, and arrangements would be made for his being supplied with all necessaries and office conveniences at the Institute for Medical Research. The appointment would be a purely temporary one for a year only in the first instance.

4. The salary proposed is £360 a year, with all travelling expenses, which, including a return passage to England, would probably amount to a further £250. Having regard to the fact that the objects which the Committee have in view arc to a great extent of an Imperial character and that the Federated Malay States are co-operating in the matter, it is suggested that it would be a fair arrangement if half the salary and expenses of the officer selected were paid from Federated Malay States funds.

I have, &c.,

E. L. BROCKMAN.

149

to the British Museum and the Museum of the University of Cambridge. It is pro- posed, when sufficient material has been collected, to seek the approval of Government for permission to publish accounts of the various groups as Studies from the Institute.

This arrangement, which is similar to that outlined in the papers accompanying the Secretary of State's despatch, has been carried out during the past four years without cost to Government apart from postage on specimens forwarded to England. Many thousands of specimens have already been dealt with in this way, and, in addition, a large amount of material has been forwarded to the London School of Tropical Medicine for instructional purposes.

This arrangement, while it fulfils most of the objects referred to in the papers, fails in regard to what is rightly regarded as the most important, namely, the study of " the life histories, habits, and habitats of the ticks and insects collected." This work can only be done in the field and by an officer who is able to devote the requisite time and attention to it.

I suggest that this object could be most effectively met by the revival, as a tem- porary measure, of the appointment of Entomologist, Institute for Medical Research. There are many questions connected with the study of malaria in man and of try- panosomiasis and piroplasmosis in cattle, in which the services of such an officer would be of value.

It is, I understand, not easy to obtain suitable candidates for posts of this kind, and if Government approved such an appointment, the advice of the African Committee might be sought. In this connection, I would lay stress on the point that it is not simply a collector that is wanted. This work and that of preliminary classification has been and can be done quite well by officers at present in the service.

A. T. STANTON.

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(No. 97.)

SIR,

No. 90.

BRITISH HONDURAS.

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(Received 5 July, 1911.)

Enclosure in No. 89.

MEMORANDUM.

SUGGESTED CO-OPERATION WITH AFRICAN ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH COMMITTEE. The study of entomology has already received considerable attention in the Federated Malay States. Dr. Daniels, when Director of this Institute, gave a good deal of time to the study of mosquitoes and their breeding places, and Dr. Leicester spent several years in the systematic study of the same group. The results of their work are published in Vol. III. of the Institute Studies, which is a recognised authority on the mosquitoes of Malaya.

An entomologist was appointed to the staff of the Institute in 1906, but, owing, it is understood, to the pressing need for the investigation of the Para rubber pest, Termes gestroi, that officer was instructed to devote his time to this question, and, finally, under instructions from Government, was transferred to the Department of Agriculture.

Since 1907, I have been engaged, as opportunity offered, and with the assistance of several officers of the medical and veterinary departments, in making collections of the biting flies and ticks of the Peninsula. By private arrangement with several specialists in England, among whom are two members of the African Entomological Research Committee, Professor Nuttall, F.R.S., and Colonel Alcock, F.R.S., these collections have been identified, new species described, and type specimens presented

• No. 78.

[Answered by No. 108.]

Government House, Belize, 16th June, 1911.

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Miscellaneous despatch

of the 22nd March, 1911,* on the subject of the work which is being carried on by

the African Entomological Research Committee.

2. The acting Colonial Surgeon has arranged with the medical practitioners

of the Colony for collections of disease-bearing and other insects to be made; and it

is hoped that some practical work may be done in co-operation with the Committee. 3. To meet some small expenses the sum of $20 has been added to the vote for incidentals of the Medical Department.

I have, &c.,

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No. 91.

E. J. E. SWAYNE, Colonel,

STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.

Governor.

THE ACTING GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received 17 July, 1911.)

(No. 246.)

SIR,

Government House, Singapore, 20th June, 1911.

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, Miscellane- ous, of the 22nd March last,* transmitting papers showing the nature of the work carried on by the African Entomological Research Committee.

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• No. 78.

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