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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference:-

PEPCO 885

23 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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

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is more information as to the prevalence of the disease in the Colony, it should be possible for the Gold Coast authorities to state plainly what steps they are pre- pared to take, and to arrange, perhaps, a modification of the terms of the Agree- ment, the first period of which determines in August of this year.

11622

No. 6.

I have, &c.,

ARTHUR G. BAGSHAWE,

GOLD COAST.

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received 30th March, 1914.)

Director.

[Copy to Imperial Bureau of Entomology, 18th November, 1914. L.F.] [Answered by No. 12.] (Separate.)

SIR,

The Fort, Coomassie, 9th March, 1914. In continuation of my despatch No. 769 of the 16th October, 1913, for- warding a copy of Dr. Wade's report on sleeping sickness in the Western Province of Ashanti, I have the honour to inform you that, having now travelled through the whole of that Province, I find myself at last in a position further to address you on this subject, in accordance with the intentions expressed in paragraphs 16 and 18 of that despatch.

2. In the course of my recent journey I visited all the places specially dealt with by Dr. Wade in his report; and I also had the advantage of discussing mat- ters on the spot with the Chief Commissioner of Ashanti, Mr. F. C. Fuller, C.M.G.. and Mr. Fell, the Commissioner of the Western Province of Ashanti. The conclu- sions at which I have arrived are fully shared by both these officers, whose experi- ence and local knowledge lend a special value to their opinions.

3. 1 am glad to find that the views expressed by me in my despatch above So far as they referred to are endorsed by Messrs. Fuller and Fell, in refer to Ashanti, and do not now call for any modification by me except in one respect. In paragraph 15 of that despatch I referred to the ques- tion of clearing and the maintenance of clearings in the vicinity of native villages, which then appeared to me to be a practical step which might immediately be taken. Examination of the question on the spot, however, has shown me that an order to this effect would inflict considerable hardship upon the native population. In many villages the natives are not numerous enough to be able to make and maintain clearings of sufficient area to be of any practical value without diverting to this work labour which can ill be spared from their farms. Apart from this, however, I found that most of the Brong and Jarman villages in Ashanti were protected by a patch of bush on the windward side, which is designed to prevent the annual bush-fires from destroying the villagers' homes. Even as it is, and in spite of this precaution, the burning out of a village is a fairly common event in this parched and arid part of the country, where great dryness and strong winds prevail during part of the year. To insist upon the clearing of these protec- tive patches of bush, which frequently serve their purpose, with the object of pre- venting the spread of a disease which the people do not greatly fear, and by which only 110 individuals out of 39,742 were affected, at the time of Dr. Wade's investi- gation, would appeal to the natives as an inexplicable piece of folly and tyranny. 4. Moreover, as Mr. Fell has pointed out, it is still an undetermined point whether the Glossina palpalis, which inhabits shady places, is the only carrier of sleeping sickness, and whether the Glossina longipalpis. which infests the grass country in this region, is not also instrumental in spreading the disease. Until this point is finally settled it would obviously be inadvisable to enforce clearing regula tions, which may have no effect in checking the spread of sleeping sickness; and I therefore do not propose to take any action in this direction at the present time.

*No. 4 in Miscellaneous No. 275.

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5. Further, I venture to submit, we have as yet no sufficient data to enable us to judge to what extent, if any, sleeping sickness is on the increase in this part of Ashanti; and until the need for vigorous action, of a kind which the native popula- tion cannot fail to resent, has been definitely proved, I am strongly averse from its adoption.

6. I would, therefore, recommend that judgment be suspended in this matter for a period of three, or even five, years; and that at the end of that time a second detailed investigation, on the lines of that conducted by Dr. Wade, be carried out in the Western Province of Ashanti. Comparison of the results then obtained with those produced by Dr. Wade's inquiry would furnish reliable data upon which to decide what action, if any, was called for; and the course I suggest would save us from acting with undue precipitancy, and in a manner which may subsequently be shown to have been unnecessary or even mischievous.

7. I have the less hesitation in recommending this policy of temporary inaction to you because the figures which Dr. Wade's investigation has revealed are not of a character which would seem to indicate that immediate steps to check and combat the disease are urgently demanded in the interests of the native population.

8. I desire, however, to recommend for your consideration that a Medical Officer whose first duty it should be to travel through the villages of the Western Province of Ashanti and to attend to the needs of the native population be appointed as soon as possible. At present, there is only one Medical Officer in the Province, and he is seldom, if ever, able to quit his station at Sunyani. To pro- vide him with permanent hammock-men, etc., as Dr. Wade suggests, would not, in my opinion, meet the necessities of the case, and I regard the appointment of a travelling Medical Officer as highly desirable, and, if you concur in this proposal, the officer selected for the post should be specially instructed to devote attention to cases of sleeping sickness in addition to his other duties, and to carry out experi- ments with the object of determining whether the Glossina longipalpis is or is not instrumental in spreading the disease.

9. This despatch is written at a distance from Accra: but on my return to headquarters I shall instruct the Principal Medical Officer to furnish me with an estimate of the total expenditure which the appointment of this additional Medical Officer will entail, and this will be transmitted to you in due course.

I have, &c.,

11622

SIR,

No. 7.

GOLD COAST.

HUGH CLIFFORD,

Governor.

COLONIAL OFFICE to THE TROPICAL DISEASES BUREAU.

[Copy to Imperial Bureau of Entomology. 18th November, 1914. L.F.] [Answered by No. 10.]

Downing Street, 9th April, 1914.

I AM directed by Mr. Secretary Harcourt to acknowledge the receipt of, and

to thank you for, your letter of the 21st of March,* on the subject of sleeping sick- ness in Togoland and the Western Province of Ashanti.

2.

Before taking action on your letter, Mr. Harcourt would be glad to be placed in possession of your views on the enclosed copy of a further despatcht from the Governor of the Gold Coast on the same subject.

3. I am to observe that the addition of a Medical Officer to the Gold Coast establishment for the purpose suggested in paragraph 8 of the enclosed despatch is at present impracticable.

I am, &c.,

HENRY LAMBERT.

* No. 5.

† No. 6.