177
The Naval Hospital shews a decrease in admissions to the Venereal Wards being 244 as com- pared with 268 in 1887. The Police Hospital also shews a decrease in admissions being 46 as com- pared with 70 in 1887.
The Civil Hospital a slight increase being 68 as compared with 54 in 1887.
But Tables E 2 and E 3 are the real tests shewing the amount of constitutional disease contracted in the Navy and Army. There were 10 cases admitted to the Naval Hospital as compared with 8 last year of this form of disease contracted in Hongkong.
There were 37 cases admitted to the Military Hospital as compared with 39 in 1887.
The Navy shew an increase of two the Army a decrease of two.
At any rate I think it is well shewn by these tables that the voluntary examination of the women is doing a great deal of good. We have much to be thankful for that they have shewn so much sense and it speaks well for the way the examinations are conducted in this Colony that they have caused no offence to the women.
HEALTH OF THE COLONY.
Table XVI. shews the rate of mortality amongst the European and American community in Hongkong for the last ten years from all classes of disease. The number and percentage is the highest recorded for many years, but as the number of this portion of the population has stood on the returns at 3,040 for eight years, I doubt if the percentages given of late years can be considered correct.
I give below for the fifteen years I have been in the Colony the mortality among the Europeans and Chinese as registered in Hongkong from diseases that may be attributed among other causes to insanitary houses, filth poison and overcrowding. In these Tables I have put down under the head of cholera all cases registered under the heads of Cholera Nostras, Cholera Sporadic, Choleraic Diarrhoea names given to the cholera common to Europe in the summer months as distinguished from what is known as Asiatic or Epidemic Cholera. Last summer there was a considerable outbreak of this form of disease, but there was nothing about it of the nature of an epidemic, solitary cases occurred all over the city, no particular quarter being distinguished as suffering more than another. Most of the cases occurring in the months of June and July when unripe stone fruits are imported and eaten in the Colony in large quantities. In all the cases I saw all the patients complained of griping pains in the bowels, and in all the post mortems I was present, and the stomach and bowels were extremely con- gested and inflammed. In the Asiatic form of cholera gripes are absent the only pain being from cramps chiefly in the lower extremities the vomiting and purging being quite painless. The bowels do not show any inflammation these symptoms being nearly the only difference between the two diseases except that the mortality in one is less than that of the other. The experience of the out- break in the Gaol, I think, is quite sufficient to show that this outbreak was not of an epidemic cha- racter for with the overcrowding, and the bucket system for night-soil in the cells at night an epidemic form of this disease would not have stopped at sixteen cases. No European in the Gaol was attached and stopping the drinking of cold water (which the Chinese are not accustomed to) when at work and perspiring freely, giving congee water and weak tea instead, soon put a stop to the outbreak in the Gaol which only lasted a few days. As was remarked in the outbreak anong the Military three years ago the temperance men were the sufferers so in some of the cases among Europeans that I saw they attri- buted the attack to drinking large quantities of iced water.
DEATHS AMONG EUROPEANS (BRITISH AND FOREIGN).
FEVERS.
YEARS.
DIARRHEA. CHOLERA.
VOMITING
AND PURGING.
TOTAL.
Simple Enteric.
Continued. Typhus.
1873,
6
17
25
1874,
I
4
4
17
26
1875,
18
24
1876,
1
14
24
1877,
10
27
1878.
15
9
29
1879.
21
14
38
1880.
12
10
24
1881.
17
10
29
1882,
10
13
13
37
1883,
1
9
1884,
4
12
1885,
11
1886,
8
1887,
10
1888,
5
16
52466
9
19
23
9
19
46
18
25
:ཤ:
25
30
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