CO885-(21-23) — Page 584

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O. 885

22 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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

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5. In conclusion His Excellency desires me to say that the conditions surround- ing the question are being most carefully watched, and that he is satisfied the dis- covery of a case of sleeping sickness at Mpimbi affords no ground for the fear that either Zomba or Blantyre are exposed to any greater risk than has existed in the ⚫ past.

I have, &c..

A. M. D. TURNBULL,

Acting Secretary to the Administration.

Enclosure 3 in No. 76.

The SECRETARY, Nyasaland Chamber of Agriculture and COMMERCE, Blantyre, to the ACTING SECRETARY TO THE ADMINISTRATION, Zomba,

3rd January, 1914. SIR,

I BEG to inform you that at the last meeting of my Committee your letter, No. 3681, of the 10th ultimo, on the subject of sleeping sickness was laid before them, and I am instructed to write and thank you for the same and the information contained therein.

My Committee fully appreciate the remarks made by His Excellency the Governor, but at the same time think the actual meaning of their letter has been a little misunderstood, and, with the object of explaining exactly to His Excellency. a deputation was formed consisting of the following gentlemen:-The Hon. Allan F. Kidney, President; the Rev. Dr. Hetherwick,; and Mr. R. S. Hynde, for the purpose of meeting His Excellency and going into the matter.

I would, therefore, be glad if you would kindly ask His Excellency when it would be convenient to him to receive this deputation, either at Zomba or at Blantyre. or. if His Excellency considers it would be more satisfactory, perhaps he would meet my Committee at their usual monthly meeting on the 27th instant.

I shall be glad to hear from you at as early a date as possible, in order that I may make arrangements accordingly.

SIR,

I remain, &c..

J. W. STRATTON,

Secretary.

Enclosure 4 in No. 76.

The SECRETARY, Nyasaland CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE, Blantyre, to HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR, Government House, Blantyre.

4th February, 1914. WITH reference to your letter of the 15th ultimo regarding the deputation appointed by my Committee to meet Your Excellency on the subject of sleeping sickness, as requested therein, I herewith beg to enclose memorial of this Chamber relative to the spread of infected game into the southern districts of the Nyasaland Protectorate.

I am asked to state that, if convenient to Your Excellency, the deputation could wait on you either to-morrow, Friday, or Monday next, and I await your reply as to which of these three days will suit Your Excellency and at what hour you could receive the deputation.

I beg, &c..

J. W. STRATTON,

Secretary.

MEMORIAL OF THE CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE RELATIVE TO THE SPREAD OF INFECTED GAME INTO THE SOUTHERN DISTRICTS OF THE NYASALAND PROTECTORATE.

The Committee of the Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce beg to lay before His Excellency the Governor a proposal with reference to the approach of sleeping sickness to the populous districts of the Shire Highlands which lie round Zomba and Blantyre, the main centres of the industries of the Protectorate. They make

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this proposal in the hope that it will be a check to the spread of the disease in a southernly direction and also that it will afford a practical test of the connection that is believed by many to exist between the morsitans tsetse fly, the wild game of the country, and sleeping sickness.

They feel justified in the proposal they make by the existence of two established facts, namely, that game is a host of the trypanosome. They are further aware of the spread of the morsitans fly in the directions of both Zomba and Blantyre during recent years, and they cannot shut their eyes to the fact that, should infected animals enter these hitherto non-infected districts, the results would be very grave as regards both European and native population. Moreover, the recent discovery of a case of sleeping sickness in the Upper Shire Valley-though only one dis- covered case makes the presumption very strong that there are others, each of In this connection they which in a tsetse area becomes a centre of infection. cannot forget that it is believed by many authorities in the country that the present outbreak in Central Angoniland is due to the passage of a single sleeping sickness patient through the tsetse-infected belt on the Domira-Dowa road.

For the purpose, therefore, of checking the spread of the game into the Shire Highlands and adjacent districts, and confining them to their present areas-thus lessening the danger of infected animals spreading themselves over these uninfected districts--the Committee of the Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce propose to His Excellency that the districts of Zomba and Blantyre, Mlanje, and West Shire be thrown open to free hunting and killing of game by natives and Europeans It is a known fact that game disappears from a district when hunted or disturbed. and the Committee believe that if all restrictions were removed the natives will resume their old habits of hunting by means of nets, fences, and dogs, and in this way the spread of game into the above areas will be checked, and with the checking of the migrations of game the danger of infected animals entering new districts will be effectually prevented. Thus a barrier of uninfected country will be pre- served across any spread of the disease in a southernly direction.

This proposal commends itself to the Committee of the Chamber of Agri- culture and Commerce as a simple and practical method of dealing with a situation that threatens a large number of both Europeans and natives and as affording an illustration of a policy which they believe would be effectual in other districts.

The Committee are convinced of the necessity for practical and immediate steps being taken to deal with a disease which has now infested the country for over six years. The knowledge that so deadly a disease as sleeping sickness in its local form exists cannot fail to have a deleterious effect on the prospects of the country--commerce, agriculture, and otherwise--and it therefore is incumbent on the Government to show that they are taking every possible practical step to meet a very grave danger.

The Committee trust that this proposal-a simple, practical, and, they believe, an effective one--will meet with His Excellency's approval.

Enclosure 5 in No. 76.

From the ACTING SECRETARY TO THE ADMINISTRATION, Zomba. to the PRESIDENT, BLANTYRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND AGRICULTURE, Blantyre.

5th March, 1914. SIR,

Ar the interview which recently took place between His Excellency the Governor and a deputation appointed by the Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture to approach His Excellency in the matter of certain proposals relating to game and sleeping sickness, it was stated, in answer to a reference by His Excellency to the free shooting area at Ngara, that the members of the deputation learnt with surprise of the existence of this area, of which they had previously been in complete ignorance and as to which, it was alleged, no public intimation had been given.

In view of this statement, I am to direct your attention to the following facts:-

A Proclamation in the name of Sir W. H. Manning, then Governor of Nyasa- land, was published in the Government Gazette of the 31st of Janua, 1912, defining the boundaries of the area in question and removing from the protection of the Game Ordinance, 1911, within the limits of that area, all the animals specified

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