Sessional_Paper_1885-1886 — Page 142

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4. The Government has, whilst deliberating on the question raised in your letter, had under its consideration the report of a discussion on the subject before the British Medical Association at its last annual meeting, also the correspondence laid before Parliament respecting the International Sanitary Conference held at Rome last year.

These documents do not bear out your assertion that there is a consensus of opinion amongst medical men of the highest eminence that the system of quarantine is distinctly dangerous and injurious.

5.

In a very

able paper read before the British Medical Association by Sur- geon Major PRINGLE, who has for a long series of years studied cholera in India, he speaks, it is true, of sanitary cordons as useless in practice. But his opinion as to quarantine is as follows:-

"Quarantine, however, with reference to sea-ports is quite a different preven- tive measure, and it would be as unreasonable, if nothing more serious, to admit a ship into harbour with cases of true cholera on board, and then to permit passen- gers and crew to land and disperse, as it would be to detain the ship in an open roadstead for a period of time out of all proportion to that which may be called the period of choleraic incubation."

6. Dr. PRINGLE goes on to say-"In the preventive measures therefore which I would recommend in the case of a seaport like that connected with the town of Cardiff, first I would urge the great importance of independent medical inspection of all ships arriving from what I may term "cholerized ports"; secondly, that cases of cholera should (if able to be moved) be placed in a hospital ship, and suspicious cases should be kept under observation. As regards the remainder of the passengers

and crew,

if cases of cholera were present in the ship on her arrival off the port, then the passengers

and crew not under treatment or observation should be taken to a quarantine ship, and if no cases of cholera appeared amongst them within forty-eight hours they should be permitted to land or disperse."

7. One of the speakers at the meeting of the British Medical Association referring to the paper by Dr. PRINGLE, which had just been read, said "he thought power ought to be given to detain the passengers and crew for forty-eight hours or three days to guard against the possibility of danger."

8. At the conference held recently at Rome a proposition imposing the deten- tion of passengers and crew for a definite period of five days, quite irrespective of their being either affected with or even suspected of suffering from cholera, was, although opposed by the British Delegates, carried by a majority of one vote; but with a subsequent qualification to the effect that if it were medically certified that there had been no case of cholera on board for ten days the period of observation should be limited to twenty-four hours.

9. The British delegation, however, voted in favour of the following proposi- tion which, apart from three absentions, was unanimously agreed to:-

(4

Steamships intended for the transport of passengers coming from countries where cholera prevails are required to carry on board a medical man nominated either by the Government to whom the vessel belongs or by the sanitary authority completely independent of the Navigation Companies, and of the ship owners.' None of the vessels coming here with Chinese passengers carry a medical man nominated by the Government.

10. I am also to add that the reference to the insanitary condition of Hong- kong, made by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, to which you have referred in your communication under acknowledgment, and in which you state you do not concur, is based upon the report made by Mr. CHADWICK in 1881, of which a copy has been supplied to the Chamber. The remedies indicated by him have been taken in hand by Government since 1882, but they are so extensive and costly, that it will require some years to carry them out thoroughly.

I have, &c.,

FREDERICK STEWART, Acting Colonial Secretary.

The Honourable W. KESWICK, Chairman,

HONGKONG GENERAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE,

&c.,

&c.,

&c.