645361-1894-Despatches-re-Plague — Page 5

THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 1ST SEPTEMBER, 1894. 729

report is very satisfactory. Only 8 of the sick, as I am informed, died on the way up, and the remainder have been visited by the European doctors and are well and comfortably housed.

23. The congested condition of the Tung Wah Glass hospital was thus relieved, and it has now been closed. In its stead the new Pig Depôt capable of holding 140 patients has been opened. The management of it has been taken over to a much greater extent than in the case of the Glass Works by European doctors, and the internal arrangements are carried on by European wardmasters and attendants.

24. It would be too much to say that the Chinese doctors are convinced their treatment of the disease is radically defective, but as our staff of medical men is about to be reinforced by two medical officers sent down by Admiral FREMANTLE from Japan, and by two others whose services I have secured, one from Swatow and another from Ningpo, we are now in a position to assume charge of nearly all the patients that are sent to the several hospitals.

25. The hospitals at present in existence are:--

(1) The Hygeia,

(2) Kennedy Town,

(3)

""

Convalescent,.

"7

(4) New Pig Depôt,

(5) New Glass Works Matshed,

for 40 patients.

45

"

"

*25

"}

140

"}

""

50

"

""

26. The last of these is under the management of Messrs. BURTON and BAILY of the Nethersole Branch of the Alice Memorial Hospital.

As

27. As to the origin of the plague numerous theories exist. It is true that in my Despatch No. 115 of the 17th May, I said-" Doubtless it has been introduced into Hongkong from Canton," this was the popular theory at the time, but further information leads me to the conclusion that it is impossible to speak definitely on this point and hardly safe to hazard a guess. Since the outbreak here it has been ascertained that the plague is endemic in Yunnan and Pakhoi. That it has been endemic in one or both of these places for the last seven years and that while it has been extremely severe in Canton, it has prevailed, according to His Excellency the Governor of Indo-China, all over the South of China. Hongkong receives a regular and constant supply of pigs for the use of the Chinese from Pakhoi and nearly all other articles of food are obtained from Canton with which this Colony is in hourly connection. The same may be said with regard to Macao, but it is a curious fact notwithstanding this frequent communication and notwithstanding the immigration of thousands of persons from Hongkong into Macao during the last month, not a single case of plague has occurred in that Colony. your Lordship is perhaps aware Hongkong has recently experienced the most severe drought that has ever been known. With one exception, no rain fell between the middle of October, 1893, and the 16th May, 1894. It is, I think, very probable that the want of sufficient water-though the present storage capacity is 378,000,000 gallons--and the filthy habits of life amongst the 210,000 Chinese who reside here-though the new drainage system in course of completion was adopted as an improvement on the one formerly existing-has rendered Hongkong liable to the invasion and development of the germ of the bubonic plague. Having found a footing here the great danger is of course that, as in other parts of China, it may become endemic. In Dr. SHARP DEANE'S report of 1891 on the health of Pakhoi, I observe the following statement:-' "The Chinese are of opinion that the bubonic "plague emanates from the ground and is favoured by a long continuance of dry "weather when the earth becomes porous and numerous fissures appear on the surface facilitating the escape of whatever causes the disease." These conditions prevailed to an unusual extent in Hongkong during the 7 months to which I have referred. 28. In this connection I may mention that the Japanese experts who have been sent here to diagnose the disease claim to have discovered the Bacillus of the plague and the medical staff admit the claim.

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29. As to the effect of the plague it is felt in every branch of business and the loss to the public revenue, to bankers, merchants, shipping companies, the sugar refining industry, traders, shopkeepers, owners of property and the labouring classes can never be accurately determined. On the whole perhaps the shipping interests are the most affected. At this season the emigrants to the Straits Settle- ments have hitherto been counted by thousands per month, and the movements of