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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

8859 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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

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Malay States, with regard to the Institute for Medical Research at Kuala Lumpur, and to say that he would be glad to be favoured with any observations that you may desire to offer on this subject.

I am, &c.,

33547

No. 160.

BERMUDA.

C. P. LUCAS.

GOVERNOR SIR R. M. STEWART to MR. LYTTELTON.

(Received September 27, 1904.)

[Copy to Crown Agents, October 4, 1904; 33547: not printed.] (No. 110.) SIR,

Governor, Telegram, 24th August, 1904. Governor, Telegram, 2nd September, 1904.

Government House, Bermuda, September 16, 1904. REFERRING to my predecessor's despatch, No. 10, of the 21st of January last,* and to the telegraphic correspondencet quoted Secretary of State, Telegram, 23rd August, 1904.

in the margin, I have the honour, in confirma- tion of my telegram to you of the 2nd instant,‡ to report that the Legislature of the Colony has placed at my disposal, for remittance to you, the sum of one hundred pounds as a donation from Bermuda towards the common fund proposed in Mr. Chamberlain's circular despatch of the 28th of May, 1903, § to be established for the purpose of subsidizing the objects which form the subject of that despatch.

2. The Crown Agents have been requested to pay the amount named to your order from Bermuda funds.

33935

SIR,

(

I have, &c.,

No. 161.

R. M. STEWART,

Lieutenant-General,

Governor and Commander-in-Chief.

FEDERATED MALAY STATES.

SIR P. MANSON to COLONIAL OFFICE. (Received October 1, 1904.)

21, Queen Anne Street, Cavendish Square, September 28, 1904. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter (31886/1904), || requesting my observations on the accompanying despatch, herewith returned, from the High Commissioner of the Federated Malay States with regard to the Institute for Medical Research at Kwala Lumpor.

I was under the impression that the Kwala Lumpor Laboratory was the first instalment of a system of Crown Colony Laboratories designed to throw light on tropical disease, and thereby, and in other ways, directly and indirectly, benefit the Colonies concerned.

2. Apart from humanitarian considerations, the Colonial Office had come to recognise the fact that a main difficulty in the successful working of our tropical Colonies lay in the health factor-that deaths, invalidings and inefficiency from local diseases burdened the revenues, interfered with continuity of administration, repressed the energy of the population, and diverted funds which otherwise might have been invested profitably in remunerative public works.

3. Moreover, it was felt, I understand, that Great Britain, in the matter of colonial medicine, was not abreast of the times, and that she was in this respect ignoring the responsibilities the extent and value of her tropical possessions imposed upon her.

• No. 20.

† 4801 (not printed), No. 148, and No. 155.

ཎཿe. 1

+ No. 155.

§ [Cd.1598.] | No. 159.

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4. It was recognised that an undue proportion of the great discoveries of modern times in tropical medicine had been made by the scientists of other countries, as for example the vibrio of cholera by a German, the bacillus of leprosy by a Norwegian, the plasmodium of malaria by a Frenchman, the bacilli of plague and dysentery by Japanese, the transmitting agency of yellow fever by an American, the parasite of tropical anaemia by an Italian, and so on.

5. So far in advance of our country were the Continental pathologists and epidemiologists that more than once when some important problem in human or animal disease has cropped up in our Colonies foreign scientists had to be employed for its solution.

6. With a view to correct this not very creditable state of affairs the Schools of Tropical Medicine were established, and the scheme of Colonial Laboratories formulated. The former have already proved a great success, and there is every reason to believe that the latter would be equally so if planned and carried through on sound lines; at all events the combined scheme commends itself to everyone who recognises the importance of the health factor in Colonial development, and the importance of prestige to the nation.

7. It has been hailed by the medical profession everywhere as an indication that Government has awakened to its responsibilities, and its value has been recognised by our Continental and American rivals, who already have set about imitating it.

8. It will, therefore, be a great disappointment to everyone who appreciates these things to learn that it is proposed to abandon the Kwala Lumpor Laboratory or, at all events, so to emasculate the medical research side of it that its chance of doing good work will be reduced to a minimum. This proposal I cannot but regard as distinctly retrograde; if carried out it will go far to check a movement of the greatest promise and usefulness.

9.

So far from advocating the abandonment of the scheme I would suggest its further development on the lines which Kwala Lumpor's experience clearly indi- cates. I consider that two mistakes have been made in the arrangements in connec- tion with the Kwala Lumpor Laboratory. First, it was planned on too ambitious a scale, and, therefore, needlessly expensive; second, latterly its research side, that is its primary and fundamental object, has been altogether subordinated to more immediately utilitarian purposes, e.g., water analysis and other ordinary health officer's

work.

10. As regards the first it does not appear to be a matter of very great moment, seeing that the buildings can be fully utilised by the bacteriologist, entomologist, mycologist, and chemist, whose employment is in contemplation. But although in the case of Kwala Lumpor such extensive premises may not be altogether wasted, I would strongly deprecate such extravagance in the designing of laboratories for any of the other Colonies and Protectorates.

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11. Public opinion is not yet alive to the value of scientific research, and will not concede much in the way of money to what, for the present, it very wrongly regards as a luxury rather than as a necessity.

12. As regards the second mistake, Dr. Daniels should have been put almost exclusively on research work, and employed in public health work only as a consultant. He ought to have been put in a position to continue Dr. H. Wright's investigations into the cause and nature of Beriberi, and all his other work subordinated to this. To enable him to do this full notes of Dr. Wright's results and investigations ought to have been placed at his disposal, and, in future, if the research side of the laboratory is to be continued, some arrangements should be made that will enable the incoming Director to pick up the thread and continue the work of the outgoing Director without serious interruption.

13. The results of the investigations carried on at the laboratory should be regarded and treated as the property of the Government, and should be forthcoming at once when called for. This should be definitely specified in all future arrange-

ments.

14. Past experience has shown that the laboratory will be called upon to do general pathological and health work. To meet this, and leave himself free to do his more special work, the Director should be provided with one or more qualified assist- ants, certainly with one, who should be more completely at his disposal than the chemist, the entomologist, the mycologist, the bacteriologist, &c., who should be under the heads of their respective departments, although, at the same time, available to the Director for consultation.