1934-08-29 — Page 15

HONG KONG DAILY

Government And The Leper Problem

}

STRONG CRITICISMS BY MEMBERS

OF THE SANITARY BOARD

Segregation, Treatment And Cure Of Lepers

humane

That in the interesis of public health, and on grounds, the whole problem of it pers in the Colony should be reviewed by the Government with a view to providing facilities for the segregation, treatment and cure of lepers, was the sub- ject of considerable discussion at the fortnightly meeting of the Sanitary Board yesterday when Mr. M. K. Lo, pursuant to notice. put forward the above motion.

With the exception of Mr. L. C. F.. Bellamy, all the unoffi- ctal members-Mr. Wong Kwang Tin, Dr. Li Sha' Fan and Dr. R. A. de Castro-spoke in favour of the motion which was carried.

In his speech, Mr. M. K. Lo remarked that the Government had taken no steps to enforce the provisions of the Lepers' Or dinance, No. 24 of 1910 in the matter of providing leper asylums. Dr. La Shu Fan said that the qusetion of expense should not be a ..serious obstacle, while Dr. Basto made several recommendationa among which were to make leprosy a notifiable disease and the establishment of a leprosarium.

Leprosy Should Be Made A

Notifiable Disease

In putting forward his motion,, demned to lingering deaths be- Mr. M. K. Lo said:

cause it is so difficult, if not im- In July 1930, I drew attention of possible for them to get into an this Board to the problem of lep-institution where they ets in the Colony by asking some cured. questions on the subject.

I make no apology for again bringing this matter before this Board, for I consider that the pro blem of lepers is a growing menace to the residents of this Colony.

I had a recollection that this matter formed the subject of a A series of questions by the Hon. Sir William Shenton in the Legislative Council, a few years ago, and thanks to Sir William's courtesy.. I have traced the questions and answers published in the Hong Kong Hansard Reports for 1931, at pp. 91. 92, 103 and 104. I do not wish to take up the time at this Board by quoting verbatim (the questions and answers, for any one interested can refer to Han- sard, but I must say that in my humble view, the answers were not at all satisfactory.

No Steps Taken Admittedly, the Government has no definite information as to the number of lepers in the Colony: Admittedly, the Government has taken no steps to enforce the pro- visions of the Lepers' Ordinance, No. 24 of 1910, in the matter of providing leper asylums or of making regulations under section 13. But I would like to read to you Sir William's question No. 4 and the answer thereto, and his supplementary question and the reply in regard thereto;

or

Q. Does the Government pay for

otherwise arrange

foz

the maintenance in leper asylums of such lepers as may be transported out of the Colony?

A Not as a rule. Payment has been made in the case of one Hong Kong Government employee. A grant of $5,000 to the Bheklung Leper Asylum was included in the Estimates for 1931 but payment has not been made owing to re- trenchment. It is felt that no actual liability rests on this Colony for non-British lepers.

can be

A Sad Case Recently, a particularly sad case. was brought to my notice by a well-known British medical practi tioner. A young Chinese servant girl who had been in the Colony for many years, sat this doctor on what she thought was a trou- blesome rash on her neck.

She known familles as a baby amah. had been in the service of well; On a thorough examination, the doctor found that she was suffer- ing from this dread disease and told her so. She was frantic and heatedly denied she had lost her virginity, being under the preva= lent Impression

which exists

among the ignorant Chinese mass that this disease could only be

contracted through sexual inter- course. The doctor was very keen to treat her, as he was convinced that she could be cured, but as there was

no known place in which she could be effectively se- thing in this respect. gregated, he could not do any great deal of trouble, he managed After a

to arrange for her to be sent to one of the well-known settlements in which treatment was given, but no doubt succumbing to a natural fear regarding her future, she did not turn up and the doctor lost all trace of her at large.

Presumably she is

I therefore respectfully submit, that the whole problem should be reviewed and that facilities be provided for the treatment and cure of residents in the Colony, using the word "residents" in its ordinary meaning, and with safe- guards to prevent the abuse of such, facilities by persons who have no claim to such facilities Le rot being residenta.

MR. WONG KWONG TIN Supporting Mr. Lo, Mr. Wong Kwong Tin said:

In seconding the motion I must say that what Mr. Lo has said, warrants the sympathy of the members of this Board. I remem- ber, that when I was a Visiting Justice of the Hospitals some years. ago, I came across a leper patient in the Tung Wah Hopital and I, there and then, drew the atten-. tion of the Directors to the im- proper. housing "pf lepers with other patients. Ever since, lepers have been sent to the Tung Wah Infections Hospital We do not

want to see lepers coming to our door steps begging for food and clothing, but as they cannot get work and have nothing to eat and wear they are forced to beg. It is therefore, necessary that some provision should be made for them. We cannot allow them to starve.

PRESS, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 1934.

THE SCIENCE OF RADIATION

INTERESTING TALK BY REV. FATHER BYRNE TO ROTARIANS

New Aid To Solving

Worldly Problems

Members of the Rotary Club and their friends had the privi- Tere yesterday of hearing a most Instructive address by Rev. Father G. Byrne, M.A., S.J., 'who spoke upon the subject of “Ru- diesthesie."

The address was rendered in non-technical language and ac cording to Father Byrne, the solence was only in its infancy, but already front posibilities lay ahead.

So interested was the audience in what the speaker had to say, that a good number stayed behind after the lunch to šeć the selence practically demonstrated by Fr. Byrne. In the course of the demonstration it was shown that several of the ŝubjects suffered from various bodily com plašits, all of which proved to be correct.

Mr. M. K. Lo presided at the meeting, and the attendance was the largest the Club has had for a long time.

In the course of his address, Fr.: Byrne sald

to

A few weeks ago there was men- tion in the "Press" of a Darwin Memorial Expedition to be or ganised by American scientists, The Hat of sciences to be enriched It is my earnest desire that the

was imposing in number. CoverLment should direct mem-fomenclature.

as in When asked bers of the medical stan in their address you I scanned it for a spare time to discover means of suitable subject, sadly indeed combating this horrible disease, in

because of my Ignorance addition to providing facilities for What for Instance could I say the, segregation of lepers. This about myrmecology except that I suggestion, I am well aware, de- have been unscientific enough to pends on the question of their

use antrol to destroy the little beg maintenance.

gars! "Oathology"-If it means, (I Ban sure it does not), what an old schoolmaster of mine would have said it should mean, the science or oaths, might be suitable enough or a clergyman, but indiscreet amongst Rotarians.

DR. BASTO Speaking in support of the mo- tion. Dr. R. A. de Castro Basto brought up this question of leprosy said: I am very glad Mr. Lo has

The indis-

creet science I have ventured to select is a baby science which claims privilege of peeping into you pockets and into your hearts.

Secrets: From Your Photos

It claims a power of peeping where the medical man may be blind, and it claims to wrest secrets from your photograph as well as from yourself.

On June 27th, 1932, under the patronages of the distinguished experimentalists met in Paris to scientist, Mr. Branly, a group of discuss the results of their efforts in exploring the nature of radia tions which proceed from different bodies including the human body. They claimed to have reached con- clusions" scientifically worked out, being scientifically stated and, therefore, justifying the inclusion of "Radiesthesie" among natural sciences.

before the Board and it is no doubt one of the problems that has been long crying for attention. It is a fact that only a part of the great problem of the treatment and care of diseases and suffering is found within the working classes of the population. The motion urges the tackling of this question "in the interest of public health and on humane grounds," and it is on the Iatter aspect of the question that I wish to take this opportunity to Ophthalmic Surgeon to the Kwong say a few words. A honorary Wah Hospital & have occasion to come into contact week in and eck out with a most miserable and wretched section of our suf- fering population, and each time I come away with the thought that given the wealth and prosper-capable of ity of this colony, it is inconceiv able that so little is done to re- Lieve the suffering of the poor. When one considers that for want of accommodation and of the ne cessary funds, some hospitals are obliged to put two very ill persons on one plank of wood called a "bed" in a ward already more than full; when one considers that not a day passes without some un- fortunate coolie loosing an eye, an arm, or a leg or even his life while working for some wealthy and Prosperous concern, and. when we think that.. neither he nor his family has any comperisation, then I think that it is time that some=" thing should be done in some other direction for his beneft

or at léast to fulfil in part our sense of moral responsibility.

The argument that to treat lepers in Hong Kong would be equivalent to treating the lepers of the whole of the neigahosting

We are all familiar with the idea of radiation, wave movement, Heat waves are radiated from a fire. They affect me. Even though I do not see them or their source, I become conscious of them immediately on entering their feld of action as when I approach a wall between me and the kitchen fre. The waves to which, we most readily react are heat waves, light waves, sound waves, We are not

our

so sensitive to other waves as, for may Instance magnetic waves which affect the watch in pockets. Moreover sensitiveness is a very variable quality. One, with a good musical ear, can pick up tones lost on his neighbour; an- other is a keen discerner of colour: there may be a wide range of co- lour blindness. The power of water divining, of detecting the presence of gold and silver, are well known examples of the reja- tive serisitiveness of different, peo- ple to waves round about them. This fact was the starting point of the Radiesthesle, experimentalists.

of

Every Man His Bay They found that a plece metal planed on table communi- tain characteristic movements: cated to a suitable pendulum cer-

playing about it like a ray of sun 1. There was a magnetic image,

varied with the metal on the water. The 'kind, of ray

2. A solar ray or straight line Lnking the sun and the object.

3. A fundamental ray, fixed in direction for each body.

We know that every atom in a body is a centre of whirling move- ment. If no two of us have the

(Continued on Fare 11.

cases at the expense of only a few shillings per head per annum.

which because of their open sores are liable to communi-

the disease to cate

others. The cases of "closed" leprosy, Le, those without sores and therefore non - infectious | 17. casea could be treated as out-patients.

4. If it were not possible to bufid a leprosarium, then the next best thing would be to establish a "leprosy clinic" in conjunction with any of the government hospitals. It would serve as an initial step in any way.

DE. LI SHU-FAN Dr. Li Shu-Fan said: I should like to make a few remarks on the subject of segregation,

I think it is high time that we should shoulder the responsibility and to face the situation square-

I wish therefore to subscribe myself to the motion.

THE MOTION

moved:-

Mr. M. K. Lo, pursuant to notice,

"That this Board is of the opinion that, in the Interests of public health, and on grounds, the whole problem of humane

lepers in the Colony should be reviewed by the Government with the segregation, treatment and a view to providing facilities for

cure of lepers, and with any neces- sary safeguards for preventing those who are not resident of the such facilities being abused by Colony

You may remember, that some months ago, it was reported in the newspapers that a young man, on being arrested for soliciting in the streets, was found to be a leper. In the absence of authentic in- tie as to the number of lepers Th formation, one cannot be dogma.

information, there can be little the Colony, but, according to my doubt that the number is on the increase. No one can blame them for trying to prevent their disease from being discovered, in view of the consequence of such discovery. 1 am aware of the stock argu- ment against the provision of any asylum for lepers in the Colony. It is suggested that all the lepers Province does not hold water in Q. Arising out of the last sen-

from Kwantung would flock to it. that if we find it good enough to tence of the answer to question. But is this really a valid argument utilise of the labour which comes No. 4:-

for not providing reasonable from outside we must also not Is it felt that any "actual Habt-facilities in the Colony for the

hesitats either to give these lity" rests on the Colony for Bri. segregation, treatment and cure of labourers their due. tish Chinese lepers (ie, their who have been resident in the lepers, especially as regards those maintenance in leper asylums), Colony for a substantial period?

It must be admitted that the and, if so, in what way is that

According to the answers to Biz that is no reason for leaving it question is difficult of solution but Jaibility discharged,

A. The answer is in the at-in, 1930 claimed Hongkong birth. step towards this direction I would are non-infective and also the fact Willam's questions ont in-patient out altogether, and as an initial most, if not, all of the early cases firmative, Bhould such cases occur but he was unable to substantiate recommend the following: It is considered that the ability his claim so he was treated as

that most of the early cases are would be discharged if arrange- a Chinese subject and presumably

1. Make leprosy a notifiable curable. There must be therefore iments were made for the mainten sent away. In any case, the Gov-

disease. The disease would no discouragement to their appli ance of the patient in a suitable ernments position

then come under control of cation for early treatment. Hence is that, in leper asylum outside the Colony.

the proper authorities and it is inhumane to subject them to regard to British Chinese lepers. statistics could be collected mere segregation According to my information, on the Government considers that its account of the large number at lability would be discharged if ar

with regard to its incidence deprive them the chance of R. A. D. Forrest replied; Burveys In the Colony..."—" lepers found in this Colony this rangements were made for the year, and of the difficulty of get maintenance of the patient in a ting rid of them by sending them suitable leper asylum outside the out of the Colony; some have been

Colony.

sent into the infectious Hospital that great advance in recent years I believe I am right in saying by way of a temporary measure,has heen made in Medical Science and as far as I know, there are no in the treatment and cure of lepers recognised hospitals or other facili and I consider it a terrible cruelty Hes for the treatment of this to deny them such treatment. disease.

It seems to me that from the From what I understand, na point of view of infection, and effective means exists for prevent- also on humanitarian grounds, the ang the return of lepers sent away present attitude of indiference from the Colony, and many of should give place to one-of-active- those sent away are virtually com-aldak

Recommendations

the light of present day experience, In the first place, according to the practice of indiscriminate and wholesale segregation of lepers is now considered to be out of date. The main reason is, that it defeats Its own object by Inducing the concealment of cases, which may continue to spread the infection to others.

It is now defnitely proved that

cure,

which would

The motion was then put to the vote and was carried, all the un- oficial members voting in favour.

Mr. M. K. Lo also asked: "With reference to my previous questions, and to the Head of the Sanitary

Department's answers thereto, will the Head of the Sanitary Depart- ment be kind enough to ascertain,. and inform this Board, whether the Malarialogist has now complet- ed bis survey, and whether his report will be available for the information of the members of this Board?”,

The president of the Board, Mr.

are still in progress. A full report for the year 1933 will be found in the Annual Medical and Sanitary Report which is now in the hands of the printer, y

2. In order to encourage prac- The relevant question is, is it tioners in the diagnosis of the routine practice of the Govern- the disease, bacteriological ment to dispatch cases of leprosy examination for leprosy across the borders as soon as they should be made. free or are diagnosed? If it is, then I Those present at the meeting charge.

think the practice is untenable were Mr. R. A. D. Forrest (prest Establish B leprosarium. and requires revision Unless we dent), Bon. Mr. R. M Henderson This could be used as a are satisfied that they are treated (Vice-Chairman); Hon. Mr. centre for treatment. a and humanely and scientifically as in Smith (Becretary for Chinese investigation of the disease being done elsewhere such as in Affairs Dr. J. M. Gray Medic and also for segregating the India and the Phillipines we are me

(Caltha Infectious cases. A leprosy, not doing our duty. Rsylum need not be too large The question of expense should for it could be reserved only not be a serious obstác for housing the so-called it was found in India open cases only le cases, possibis to treat a large

assist secretary).

LET

YOUR BODY

BREATHE

WEAR

AERTEX CORSETS

FITTED BY

Lane, Crawford, Ltd.

A wide range of CORSETS

by GOSSARD

and

BON TON (Tu-Way Stretch) Always in Stock

Columbia

THIS MONTHS NOVELTY RECORDS

CARROLL GIBBONS (PIANO)

DB1368- WHAT NOW DB1297-THERE'S A RING AROUND THE MOON DB1168 GIVE ME A RING

DB1152-YOU ARE TOO BEAUTIFUL DB1187-SHUFFLE OFF TO BUFFALO` DB1314 WHAT A PLEASANT SURPRISE

The Anderson Music Co., Ltd.

Ice House Street.

Tel. 21322.

Cerebos Salt

Keeps fine.and dry in any climate

Maizee's

EREBOS

SALT,

ONE DAY SPECIAL SALE Friday, Aug. 31st

Entire Summer Stock

AT

Cost and Below Cost

Positively One Day Only.

No Returns

No Charges

Page 15Page 16