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and (2) the views given by the Medical Officer of Health and his "suggestions."
(1), Views of the Venice Plagne Conference.-- The points agreed to at this Conference were that there should be medical inspection of only those vessels coming from an infected port and that such port shall not be declared infected simply because there are two or three cases of an infectious disease present. So far this is exactly in accord with the practice carried on in this colony. The Conference requires that in the case of "infected vessels" the sick be Isaded and isolated and certain processes of dis infection carried out; both of these are done bere. But, however, it is required that the remainder of those on board be subjected to "observation" or "surveillance" and that all passengers and crew from "suspected" vessels be subjected only to surveillance. To carry cut a process of "observation" in this colony would thean that the ship be detained in quaran tine for a period of ten days from the date of exposure of infection or of the occurrence of the last case of sickness. This would be reverting to the old days of quarantine with a vengeance and would create a great hueand cry from the ship. ping community. The only way to carry out "observation" is therefore the possession of an island, on which some 16,000 passengers can be accommodated and housed for 8 days or more at a lime, as is done at Singapore, after which the vessel be disinfected and released. Un- fortunately no such means are available in Hongkong. The conclusion. therefore, is that "observation" is impracticable in Hongkong at present and will continue to be so until the above condition is available. The report of the Venice Conference states that Her Majesty's Government made the reservation "that in the United Kingdom healthy persons shall not be subjected to observation lê, detention, but only to medical supervision in their own homes, and further that even as rogards infected ships, the imposition of observation is only inserted in the Convention as au alternativo to surveillance, and surveillance is only per mitted in the case of passengers and crewS landing from suspected and healthy vessels. I consider it important to hear in mind these words of the report in dealing with the subject before us.
The question of the practical employment of surveillance next comes under consideration and will be best dealt with under the heading below.
(2)--Suggestions of the Medical Officers of HealthThe first part of these "suggestions smbodies that all vessels from an infected port andergo medical inspection on arrival here and be granted prutique after the sick, if any, bare been removed and the vessel disinfected." Thus far this is exactly the practice carried out to day in this Colony to the very letter and no additional regulations are required for this. As soon as a port is declared infected this is precisely what is done. Why there should be any hesitation by the Government in declaring any port infected, when once there is definite information of an epidemic disease prevailing, ¦ I do not see.
The next provision in the granting of free pratique in the suggestions (0) embodies that the asmes aud addresses of all European, American, and Australian passengers should be given in order that they be subjected to a vary. ing period of surveillance from 5 to 15 days. The number of such passengers being very small and being intelligent people to deal with. it is possible that this can be carried out and may be tarried out if necessary. It must not, however, bo forgotten that it is not the white population from whom the chief danger comes to Hongkong, but the native and Asiatic sec- tion. An occasional case of smallpox, it is true, ocours among the white community, but very rarely any other disesse.
(b). Under this ding the Medical Officer Pof tumith want Asiat and Africaus similarly to furnish their names and addresses
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of destination and his subjected to medical surveillance for a like period, but further" each one must in addition Invuish a reliablo surety in the colony who shall guarantee in writing to the extent of $50 that such person will con- tinue to ruside at the address given by him for a period of not less than ten days."
This sug gestiou really seems to be too ridiculous to be seriously dealt with. The Medical Officer of Health must be absolutely ignorant of the cou ditions of the local immigration taking place in the colony to-day, or he would Lover have penned such a statement. I wonder how many of the 2,300 passengers daily coming into the colony could find such a reliable surety resident in the colony?" I have no hesitation in stating that not more than one or two per cent of such passengers could be found. Many of those passengers have never been in the co- lony before and many are returning after years of absence en route to their homes in the beurt of China, and probably do not know a soul in Hongkong. For the information of the Medical Officer of Health I
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stuto that practically the whole of this larger number, excepting a few from Singapore and America, are nien who have scarcely 50 cents in their pockets and manch less able to find a security of $50. Further, if they were able to find such security, is the hoght of improb- ability that they would ever come to this colony. Again by far the majority of thosa who come to this colony, do not know where they are going to reside. Que has only to watch the scramble which takes place when a steamer enters this part, by the native coolis- house runners bargaining with the passengers, to know how utterly impossible it is for thom to give their addresses. Again whether they will remain one or ten days in the colony, it is impossible for them to know; it depends on whether they can get a contract to be sent to Singapore, Saigon or any other port and how! so they get this. Then comes the question of medical surveillance of theso passengers. Let us take for example that Canton and Macao are plague infected." We have a daily average of 1.400 passengers according to the Harbour Master's Report. These meu must be ten days under surveillance; therefore at the end of this period we would have 14,000 passengers to be kept under surveillance, assuming that they have given correct names and addresses. Does the M. O. H. mean to say for a moment that he can keep those 14,000 passengers under control for this purpose while in the colony P Whoa to identify men onshore as being the same as those recently landed from the ships? The Police Force and Sanitary Inspectors would have to be more than quad.: rupled to do so, even it then it was practicable, I have taken very low Ggures, but what if Amoy or Swatow had plague at the same time, or again what if the epidemic was small-pox in Cantou, we would have an accumulation of 15 days' passengers, meaning some 20,000 and more to be under medical surveillance. It really seems waste of time to argue this point any further. The Captain Superintendent of Police, who knows the colony, realised this at once when he stated in his minute to the Sanitary Board Circular (C. S. O. 974), referring to this subject, "that the supervision of passengers landed from an infected port is impossible here." I subinit, therefore, that the question of medical surveillance of all passengers landed in Hong- kong is under present couditious an absolute impossibility and rediculous even on superficial examination.
The main point treated by the Medical Officer of Health is that "in the event of the required į surety for any one passenger brought into the barbour from an infected port not forthcoming, the vessel will not be granted pratique." There- ! fore the vessel, without discharging her cargo. must return to the port whenco she came with this one passenger who could not find a surety resident in the colony for $50. I wonder what would be the effect to-morrow of informing the shipping firms that such a course had been
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