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Dr. ATKINSON.-I do not think so. But they might work together. The medical officer of health for the Port has a launch, and there is nothing to prevent the medical officer of health for the Colony going round, for instance, to Stanley in the launch.
Mr. MCCONACHIE.-The medical officer of health for the town, I presume, would be supposed to find out at the earliest possible moment any cases of contagious or in- fectious disease that might occur in the Colony?
Dr. ATKINSON.-Yes.
Mr. MCCONACHIE.-Whom would he report to the Government or the Sanitary Board?
Dr. ATKINSON,--To the Colonial Surgeon.
Mr. MCCONACHIE.-And the Colonial Surgeon?
Dr. ATKINSON.-Direct to the Government.
Mr. MCCONACHIE.-In that way, there would be no direct communication to the Sanitary Board?
Dr. ATKINSON.—I do not think it would be right to have him appointed under the Sanitary Board. For this reason: it is important to bear in mind that the temporary absence or inability, from climatic or other influences, of any officer to perform the arduous duty of medical officer of health to the city continuously, I am of opinion that such officer should be a member of the Medical Department, so that in the case of temporary indisposition his more important duties might be performed departmentally for such period. If on the other hand it is proposed that the medical officer of health for the town should not be an officer of the Medical Department I foresee considerable if not insurmountable difficulty in the way of providing for the performance of his more important duties even for a very limited period. Supposing he was appointed under the Sanitary Board and that he was taken ill or anything happened to him to prevent him doing his duty, whom are you to fall back upon to do this work?
Mr. MCCONACHIE.—You are aware that the Sanitary Board has all along complained that they had no Medical Officer attached to the Board and that when any report comes in from any of their Inspectors that there is some disease in the Colony there is no one they can, as an authority, order to go down and investigate?
Dr. ATKINSON.—At present, they have their Sanitary Superintendent.
Mr. MCCONACHIC.-But he is not a medical man?
Dr. ATKINSON.--No; but he was supposed to have a certain amount of medical knowledge and that was one reason why he was appointed to the office.
Mr. MCCONACHIE. It was hinted that this plague which broke out upon us last. year had been in the Colony for a considerable time before it was found out.
Dr. ATKINSON.-I can well understand that was possible.
Mr. MCCONACHIE.-And the Sanitary Board naturally say-"How can we find out whether there is plague or any other disease in the Colony if we have no medical man under our authority to investigate?"
Mr. THURBURN.-I think it is intended that the new medical, officer of health should do a good deal of the work now done by Mr. MCCALLUM.
Mr. MCCONACHIE-You see the Colony looks to some responsible medical man to find out at the earliest possible moment the outbreak of any epidemic in the Colony.
Dr. ATKINSON.-The Medical Officer would be dependent to a certain extent on the Inspectors under him. He could not possibly be all over the town every day. In a
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