CO129-523-6 Criticism of Hong Kong Administration 29-1-1930 - 3-3-1930 — Page 34

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a good deal of reason to permit vessels to proceed to their

wharves and buoys from infected ports, provided that on arrival in Hong Kong passengers and/or crew were free from any infectious disease. Vessels, however, with any infectious

case on board, had to proceed to the quarantine anchorage. This

system, although admittedly incomplete, worked quite well; but

for some reason, which I have never been able to fathom, the

Hong Kong Government suddenly decided that it was desirable to tighten up on quarantine. They therefore increased their

medical staff and whenever a port was declared infected issued

instructions to all vessels arriving therefrom, that no passengers

or cargo could be landed until medical examination had taken

place. In the early stages they allowed vessels of the "Empress"

and "President" classes to proceed alongside their wharves,

where medical examination took place. Vessels of lesser tonnage,

however, were made to proceed to the quarantine anchorage,

and, in the case of Holts' "Sarpedon" class, we took great

exception and pointed out that they had no business to

discriminate against any passenger ship, if medical examination

were necessary, we were as much entitled to have it at our

wharves and buoys as vessels of the "President" and/or "Empress"

class. On this they had eventually to give way.

Thousands

of Chinese arrive daily from Canton, the Delta and West River

ports without any examination whatsoever It is quite safe to

say that whatever infectious disease is imported into the

Colony, nine-tenths arrive from these sources, and it is

obviously ridiculous to spend the amount of money they are at

present squandering in the examination of vessels arriving from

Shanghai and other China ports, more particularly in the case of

passenger shios, where qualified doctors are carried. If a complete system of medical examination could be instituted,