Sessional_Paper_1895 — Page 212

208

80

to males was only 23:57. This heavier female mortality was only to be expected when it is remembered that women and children were practically confined to the houses in the infected areas every hour of the twenty-four; whilst the men were generally absent during the day, and in many cases slept in the streets at night, a thing which the women as a rule are not accustomed to do.

Out of the 2,619 Chinese cases we had reliable information as to age in 2,050 instances. The following table gives the numbers of those affected in the different decades of life:

Under 5 years,..

Between 5 and 10 years,..

Males.

Females.

18

27

65

73

10

20

11

.281

"

タラ

190

20

30

#1

37

,1

.....244

84

30 40

*1

}}

.....323

75

40

50

.233

11

74

"

50

60

127

"

21

$6

60 70

56

""

49

21

24

Over 70 years,

Here again the mortality is somewhat difficult to give correctly on account of the removal of the patients to Canton and owing to other reasons.

TIME OF OUTBREAK.

The question as to when the epidemic started in Hongkong cannot be satisfac- torily settled now,

The statements made in certain medical quarters here that the plague was raging in Hongkong early in April cannot be entertained by any thoughtful person who has taken the trouble to study the question. The evidence, on which these conclusions were based, was obtained froin Chinamen, who are notoriously deficient in the art of truthful description; and its value is further discounted by the fact that it was freely stated that the disease had been here either for years or "as long as could be remembered." Add to this that these statements were only made after the epidemic had been raging for some time, when every Chinaman was wildly excited, and I think it will be conceded that no credence can be put on such state-

ments.

17

Personally I believe that the first deaths took place in the carly days of May. The mortality statistics cannot be depended on in this Colony as far as the proper registration of the cause of death is concerned, but the number of deaths given by the Registrar General may be looked upon as not far wide of the mark. These numbers were as follows from the 1st April till 9th May, Chinese only in this list :-

April 1st,

7 ; April 14th,

9;

April 27th.

.12;

2nd,

...16

16;

15th,

9

;

28th,

.18;

:>

21

3rd,

..10;

16th,

9

29th,

.12;

""

4th,

9 ;

17th,

.13;

30th,

.14;

>>

"

5th,

10;

18th,

..13;

May 1st,

፡ነ

6th,

8;

19th,

..14;

2nd,

9

>>

})

7th,

8

20th,

.11

3rd,

.21;

;)

""

8th,

.14;

21st,

4th,

.15;

}}

21

9th,

12

22nd,

11

5th,

.17

::

>>

10th,

8

23rd,

.18;

6th,

13;

** 11th,

.14;

24th,

8;

7th,

..18;

*

12th,

.14;

19

13th, ....14;

25tli, 26th,...17;

8th,

.24;

31

9th,

..27.

These figures are significant. From the 3rd to the 9th May the average daily number of deaths had risen somewhat but to nothing like the numbers which occurred afterwards. Moreover the number of Chinese burials during the first week of May was not excessive, and did not show any evidence pointing to an earlier period of outbreak. If people had been dying in great numbers their bodies must have either been buried, or remained in the houses; and it was noticeable that scarcely a single body found by the search parties was in an advanced stage of decomposition.

We know that plague corpses decompose rapidly, more especially in the hot weather, so that the evidence given above, although not conclusive, is about as nearly so as it can possibly be.