APP. No. 2.
Abstract of Proceedinga.
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"terre leur ûtent toute valeur," an amendment was proposed by M. Fauvel as follows: "Quand le choléra règne en Europe, les quarantaines "maritimes perdent en général beaucoup de leur officacité à raison des "communications par terre.
Cependant on ne saurait dire qu'elles "scient devenues entièrement inutiles." It was on these respective pro- posals that what I may venture to call the critical vote of the Conference took place; the result being that the resolution contained in the Com- mittee's report for the abolition of quarantine in continental Europe, when cholera was already in Europe, was adopted by the votes of 12 delegations to 8.*
+
The fourth article of the report, "Dans ces conditions, il convient "d'établir dans les ports de l'urope, an lien des quarantaines, une inspec "tion sanitaire rigoureuse pour chaque navire provenant d'une localité "infectée selon le règlement ci-après," was also adopted; subject, of course, to the consideration of the details of the Règlement." These under- went much discussion, in which they were considerably improved in form, but quite untouched in principle. As finally agreed upon they will be found inserted in extenso in the Annex No. III. to this abstract. In principle, the provisions are the following:-
1. Local sanitary authorities in every port for the excention of these rules; such authorities to be kept always officially informed respecting cholera in other ports.
2. Immediate free pratique to all vessels arriving from non- infected ports, which vessels, on the oath of the captain, had not during their voyage touched at any intermediate suspected port, nor communicated directly with any infected ship, and on board which there had not been any suspected or confirmed case of cholera.
3. Medical inspection, as soon as possible after arrival, of all ships coming from suspected or infected ports, as well as of ships coming frow non-suspected ports, but which had during the voyage touched at any suspected port or had direct communication with any infected ship, or on which there had been any suspicious case of cholera sickness or death. 4. Immediate free pratique to the ship and everything in it, when it appeared from this inspection that there was no actual cholera, or suspected cholera, on board; except when there had been any such cases during the voyage, under which circumstances the ship itself, the crew and passengers, their clothes, and goods were to undergo disinfection before being admitted to pratique.
5. If on the inspection there were found any case on hoard of cholera or suspected cholera, or any corpse of a person suspected to have died of cholera, (1) immediate removal of the sick (if any) to hospital, and immediate burial of corpses (if any) either in the sea with usual precau-
cousti-
* Of States of the first raak, France alone voted in the minority. The dele- gations of Great Britain, Germany, Russia, Austria, Hungary, and Italy were ranged on the side of the majority. Again, while the 12 States tuting the majority, and comprising (in addition to the six just enumerated) Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Persia, were all of them maritime States, three out of the eight States constituting the minority had no maritime relations whatever, viz., Taxemborg, Switzerland, and Servia. The remaining five States in the minority were France, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, and Egypt. It should be stated, however, that the Spanish delegation, which would have undoubtedly voted with the minority, had not arrived when this vote was
taken.
More than one attempt made by M. Fauvel to break in upon the principle of the system proposed met with discomfiture. On the other hand, his criticism was of great value in making more clear and concise the provisions of the Réglement as proposed by the Committee.
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APP. No. 2,
tions, or on land after disinfection; (2) disinfection of the crew and passengers who were well, and of their clothes and goods; and, (3) dis- Abstract of infection of the ship itself. All who were well to have free pratique, Proceedings. with their clothes and goods, as soon as the disinfection had been accomplished.
6. Free pratique to all merchandise, except to rags and other objects of a susceptible kind which must first undergo a radical disinfection.
This system, it will be seen, is identical in principle with that which has for some time been in practice in the United Kingdom; but I had notified to the Committee at an early stage that certain of the details proposed to be introduced into the Règlement," as, e.g., the personal disinfection of passengers on an infected ship who were themselves certifled on arrival to be unaffected with cholera or diarrhoea, with some other provisions in regard to disinfection, were not carried out, and could not be carried out, in this country in the precise way the "Règlement" directed, and that with regard to these provisious, none of which appeared to me to be fundamental, reserve would have to be made in accepting the Règlement in question,*
In the discussion which had thus far taken place on the subject of mari- time quarantine, two things had become evident: (1) that whatever might be the recommendation of the Conference in regard to the substitution of a system of medical inspection for one of quarantine in Europe, there were at least some maritime States which at present would not fill in with the recommendation, and that therefore la parfaite conformité dans les dispositions à prendre &c.," which it was the desire of those who had convoked the Conference to establish, could not as yet be arrived at; and (2) that the views of at least some of the advocates of quarantine as applied to European ports had undergone modification tending to improve- ment in the practice, and that probably the most important and influential of all the States still supporting the quarantine system in Europe, viz., France, would be ready to discontinue at once that system, and substitute the system of medical inspection in its northern ports, though not in all its ports, and notably not in the ports in the Mediterranean. On these grounds, and with the object of arriving as far us possible at an understanding which might be the basis of such a convention as was desired, Professor Hirsch, in the name of the committee whose views had been adopted by the Conference, proposed a further committen for considering a scheme which might be accepted by those States which for the present should decline to accept the scheme which the Conference had approved. The proposal was adopted and a committee nominated for the purpose.†
The règlement quarantenaire, which the Committee prepared and which was accepted by the Conference, is given in extenso in Annex III. to this abstract. It modities considerably the practice of quarantine as here- tofore carried out in Europe generally.
1-4. As to the duration of quarantine.-In the ease of ships coming from ports known to be infected, this is fixed at from one to seven dayɛ, according to circumstances, which period however may be extended to 10 days in the Eastern States of Europe, or elsewhere under exceptional
I think it may safely be afirmed that it was rather for the sake of countries which desired to pass from the quarantine system to the inspection system, than for countries in which, as in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, &c., such system was already in force, that the particular provisions relative to personal disinfection were introduced,
This committee consisted of Messrs. Hirsch (Germany), d'Alber-Glanstätten (Austro-Hungary), Fauvel (France), Seaton (Great Britain), and Bartoletti (Turkey).
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