CO129-311 - Acting Governor Major Gen Sir Gascoigne - 1902 [5-7] — Page 258

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val, I again telegraphed to the Government of India for approval.

6. On the 6th March, I was informed by a telegram from India that it was doubtful whether my wishes with regard to the eight Doctors could be met, owing to local requirements. This was reported to the Sanitary Board, who forthwith advised the Government to apply to Japan, from which country it might be possible to obtain eight Doctors with the required qualifications. On the 10th March I sent a telegram to Sir Claude Macdonald, British Minister at Tokyo, asking him whether he could engage at once eight English-speaking Japanese Doctors on a six months' engagement. On March 28th, Sir Claude Macdonald informed me that he had been successful in engaging the Doctors; though on terms rather higher than those originally offered by this Government.

7. The Doctors arrived on or about the 14th ultimo, and two of them commenced to work in the Government Mortuary and Laboratories attached thereto. Five of the remainder were each placed in charge of 2 Health Districts in the City and the sixth was detailed for Kowloon. They were stationed at the District Sanitary Offices and they received immediate notification of every case of plague occurring in their respective Districts. Their duty then was to visit the premises where the cases had occurred, investigate the history of the case and report to the Medical Officer of Health. It was soon found, however, that the usefulness of these six Doctors was to a large extent discounted by the fact that they were almost totally unacquainted with the English language. It is very difficult in Hongkong to find interpreters between Japanese