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is powerless, which does not appear to be generally known. In the manuals for the guidance of Health Officers, it is distinctly stated in the event of disinfecting properties being required where dry earth is used, a disinfectant powder, not a liquid, must be employed. I have frequently inspected the system at the Gaol which works as well as can be expected, though the Gaol main drain requires as much flushing as ever, for all the urine which contains by far the major portion of the putrifactive matters excreted from the human body is thrown down the drain as also the washings of the dry earth buckets after they have been emptied into the tubs which coolies carry away.
Two floggings took place in the Gaol this year, one resulted in the death of the warder who administered it, who fell down and died a few seconds after of heart disease, his death being probably hastened by the exertion he had just undergone. He was a powerfully built native of Goa, and no one was aware that any thing was the matter with him.
There were only two deaths this year among the prisoners, though some have been released whose recovery was impossible. Many prisoners have to be sent in to the Hospital as soon as admitted to Gaol, among the Europeans this is generally caused by their being in an advanced stage of Alcoholic poisoning; with the Chinese the causes are various and the prisoners principally belong to the beggar class, worn out decrepit or deformed. I enclose a list of those sent at once to the Hospital on admission to Gaol. There are many old men in the Gaol whom it is impossible to punish further than depriving them of their liberty, otherwise they are better off than they would be outside.
Kidnappers appear to resemble the man-eating tiger in being old and worn out before taking to the practice, they are generally old men and women unfit for hard work. There is one old lady in the Gaol at present for unlawful detention, whose sentence is two years simple imprisonment, she is eighty years old, all but stone blind, has not a single tooth in her head, cannot walk without assistance, and appears to be quite childish.
One case of Sinall-pos occurred in the Gaol, it was a prisoner who had been detained over a year. How he contracted the disease I cannot say, he was removed to the Tung Wah Hospital Small-pox Wards. His case became confluent and he died. No other case occurred.
I enclose a list of the Opium Smokers, using one mace or more daily.
Of those that smoked less no note was taken. In all cases the habit was entirely ignored and no sedatives or stimulants allowed, It occurred to me at the latter part of the year to have these men weighed every week for the first month to see what improvement they made. If they made any, the result was that all gained weight, some rapidly and enormously, so that ignoring the habit and breaking it off at once does no harm so long as they are fairly well fed. Que old man weighing 80 pounds, looking as miserable in condition as he well could, who had been a smoker for 38 years, whose daily consumption of opium was five drams or mace which is a little less than a dram being 58.7 grains, increased his weight by 8 in the first four weeks with no other treatment than the regulation diet. The average weight of a Chinaman in these parts is about 113 lbs. All along I have been astonished at the small effect, shown by opium smokers, of the use of the drug even in large quantities.
I have not been able to trace any disease the opium smokers have been suffering from as caused by this habit. The debility which they suffer from is most assuredly caused by want of proper nourishment which I think is sufficiently proved by the rapidity with which they increase in weight, when simply given a fair quantity of good food. Surprised at what appeared to me little short of marvellous after what I have seen among opium eaters, I asked Mr. McCALLUM to analyse the different forms of opium in use among the Chinese here, also to make other preparations of opium and submit to an old opium smoker and his friends and an opium merchant, who was connected with one of the opium firms. for their opinions. The result of these experiments is embodied in the report made by Mr. McCALLUM which I enclose. The opium smoker in this report recognises no difference between the opium supplied by the Opium Farmer containing 7 per cent. of morphia, the same opium with 15 per cent. of morphia added to it and the same opium with all the morphia extracted. The opium expert is very much muddled in his opinions and only judges the opium by its appearance and its behaviour when burnt in the pipe. An opium pipe takes an infinity of trouble to prepare. Three long inhalations at most exhaust it, the flavour of the smoke is but snall, there is nothing aromatic about it, and the effect produced seems about as much as would be obtained from smoking a piece of paper. I have watched a European smoke 32 grains of the opium supplied by the Opium Farmer containing 7 per cent. of morphia, this quantity was smoked in one hour under the superintendence of an old opium smoker. The effects were nil as far as this gentleman was concerned although he was unaccustomed to the use of opium in any form. It had no effect on his senses, on his pulse or on his temperature, and he was quite disgusted at not becoming even drowsy or having the delightful dreams he anticipated. It will be seen in Mr. McCALLUM's report that the opium smoker got through an amount of opium in twelve hours that contained morphia to the amount of 20 grains. Yet he and his friends smoke opium from which all the morphia is extracted, and with as much gratification as that containing even an excess of morphia and pronounce it equally good. What is it then in the opium that gives the pleasure and what does the harm? If the man had but swallowed one tenth of the amount of opium containing morphia that he smoked, it would have killed him. I like Mr. McCALLUM have visited opium dens of both high and low class. I have also had many opportunities of seeing opium smokers of the better class in their own houses, but i have never seen any smoker who was not as easily roused as any ordinary sleeper and as quickly wide awake. It is customary among the Chinese to offer the opium pipe to a visitor in the same
way that Europeans offer a glass of wine. It is not expected among the Chinese that the visitor will make a beast of himself, and become non compos mentis any more than the European visitor is expected to make himself drunk. It is quite evident from the numbers that smoke even to large amounts without harm to themselves, without any desire to increase the amount of their daily allowance, even when it is but small, that the practice bears no comparison with spirit drinking, The case with which the habit is dropped at ouce with immediate benefit is very well illustrated in the rapid increase of weight. From what I can see in the Goal, Tobacco smokers suffer much more annoyance when deprived of their pipe than the opium smokers do. I am no advocate for the practice of opium smoking as the "Friend of China" suggests in an abusive article on opinions I expressed on the matter in previous reports, for I cannot discover where the pleasure or enjoyment is obtained, and except for the extravagant price paid for it a more harmless and useless amusement and a greater waste of time I cannot conceive. There has been much sickness among the Goal officials as I have previously mentioned and for similar reasons to the sickness among the Police viz. unwholesome quarters. I am glad to find the views I expressed in former reports as to evil effects of flogging on the back with the cat on the internal organs of the body have been confirmed at Home, for the Lancet of April 2nd 1881, in a short article on Flogging in the Army says "The Hounslow inquest will be fresh in the recollection of many readers, and it will not be forgotten that the enquiry, which elicited the most startling and significant facts was adjourned ten times. The lash was then shown to be a weapon capable of inflicting formidable and even fatal injuries on the deep structures while apparently doing little harm to the superficial. It was found to be a murderous, and wholly misleading instrument of torture." Flogging as now conducted on the breech does no permanent barm. The increased number of sick among the prisoners is principally from causes not in any way connected with the Goal, and it is a matter of congratulation that notwithstanding the increased number in the daily average of prisoners, the limited accommodation has not given rise to any serious trouble, and there have been only two deaths to record.
TEMPORARY LUNATIC ASYLUM.
This still remains in the old houses in Hollywood Road, parts of which have become uninhabit- Twice during 1880 public notice of a able, and the houses themselves cannot be considered safe. storm having been given from the Harbour Master's Office, the lunatics had to be removed to the The buildings are wholly Police Cells at the Central Station, fortunately the storms were not severe. unsuited for the purpose of a Lunatic Asylum, but no better can be procured, and should any thing happen to them during the Typhoon season this year, I am unable to point out any others to take their place.
of
age.
Two of the There were eight admissions this year, besides one that remained from last year. admissions, one female and one male, were from the better classes, who I venture to say had never The female was confined a month and been lodged in such a hole as this building before. dismissed relieved. The male was a partner in a large mercantile house, was detained a week, when a passage was taken for him to England with his keeper by the House he belonged to.
he had long One case was an educated Chinaman, who could read, write and speak English well; been in the employ of an English Firm in a responsible post and was a man about forty years
Another case was a China boy He was dismissed cured, and has been all right ever since. educated in the Central School, who also wrote, read and spoke English very well, he was dismissed relieved. One was an English sailor, who had cat his throat and stabbed himself in the abdomen. This was an interesting case, the wound in the abdomen healed, but an abscess formed under the scar which was opened, and a large piece of the liver was discharged. This man made a good recovery both physically and mentally. There was another case of attempted suicide and cerebral excitement which was discovered to be caused by constipation. The man's bowels must have been One was a Gaol in this state for over a fortnight. This was a Chinaman and was dismissed cured. Warder who was also dismissed cured. The other two were Portuguese destitutes afterwards taken charge of and removed by their Consul.
TUNG WAH HOSPITAL.
The number of The total number of admissions during this year was 1,353, of these 590 died. outpatients treated was 81,274. The number of deaths in Hospital is chiefly owing to the insuperable objection of the Chinese to go into Hospital, except in the last extremity, many being admitted in a moribund condition.
The number of small-pox cases admitted was 155, of which 97 died, most of the cases were children.
The number of vaccinations done by the Tung Wah Hospital during the year was 1,594, of these 86 were done in the villages by travelling vaccinators belonging to the Hospital.
LOCK HOSPITAL.
This still remains in a building that was formerly a school, part of which cannot be used.
the new and the old Lock Hospitals being used as the Civil Hospital.
Both
There were 57 registered women admitted during the year. They were nearly all cases of the milder types of venereal disease, only onc case of Secondary syphilis.
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