1878 — Page 265

157.

GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION.

The following Annual Report of the Colonial Surgeon, with Returns annexed, for the year 1878, published for general information.

By Command,.

Colonial Secretary's Office, Hongkong, 7th July, 1879.

FREDERICK STEWART,

Acting Colonial Secretary.

GOVERNMENT CIVIL HOSPITAL, HONGKONG, 19th May, 1879.

SIR, I have the honour to forward my Annual Report for the year 1878, together with the Tables Jowing the work done in the different Establishments of the Colonial Medical Department. I also nclose the Report of the Superintendent of the Government Civil Hospital of the work done th that Establishment during the past year. I regret that this Report has not been sent in before, but the absence of the Superintendent on leave and the burning of the Hospital have occasioned him more trouble than usual in making up his Report and Tables.

The Superintendent of the Government Civil Hospital was away on leave for seven months during the past year, and a difficulty occurred in procuring a substitute. For about three weeks, I did the luties of Superintendent of this Establishment in addition to my own duties, but fortunately Dr. VON DER HORCK, who had newly arrived in the Colony, undertook to do duty as Acting Superintendent, and thus relieved me of such an arduous addition to my own work.

The Superintendent of the Government Civil Hospital is the only man in the Colonial Service of Hongkong, whose whole time is given to the service of the Government, who has any difficulty in procuring a substitute without loss to himself. In, the service, two months' leave of absence in every year is allowed on full pay, and one year's leave on half pay after six years' service, provided a sub- stitute can be procured who will undertake to do the full pay leave for nothing, and the half pay lenve for the half pay. This is generally managed in other Departments, but in ours there are no surplus Medical Officers who can undertake to do the work. Consequently, under the Colonial regulations, unless the Superintendent can procure some Medical man not belonging to the service, to do the duties, generally at some loss to himself, he cannot get any leave. I represented this hard case to the Gov- ernment, who, I am glad to say, coincided with my views, and the money was voted to pay the Acting Superintendent; so that the Superintendent was enabled to have his leave without loss to himself, or any detriment to the working of the Establishment under his charge.

This year we lost the services of an old and valued servant of the Government-Mr. A. A. BOTELHO, Apothecary to the Government Civil Hospital, who retired, owing to ill health, after twenty- three years' service. It has been impossible to procure an equally trustworthy and efficient officer in the Colony to take his place at the same pay. I therefore recommended that the salary should be considerably increased, and a properly qualified Apothecary should be procured from home who could also undertake the duties of Analyst, which recommendation has been approved of. There will thus le two qualified medical men attached to this institution, and any such trouble as was referred to in my last Annual Report will, I hope, be impossible in future.

POLICE.

There has been a considerable increase in the number of admissions from the Force to Hospital. The

greatest number being from the coloured portion of the Force, and among them occurred the Teatest number of deaths. Still the number of deaths in the Force was amall, being only six al- together. Table III shows the number of sick from each district for each month of the year. There Was a greater number of cases of venereal among the Police than usual, but only two cases of consti- tutional disease reported.

TROOPS.

Table IV shows the strength, sickness and mortality amongst the Troops in Garrison here, and the figures are high, both as regards admissions to Hospital and Denths.

1874........

1875, 1876,

1877,..... 1878,..

Admitted to Hospital.

Death.

1,067,......

..10

716...

9

563..

973,..

9

944,

.....10